Significant reduction of sperm disomy in six men: effect of traditional Chinese medicine?

Infertility is a common problem that affects approximately 15% of the population. Although many advances have been made in the treatment of infertility, the molecular and genetic causes of male infertility remain largely elusive. This review will present a summary of our current knowledge on the genetic origin of male infertility and the key events of male meiosis. It focuses on chromosome synapsis and meiotic recombination and the problems that arise when errors in these processes occur, specifically meiotic arrest and chromosome aneuploidy, the leading cause of pregnancy loss in humans. In addition, meiosis-specific candidate genes will be discussed, including a discussion on why we have been largely unsuccessful at identifying disease-causing mutations in infertile men. Finally clinical applications of sperm aneuploidy screening will be touched upon along with future prospective clinical tests to better characterize male infertility in a move towards personalized medicine.

Section: Future Clinical Perspectives For Male Factor Infertilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Meiotic recombination and male infertility: from basic science to clinical reality?

Hann¹,

Lau²,

Tempest³

2011

“…For the manual analysis, strict scoring criteria were applied as previously described [29,30]. In brief, hybridization efficiency greater than 95%, sperm nuclei of similar size, intact and not overlapping, signals clearly located in the nuclei, distinct, of similar size and intensity with at least one signal distance apart for the same chromosome (to be scored as disomic) and two copies of the gonosomes and autosomes were to be scored as diploid.…”

Section: Sperm Aneuploidy Scoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scoring of sperm chromosomal abnormalities by manual and automated approaches: qualitative and quantitative comparisons

Tempest¹,

Cheng²,

Gillott³

et al. 2009

Self Cite

It is now well known that levels of sperm disomy correlate to levels of infertility (as well as other factors). The risk of perpetuating aneuploidy to the offspring of infertile males undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) has become a hotly debated issue in assisted reproduction; however, there remain barriers to the practical implementation of offering sperm disomy screening in a clinical setting. The major barrier is the operator time taken to analyze a statistically meaningful (sufficient) number of cells. The introduction of automated 'spot counting' software-hardware combinations presents a potential solution to this problem. In this preliminary validation study, we analyzed 10 patients, both manually and using a commercially available spot counter. Results show a statistically significant correlation between both approaches for scoring of sperm disomy, but no correlation is found when scoring for diploid sperm. The most likely explanation for the latter is an apparent overscoring of two closely associated sperm heads as a single diploid cell. These results, and similar further studies that will ensue, help to inform cost-benefit analyses that individual clinics need to carry out in order to decide whether to adopt sperm aneuploidy screening as a routine tool for the assessment of sperm from men requiring ICSI treatment.

“…5,6 There have been few previous reports describing reductions in sperm aneuploidy levels, the relationship between sperm aneuploidy and natural or assisted reproduction, and the associated changes in sperm concentration, motility and morphology. A significant reduction in sperm aneuploidy levels has been detected after varicocele repair 7 and in men with idiopathic OAT who were treated with traditional Chinese medicine 8 or with recombinant follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). 9 Improvements in sperm concentration, motility and morphology occurred in the study involving varicocele repair, 7 but not in the studies involving treatment with traditional Chinese medicine or FSH.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…9 Improvements in sperm concentration, motility and morphology occurred in the study involving varicocele repair, 7 but not in the studies involving treatment with traditional Chinese medicine or FSH. 8,9 No study has evaluated whether a reduction in sperm aneuploidy is associated with an improvement in natural and/ or assisted reproductive fathering.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One previously published study reported improved semen parameters and reduced sperm aneuploidy levels 7 at the same time, whereas two others only reported reduced sperm aneuploidy levels. Tempest et al 8 used traditional Chinese medicine, and Piomboni et al 9 used human recombinant FSH therapy. These differences may be explained by differences in the populations studied and the therapeutic regimens.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Reduction in sperm aneuploidy levels in severe oligoasthenoteratospermic patients after medical therapy: a preliminary report

Cavallini¹,

Magli²,

Crippa³

et al. 2012

The objective of this study was to investigate whether medical therapy can reduce sperm aneuploidy levels and improve the results of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in patients with severe idiopathic oligoasthenoteratospermia (OAT). Thirty-three infertile couples requiring ICSI because of severe idiopathic OAT after at least one unsuccessful ICSI cycle were considered. Semen parameters (concentration, motility and morphology), the percentage of aneuploid sperm and the results of ICSI (the number of oocytes fertilized, embryos transferred, biochemical pregnancies, clinical pregnancies and live births) were compared before and after a 3-month course of treatment with L-carnitine 1 g given twice per day1acetyl-L-carnitine 500 mg given twice per day1one 30-mg cinnoxicam tablet every 4 days. Aneuploidy was assessed using fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) performed on chromosomes X, Y, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21 and 22. The results showed that 22 of the 33 patients had a reduced frequency of aneuploid sperm and improved sperm morphology after treatment (group 1), and 11 showed no change (group 2). The numbers of biochemical pregnancies, clinical pregnancies and live births were significantly higher in group 1 than in group 2. No significant difference was found between the groups regarding the numbers of oocytes fertilized and embryos transferred. The side effects were negligible. The numbers of ICSI pregnancies and live births in severe idiopathic OAT patients improved with a course of L-carnitine, acetyl-L-carnitine and cinnoxicam.