OBJECTIVE To evaluate varicocele effects on conventional semen parameters: sperm DNA fragmentation, chromatin packaging, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and sperm apoptosis. METHODS A cross-sectional study was carried out with semen samples from 2,399 men of couples who attended an infertility clinic. A total of 16.3% (391/2399) of the men were diagnosed with varicocele by a urologist....

Assessment of sperm has over the years by many been regarded as something secondary to assessment of ova, oocytes and embryos. Often the most inexperienced of the laboratory staff have been asked to evaluate the semen sample. It is our belief that the outcome of subfertility treatment could be improved considerably, if semen and sperm assessment would be taken more seriously. This may not be as...

Very few disciplines of medicine have undergone significant and radical advances as reproductive medicine. Male infertility evaluation and treatment, only three decades ago, was in its most primitive form. With the introduction of ICSI, the treatment of male infertility has been revolutionized. However, the understanding and in depth evaluation of this disease has lagged behind the technical ad...

Single-cell pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (SCPFGE) with dual electrode pairs was developed to detect the early stage of DNA fragmentation in human sperm. The motile sperm were purified by the commonly used density-gradient centrifugation technique and subsequent swim-up. The sperm were embedded in a thin film of agarose containing bovine trypsin (20 µg/mL) and were then lysed. Prior to SCPFG...

objective: the aim of this study was to examine the efficiency of ha-binding test and sperm gradient processing method for the selection of sperm with normal protamine, intact dna and normal morphology. materials and methods: the study was conducted on 29 patients undergoing icsi. semen analysis was carried out according to who criteria. semen samples were divided into three equal portions. one...

OBJECTIVE To assess the effects of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor on semen parameters. DESIGN Prospective study. SETTING Academic medical center. PATIENT(S) Thirty-five healthy male volunteers, 18-65 years old. INTERVENTION(S) Paroxetine administration for 5 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) Serum hormone levels, semen analyses, percent sperm DNA fragmentation, and questionnair...

BACKGROUND Whereas studies have revealed that the cryopreservation of human semen increases sperm DNA fragmentation, the mechanisms involved in this type of cryo-injury are largely unknown. Elucidation of these mechanisms may provide insight into preventing such injury. METHODS We obtained 60 semen samples from 60 men and conducted experiments to determine the cause of cryopreservation-induce...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of laptop computers connected to local area networks wirelessly (Wi-Fi) on human spermatozoa. DESIGN Prospective in vitro study. SETTING Center for reproductive medicine. PATIENT(S) Semen samples from 29 healthy donors. INTERVENTION(S) Motile sperm were selected by swim up. Each sperm suspension was divided into two aliquots. One sperm aliquot (experime...

background: there are few studies indicating the detrimental effects of ibuprofen on sperm fertility potential and dna integrity. objective: to determine the effects of ibuprofen on sperm parameters, chromatin condensation and dna integrity of mice. materials and methods: in this experimental study, 36 adult male mice with average weight 37 gr were divided into three groups, including control (...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the presence of programmed cell death in unfertilized oocytes after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), assuming that previous apoptotic events could be correlated with the fertilization failure. DESIGN Comparison of the rate of DNA fragmentation in human oocytes at different stages of maturation soon after pick-up (control) and in unfertilized oocytes after ICSI...