Young's syndrome, also known as azoospermia sinopulmonary infections, sinusitis-infertility syndrome and Barry-Perkins-Young syndrome, is a rare condition that encompasses a combination of syndromes such as
bronchiectasis,
rhinosinusitis
Rhinosinusitis is a simultaneous infection of the nasal mucosa ( rhinitis) and an infection of the mucosa of the paranasal sinuses (sinusitis). A distinction is made between acute rhinosinusitis and chronic rhinosinusitis.
Background
Because si ...
and reduced male
fertility.
[Young's syndrome - General Practice Notebook]
/ref> In individuals with this syndrome the functioning of the lungs is usually normal but the mucus is abnormally viscous. The reduced fertility ( obstructive azoospermia) is due to functional obstruction of sperm transport down the genital tract at the epididymis
The epididymis (; plural: epididymides or ) is a tube that connects a testicle to a vas deferens in the male reproductive system. It is a single, narrow, tightly-coiled tube in adult humans, in length. It serves as an interconnection between the ...
, where the sperm is found in viscous, lipid-rich fluid.[ The syndrome was named after Donald Young, the ]urologist
Urology (from Greek οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and ''-logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of the urinary-tract system and the reproductive organ ...
who first made observations of the clinical signs of the syndrome in 1972. Possible causes include genetics, and exposure to mercury during childhood, but the cause is unknown.
Causes
Young's syndrome is caused by helminthiasis
Helminthiasis, also known as worm infection, is any macroparasitic disease of humans and other animals in which a part of the body is infected with parasitic worms, known as helminths. There are numerous species of these parasites, which are br ...
where specific parasites are attacking the reproductive organs.
See also
* Infertility
Infertility is the inability of a person, animal or plant to reproduce by natural means. It is usually not the natural state of a healthy adult, except notably among certain eusocial species (mostly haplodiploid insects). It is the normal state ...
* Cystic fibrosis
References
*
External links
Rare diseases
Syndromes affecting the lung
{{respiratory-disease-stub