OBJECTIVE To analyze cases in which no sperm could be identified after thawing among cryopreserved samples of rare or very low concentrations of sperm. DESIGN Retrospective, single-institution, cross-sectional. SETTING Male infertility clinic. PATIENT(S) We identified couples that underwent intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with the use of either ejaculated or testicular cryopreserv...

background: cryopreservation of semen requires optimized conditions to minimize the harmful effects of various stresses. the main approach for protection of sperm against stress is based on the use of antioxidants and cryoprotectants, which are described as defensive methods. recently, the application of controlled mild stressors has been described for activation of a temporary response in oocy...

To examine the inter-species difference of sensitivity to mercury toxicity in whales, total mercury (T-Hg), methyl mercury (MeHg) and selenium (Se) levels in the liver, kidneys and muscle of three whales (common minke whales Balaenoptera acutorostrata; Bryde’s whales B. edeni; sperm whales Physeter. macrocephalus) were measured. T-Hg and MeHg were higher in the order of sperm whale > common min...

UNLABELLED Male infertility is one of the most stressful factors of couples, being present in about 40% cases. It is usually caused by a low number of sperm (oligozoospermia) or poor sperm motility (asthenozoospermia). The sperm motility is used as an indicator of semen quality and male infertility. To the impairment of male reproduction health can contribute genetic, nutritional and environmen...

A comparative approach was used to evaluate the cryosurvival of turkey and crane sperm frozen in a dimethylacetamide (DMA) cryodiluent supplemented with osmoprotectants and ATP. A range (6-26%) of DMA concentrations was used alone or in combination with ATP (30, 60 or 118mM) or one of the following osmoprotectants: (1) sucrose (turkey, 8.0%; crane, 5.0%); (2) 5.0% sucrose and 5.0% trehalose; or...

BACKGROUND The hypo-osmotic swelling (HOS) test evaluates the ability of the functional sperm plasma membrane to stretch following cell swelling when exposed to hypo-osmotic solutions. Sperm samples with low HOS scores show low fertilization and pregnancy rates during assisted reproductive techniques, though data are controversial. The aim of this study was to compare the results of the HOS tes...

In vitro incubation and centrifugation is known to decrease human sperm quality. In the human body, besides its antioxidant effects, L-carnitine (LC) facilitates the transport of activated fatty acids from the cytosol to the mitochondrial matrix. In this study, we investigated the effect of LC on human sperm motility, viability and DNA oxidation after incubation and centrifugation, following th...

Why are sperm so variable despite having a singular, critical function and an intimate relationship with fitness? A key to understanding the evolution of sperm morphology is identifying which traits enable sperm to be successful fertilizers. Several sperm traits (e.g., tail length, overall size) are implicated in sperm performance, but the benefits of these traits are likely to be highly contex...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the probable effects of leptin addition in different levels to the semen extender on sperm quality (motility and motility parameters, viability, sperm membrane integrity, and DNA damage). Semen specimens were evaluated immediately after leptin addition, equilibration time and after thawing the frozen semen. Five healthy buffalo bulls (5 ejaculates from ...