MAIN FINDINGS An intriguing yet perplexing case report of a successful pregnancy and live birth with intracytoplasmic sperm injection using normal testicular sperm, after the finding of azoospermia in the semen analysis and discovering only tail stump abnormal sperm in the epididymis. Case hypothesis: A tail stump sperm defect of genetic origin was suspected. However, after obtaining normal tes...

BACKGROUND The intracytoplasmic sperm injection procedure ending with total fertilization failure is very distressfull event for both the clinician and the patient. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to identify independent factors which could be used to identify total fertilization failure before the day of intracytoplasmic sperm injection. MATERIALS AND METHODS This was a retrospective s...

It is estimated that the male factor contributes to half of the infertility in couples attending for assisted reproductive techniques (ART). Therefore the semen analysis remains the starting point to evaluate main causes of infertility and in case of oligospermic semen the assessment of sperm morphology may help to choose the best spermatozoon to use for the intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IC...

Obstructive azoospermia secondary to epididymal obstruction can be corrected by microsurgical reconstruction with vasoepididymostomy (VE). Although alternative management such as epididymal or testicular sperm aspiration in conjunction with intracytoplasmic sperm injection is feasible, various studies have established the superior cost-effectiveness of VE as a treatment of choice. Microsurgical...

OBJECTIVE To measure sperm DNA integrity values before and after varicocelectomy in patients with elevated preoperative levels of sperm DNA fragmentation. DESIGN Retrospective. SETTING Private urology clinic. PATIENT(S) Eleven patients with grade 1, 2, or 3 varicocele. INTERVENTION(S) Varicocelectomy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) Sperm DNA fragmentation values were assessed before and afte...

Artificial oocyte activation to overcome failed fertilization after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in human oocytes typically employs Ca2+ ionophores to produce a single cytosolic Ca2+ increase. In contrast, recombinant phospholipase Czeta (PLCz) causes Ca2+ oscillations indistinguishable from thoseoccurring during fertilization, but remains untested for its efficacy in a scenario of I...

Artificial oocyte activation to overcome failed fertilization after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in human oocytes typically employs Ca(2+) ionophores to produce a single cytosolic Ca(2+) increase. In contrast, recombinant phospholipase Czeta (PLCζ) causes Ca(2+) oscillations indistinguishable from those occurring during fertilization, but remains untested for its efficacy in a scenar...

While the semen analysis has traditionally been relied upon to differentiate fertile and infertile men, its utility has been questioned in the current era of assisted reproductive technologies. The desire for more sophisticated diagnostic and predictive tools has led to increased use of sperm DNA damage in the management of male infertility. Despite the availability of numerous assays to measur...

OBJECTIVE To explore potential relationships between sperm DNA integrity and both semen parameters and clinical outcomes. METHODS Semen analysis of 498 samples was performed according to the 2010 criteria of the World Health Organization. The sperm DNA fragmentation Index (DFI) of the semen samples was assessed using a neutral comet assay. RESULTS Sperm DFI showed a significant correlation ...

A total of 740 cycles of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) were performed: 625 cycles when < 6 x 10(5) total motile spermatozoa were harvestable from the ejaculate and 115 cycles in cases with a history of previous fertilization failure after classic in-vitro fertilization or subzonal sperm injection. An average of two pronuclei were observed in 63% of the injected oocytes, allowing 725 t...