ABSTRACT
Two hundred and forty-four cryopreserved semen samples were used for artificial insemination by donor (AID). All samples were examined for motility and concentration. Thirty of the samples resulted in pregnancies. These samples were further examined ultrastructurally. There was no difference in sperm motility or concentration between the samples that did or did not result in a pregnancy. The ultrastructural characteristics of the samples that resulted in pregnancies revealed that only 15% of sperm (SD = 7.67) possessed normal morphology and had undamaged acrosomes after cryopreservation.
Subject(s)
Cryopreservation , Semen Preservation , Spermatozoa/ultrastructure , Acrosome/ultrastructure , Female , Humans , Insemination, Artificial, Heterologous , Male , Microscopy, Electron , Pregnancy , Sperm Count , Sperm Motility , Spermatozoa/abnormalitiesABSTRACT
Sixteen sperm specimens collected from regular healthy donors at Groote Schuur Hospital Sperm Bank were assessed subjectively by phase contrast light microscopy and the results were compared with assessments made by framelapse videography. The same specimens were frozen and thawed and re-assessed by framelapse videography and the results compared with the pre-freeze assessments. The objective cryosurvival was found to be 53%. The subjective assessment varied by an average of 20% from the videographic method. Framelapse videography was found to be a practical reproducible method for assessment of sperm motility where accuracy is essential.
Subject(s)
Preservation, Biological , Sperm Motility , Videotape Recording , Freezing , Humans , Male , MicroscopyABSTRACT
Infants or children who had congenital or neonatal infection with cytomegalovirus (CMV) or herpes simplex virus (HSV) have fewer than 1:30,000 mononuclear cells in their blood lymphocytes preparations that proliferate in cultures stimulated with the corresponding viral antigens. CMV and HSV responder cell frequencies in children and adults whose immunity followed postnatal infection with these viruses are 1:10,000 to 1:20,000. The low precursor frequency after congenital or neonatal infection is not associated with defective antigen processing by monocytes or nonspecific immunosuppression. Phenotypic changes in T cell subsets and the presence of antibody in the subjects suggests that the virus(es) do indeed elicit an immune response, but that this response is quantitatively deficient.
