Use of recombinant human folliclestimulating hormone in the treatment of male factor infertility
Assessed by RV009 · Systematic reviewer
Assessed on 13 Nov 2025
OverallReviewer's overall integrity assessment, derived from all research questions Some concerns
Resource ripekg:research-integrity-assessment/RIPEA5FB7D7932E6BCAF4
5 Research Questions · 3 Evidence Items
Q1.1 — Does the study have an associated retraction?
Rationale: I agree
Q1.2 — Does the study have an associated expression of concern or other relevant post-publication notice?
Rationale: I chose NO even though the PubPeer analysis failing creates some uncertainty for this study. I proceeded on the basis that the authors were clean unless firm evidence suggested otherwise.
Q1.3 — Do other studies by the research team highlight causes for concern?
Rationale: I agree
Supporting Evidence (1)
Retraction NoticeSource: Retraction Watch database
Expression of phosphodiesterase type 5A in human spermatozoa and influence of its inhibition on motility and functional sperm parameters
10.3275/7142 (opens in new tab)RetractionWatch ID:Record identifier in the Retraction Watch database 17286
Rationale: Notice - Limited or No Information;Removed
About Authors: Carlo Foresta, Foresta, Andrea Garolla, Alberto Ferlin
Q2.2 — Are there concerns relating to the timing or absence of study registration?
Rationale: I agree
Supporting Evidence (2)
Clinical Trial RegistrationSource: Clinical trial registry (e.g. ClinicalTrials.gov, ISRCTN)
No trial registration found
Assessment Rationale:How INSPECT-AI determined the prospective registration status by comparing dates LLM-extracted recruitment start date (normalized_date) is missing or empty.
Study Design EvidenceDates and timelines extracted by INSPECT-AI from the publication text
Recruitment Start: N/A
Recruitment Start Rationale:INSPECT-AI's reasoning for how it identified the recruitment start date No recruitment start date found in the text.
Recruitment End: N/A
Recruitment End Rationale:INSPECT-AI's reasoning for how it identified the recruitment end date No recruitment finish date found in the text.
Study End: N/A
Study End Rationale:INSPECT-AI's reasoning for how it identified the study end date No study end date found in the text.
Overall — What is the overall integrity assessment of the study?
Rationale: I chose “some concerns” because, although the author team has one retracted paper, there is no clear evidence linking that retraction to the paper currently being assessed.