BACKGROUND The sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) has been suggested as a predictor of fertility in vivo as well as in vitro. The available data however, have been based on limited numbers of treatments. We aimed to define the clinical role of SCSA in assisted reproduction. METHODS A total of 998 cycles [387 intrauterine insemination (IUI), 388 IVF and 223 ICSI] from 637 couples were incl...

In vitro growth culture systems for oocytes are being developed in several mammalian species. In these growth culture systems, in vitro grown oocytes usually have lower blastocyst formation than in vivo grown oocytes after in vitro fertilization. Furthermore, there have been a few reports that investigated the fertilization ability of in vitro grown oocytes in large animals. The purpose of this...

There has and will continue to be reproductive techniques available that have a positive impact upon the equine breeding industry. This review focuses on semen technologies that have been developed or are in the process of being developed. The use of fluorescent dyes and flow cytometry has provided the researcher and clinician with powerful tools to evaluate several sperm attributes. These proc...

Our objective was to determine whether pregnancy rates in heat-stressed dairy cattle could be enhanced by timed embryo transfer of fresh (nonfrozen) or frozen-thawed in vitro-derived embryos compared to timed insemination. Ovulation in Holstein cows was synchronized by a GnRH injection followed 7 d later by PGF2 alpha and a second treatment with GnRH 48 h later. Control cows (n = 129) were inse...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate whether several clinical variables can affect the pregnancy rate of intracervical insemination (ICI) using cryopreserved donor spermatozoa. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this retrospective study, age, years of infertility, cervicitis, urinary luteinizing hormone (LH) surge, insemination number, uterus position, endometrial thickness and morpholog...

Research up to 1993 is reviewed. Various methods for processing, freezing and thawing of semen have been elaborated and their effect on survival and fertility of spermatozoa have been examined in vitro or in fertility tests. Diluents initially used for freezing bull semen had their limitations and were modified or replaced by new media. The freezing diluents investigated included citrate-sugar-...

The impact of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) on cryopreserved zygotes and embryos was evaluated by comparing embryo survival and implantation between embryos derived from ICSI and those derived from standard insemination procedures. The study included patients whose excess zygotes and embryos were cryopreserved between September 1993 and December 1994 and who subsequently underwent a f...