Dr. Turek's Blog

Good Job Government!

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

A couple sees a reproductive specialist for infertility. She gets a complete evaluation and he gets a semen analysis checked. It looks like his semen quality is low and they are recommended to pursue in vitro fertilization  (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) to conceive, the highest level of what is termed “assisted reproduction.” They […]

Pros & Cons of DNA Testing

Your DNA Barcode: Pros & Cons of DNA Testing

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

How many of you would take a blood test to learn exactly how long you will live? How about whether or not you will develop dementia? Since the Human Genome Project, many genes and mutations associated with a vast array of diseases are being discovered daily. And now, it’s pretty easy to just put them […]

Metabolomics & the Future of Fatherhood

Metabolomics: The Picture of Fatherhood

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

Call me a nerd, but I have to admit that I am pretty excited about metabolomic technology. Uh, what? Metabolomics is the study of the chemical fingerprints that cells leave behind. It does not look at genes, DNA, RNA, or proteins, but is a peek into the products or metabolites that result from all this genetic orchestration. […]

Circumcision Pros & Cons

For the Good of the Hood

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

To circumcise or not? It’s a loaded subject to be sure. The practice of male circumcision is ancient, likely far older than the biblical account of Abraham in Genesis. The Jewish faith, but not that of the Greeks or Romans, routinely recommended circumcision for newborn males. In the past century, it became “medicalized” as a […]

Getting There Early or On Time: Which is Better?

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

What is the most common sexual health problem affecting men? That’s easy, it’s erectile dysfunction, right? Nope. Try premature ejaculation. Hands down more common than erection issues, affecting 25-40% of men in the U.S. Variably called early ejaculation, or early or rapid climax, it is defined as male ejaculation earlier than the subject or his […]

The Quiet After the The Storm of Cancer

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

I have to admit, the testis “mapping” procedure that I developed some years ago has truly been a workhorse technique for my male infertility practice. And for the practices of other male reproductive specialists around the world as well. Creating fertility from sterility. I bring it up again because it is gathering more attention in […]

Weighing Your Options

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

What you weigh affects how your sperm play. And your fertility. Overweight men tend to have lower semen volumes, less sperm and more oddly shaped sperm. The same is also true for men who are too thin. So, along with the many other health hazards associated with obesity, add poor semen quality to the list. […]

Keeping the Family Jewels Shining

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

As a living, breathing being on this good earth, we tend to take things for granted. The ability to have offspring can be one of them. That is, until the day that a serious medical condition like cancer rears it ugly head and puts childbearing at risk. In addition to the sterilizing effect of cancer […]

A Woman Among Women

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

Excuse my diversion from men’s health, but a very important woman in my life has just passed away. My last grandmother (known as Oma) lived a fiercely independent life for over 99 years, longer than most countries.   She brought our family to America from what is now Czechoslovakia in 1950, after 1000 years of […]

The Symphony of Surgery

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

I spent an evening this past weekend listening to the mighty Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. Listening to their performance of Wagner, Schoenberg and Brahms left me utterly breathless. A magnificent musical experience. Why? Because every single musician thinks and responds incredibly quickly and appears to give their all to a whole […]