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Departments: Molecular Biology and Genetics Preimplantation Genetic Screening
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Male Infertility DepartmentStandard Semen analysis and collection (Percoll test, Swim up analysis) Sperm improvement for Intrauterine Insemination (I.U.I)
Standard Semen analysis and collection (Percoll test, Swim up analysis) Semen is collected by masturbation into sterile plastic container after 3-5 days of sexual abstinence. Longer period of abstinence (> 10 days) may be advantageous. The patient must be able to transport the semen sample at body temperature to the center within 30-60 min, otherwise parameters such as motility and sperm vitality might be alter.
Sperm improvement for Intrauterine Insemination (I.U.I) Intrauterine insemination is the alternative method for couples with no serious fertility problems. This method can be applied in cases with “good” quality semen values after specific preparation and improvement of spermatozoa in culture media. For a successful I.U.I, semen
values after the final preparation should be between 5-10 million spermatozoa/ml
of semen with minimal of 9% “good motility” and 8% of normal morphology
according to World Health Organisation criteria. The chance for conception is
higher with increasing total motile sperm count or more than 75% motile
spermatozoa after swim
up. Testing for antibody – coating of spermatozoa It is known that male infertility maybe due to immunological problems, in particular, the production of antibodies against his own spermatozoa. The screening test for antibodies is performed on the fresh semen sample. The test is important because these antibodies have the ability to form agglutinations, cause problems to sperm motility and also inhibit the penetration of spermatozoa inside to the oocytes. The anti-sperm antibodies can be produced by female partner, as well. In this case, the test is performed on woman’s cervical mucus.
Sperm Vitality test In any given semen sample, the sum of dead and live sperm is 100%. Live sperm are either motile or immotile. The vitality test makes it possible to differentiate spermatozoa that are immotile but alive from those that are dead. This sperm assay reflects the sperm membrane integrity, and in particular, the sperm head region.
Semen analysis constitutes the most important investigation of male infertility. The sperm morphology, motility, and concentration represent the three most important factors in the assessment of male reproduction potential. It has been postulated that the existence of subtle sperm abnormalities that are unrecognized by conventional semen analysis may explain reproduction failure in men. Such defects are thought to be associated with chromatin packaging in sperm nucleus. Poor chromatin packaging and possible DNA damage may contribute to failure of sperm decondensation and subsequently fertilization failure or habitual abortion following fertilization. This test is useful to couples with unexplained infertility, in cases, which the man has no obvious semen problems.
Sperm DNA fragmentation test Sperm DNA integrity has been associated with male fertility. Investigators have demonstrated that sperm with high percentage of spermatozoa with DNA fragmentation have very low potential of fertilization. An increased rate of apoptotic spermatozoa has been found in couples with unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss. In addition, the percentage of spermatozoa with DNA fragmentation correlates negatively with fertilization rates in both in vitro fertilization (IVF) and ICSI. The DNA fragmentation test can provide an answer to many cases of “unexplained” infertility. Also, the test provides an insight to the infertility problem when assisted conception is used, because using spermatozoa with damaged DNA for IVF or ICSI may lead to paternal transmission of defective genetic material with adverse consequences for embryo development.
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