Topic
Semen analysis
About: Semen analysis is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 4909 publications have been published within this topic receiving 143225 citations.
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TL;DR: Tests available to assess female fertility appear to be good, sperm motility is the most important factor in semen quality, and pregnancies are possible at very low count levels providing the motility of the few cells present is good.
144 citations
TL;DR: The 21st century has seen the introduction of perhaps the most powerful biotechnology since the development of artificial insemination and cryopreservation, and quick, inexpensive genomic analysis via the use of single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping chips is revolutionizing the cattle breeding industry.
144 citations
TL;DR: It is concluded that the normal swim-up technique caused no more DNA damage to spermatozoa from normal semen samples than a direct swim- up technique that involved no centrifugation step.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Swim-up techniques for sperm separation may have detrimental effects on sperm DNA. We wished to determine whether the normal swim-up method with centrifugation used in our laboratory, which involves a centrifugation step, was harmful to sperm compared with swim-up without centrifugation. METHODS: Semen samples were obtained from patients undergoing IVF or andrology assessment. An aliquot was removed for fixation and subsequent DNA fragmentation determination. The remaining sample was divided into two equal parts, which were subjected to swim-up either with (normal swim-up) or without (direct-swim-up) centrifugation. Semen analysis was performed both before and after swim-up. DNA fragmentation, in spermatozoa previously fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde, was assessed by the terminal transferase-mediated DNA end-labelling procedure (TUNEL). The percentage of spermatozoa with DNA damage after each swim-up technique was compared with that in the original semen sample. RESULTS: DNA damage was <5% in most samples. No significant change in DNA fragmentation was observed between the two swim-up procedures, although the ‘normal’ swim-up sample had significantly less DNA fragmentation than the pre-swim-up sample. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that our normal swim-up technique caused no more DNA damage to spermatozoa from normal semen samples than a direct swim-up technique that involved no centrifugation step.
143 citations
TL;DR: Fertility/fecundity was impaired in CAH males and the frequent occurrence of TARTs resulting in testicular insufficiency appears to be the major cause, but other factors such as elevated fat mass may contribute to a low semen quality.
Abstract: Objective: Fertility in males with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is reported from normal to severely impaired. Therefore, we investigated fertility/fecundity, social/sexual situation, and pituitary– gonadal function in CAH males. Subjects and methods: The patient cohort comprised 30 males, aged 19–67 years, with 21-hydroxylase deficiency. Their fertility was compared with age-matched national population data. For the evaluation of social/sexual factors and hormone status, age-matched controls were recruited (nZ32). Subgroups of different ages (!30 years and older) and CYP21A2 genotypes (null (severe salt-wasting (SW)), I2splice (milder SW), and I172N (simple virilizing)) were also studied. Patients underwent testicular ultrasound examination (nZ21) and semen analysis (nZ14). Results: Fertility was impaired in CAH males compared with national data (0.9G1.3 vs 1.8G0.5 children/father, P!0.001). There were no major differences in social and sexual factors between patients and controls apart from more fecundity problems, particularly in the I172N group. The patients had lower testosterone/estradiol (E2) ratio and inhibin B, and higher FSH. The semen samples were pathological in 43% (6/14) of patients and sperm concentration correlated with inhibin B and FSH. Testicular adrenal rest tumors (TARTs) were found in 86% (18/21). Functional testicular volume correlated positively with the testosterone/E2 ratio, sperm concentration, and inhibin B. Patients with pathological semen had increased fat mass and indications of increased cardiometabolic risk. Conclusions: Fertility/fecundity was impaired in CAH males. The frequent occurrence of TARTs resulting in testicular insufficiency appears to be the major cause, but other factors such as elevated fat mass may contribute to a low semen quality.
143 citations
TL;DR: In a selected group of patients without CC resistance and normal ovarian response following CC stimulation [maximum of three follicles with a diameter of >16 mm at the time of administration of human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG], IUI combined with CC-HCG can be offered as a very safe and non-expensive first-line treatment, at least with an IMC of >1 x 10(6) spermatozoa.
Abstract: This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of the inseminating motile count (IMC) and sperm morphology (using strict criteria) on success rates after homologous intrauterine insemination (IUI) combined with clomiphene citrate (CC) stimulation. A total of 373 couples underwent 792 IUI cycles in a predominantly (87.4%) male subfertility group. The overall cycle fecundity (CF) and baby take-home rate (BTH) was 14.6 and 9.9% respectively. The cumulative CF and BTH (per couple) after three cycles were 30.6 and 21.1% respectively. Overall, sperm morphology and IMC were of no prognostic value using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, but after classifying the study population into different subgroups according to IMC, sperm morphology turned out to be a valuable prognostic parameter in subgroup 1, i.e. IMC 16 mm at the time of administration of human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG)], IUI combined with CC-HCG can be offered as a very safe and non-expensive first-line treatment, at least with a IMC of >1 x 10(6) spermatozoa. In cases with <1 x 10(6) spermatozoa, CC-IUI remains important as a first-choice therapy provided the morphology score is greater than or equal to 4%.
142 citations