Inflammation in the male reproductive tract is a known cause of male infertility.
This inflammation can have several causes, a major one being infections. These
infections can be caused by sexually transmitted diseases such as Chlamydia or
gonorrhea, or by bacterial infections.
When infection occurs in the body, the immune response will send many
specialized proteins to the area in order to fight it, leading to inflammation.
While this inflammation is of course intended to do good, it can have negative
and damaging side effects.
Inflammation in the male genital tract has been shown to cause an increase in
the level of oxidative stress, which in turn is associated with damage to the
sperm’s genetic material. Inflammation can also lead to death of the sperm
cells, as well as damage the sperm production process, which is extremely
finicky and requires precise conditions.