Correlation between sperm DNA integrity and IVF success rate in infertile couples

Assisted reproductive technologies have been used for the treatment of a considerable number of infertile couples. Conduction of several cycles of treatment, spending a lot of time, money and energy and the probable complications accompanying repeated anesthesia have made researchers find ways to predict the outcome of different methods used for the treatment of infertility. Male factor infertility is accountable for fifty percent of infertilities. Although semen analysis is an initial test to evaluate male fertility potentials but the results do not always predict fertilization outcomes. Sperm function tests have been suggested to predict the fertilization rate in ART treatment cycles. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic capabilities of double-stranded DNA in fertilization rate predictions. 100 infertile men were randomly selected. Based on WHO's 1999 criteria, semen analysis for each case was performed. DNA evaluation was performed by using Acridine orange. According to the fertilization rates [FR], the cases were divided into 3 groups: group I with FR>50%, group II with FR<50% and group III with a total fertilization failure [TFF]. The results were analyzed by using ANOVA, correlation coefficient, and calculation of the area under receiver operating characteristic [ROC] plot. The level of significance was considered 5%. For the prediction of DNA normality likelihood and the best cut-off points for the variables, calculation of the area under the ROC plot was employed. There were no significant differences between fertilization rates [FR] and sperm parameters in IVF treatment cycles. Only a weak correlation was observed between tail defects and FR. Regression analysis showed a correlation between double-stranded DNA and fertilization rates [p=O.O4]. The analysis of variance for the mean of double-stranded DNA in cases with FR>50%, FR

[Predictability power of acrosome reaction test in IVF treatment cycles]

It is well known that one of the powerful sperm function tests is the acrosome reaction [AR], which is a prerequisite in the fertilization process. The predictability of sperm fertilizing ability using AR has been suggested for IVF treatment cycles. The aim of study was to assess the power of AR using human follicular fluid [hFF] to predict the fertilization rate [FR] in IVF cycles. This investigation was experimental. During 9 month, 54 different semen samples were collected from infertile men exactly before insemination of retrieved oocytes. Each sample was divided into 4 aliquots and semen analysis [SA] was done on the first aliquot. For Acrosomal reaction, the sperm samples were washed with Ham'sf10 culture media and after 2 hours in 37C[degree sign] incubator, the samples were divided into 3 tubes. The first tube was control, DMSO 1mg/ml was added to the second tube and follicular fluid was added to the third one. The acrosome was stained by double staining method and acrosomal status was examined. The data analysis showed that there are no significant relationships between fertilization, sperm count, fast moving sperms, slow moving sperms, overall sperm motility and morphology. The results also showed that the mean of acrosome reactions in groups with rate 50% were significant [p<0.05]. In addition, using ROC analysis, with cut-off value of 45% for fertilization, a cut-off value of 10.5% was achieved. In order to have a more accurate selection of the method of fertilization, predict the success rate of IVF and prevent possible complications, it is advisable to use acrosome reaction test