Abstract
Based on the results of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in 56 couples, the power was assessed of traditional sperm characteristics of native semen to discriminate between in vitro fertile and in vitro infertile semen. The number per ejaculate of spermatozoa with regular oval heads was the best discriminant, followed by the concentration of progressively motile spermatozoa. This contrasts with the in vivo fertilizing capacity, which depends mostly on the proportion and concentration of spermatozoa with rapid linear progression. The lower limit of sperm characteristics was assessed as the fifth percentile of in vitro fertile semen and was compared with the lower limit of semen of fertile men and of subfertile men who achieved spontaneous or treatment-related conception in vivo. It appeared that the semen quality needed for in vitro fertilization is inferior to that of fertile men but not remarkably different from that of subfertile men who achieved spontaneous conception during 1-year follow-up after consultation. If conventional methods for semen preparation are used, there seems to be no major advantage in favor of IVF for the treatment of male infertility due to sperm deficiency. An increased success rate may, however, be attained, thanks to improved techniques of semen collection, semen preparation, and oocyte insemination.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Wood C, McMaster R, Rennie G, Trounson A, Leeton J: Factors influencing pregnancy rates following in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. Fertil Steril 1985;43:245–249
Cohen J, Edwards R, Fehilly C, Fishel S, Hewitt J, Purdy J, Rowland G, Steptoe P, Webster J: In vitro fertilization: A treatment for male infertility. Fertil Steril 1985;43:422–426
Collins JA, Wrixon W, Janes LB, Wilson EH: Treatment independent pregnancy among infertile couples. N Engl J Med 1983;309:1201–1206
Hull MGR, Glazener CMA, Wardle PG, McLaughlin EA, Sykes JA: Male infertility: Sperm penetration of mucus related to natural and in-vitro fertility. XIth World Congress of the International Federation of Fertility Societies, Singapore, 1986
Comhaire F: A simple model and empirical method for the estimation of spontaneous pregnancies in couples consulting for infertility. Int J Androl 1987;10:671–680
Barwin BN: Intrauterine insemination of husband's semen, J Reprod Fertil 1974;36:101–106
Kerin JFP, Kirby C, Peek J, Jeffrey R, Warnes GM, Matthews CD, Cox LW: Improved conception rate after intrauterine insemination of washed spermatozoa from men with poor quality semen. Lancet 1984;1:533–534
Quagliarello J, Arny M: Intracervical versus intrauterine insemination: correlation of outcome with antecedent postcoital testing. Fertil Steril 1986;46:870–875
Comhaire F, Vermeulen L, Schoonjans F: Reassessment of the accuracy of traditional sperm characteristics and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in estimating the fertilizing potential of human semen in vivo. Int J Androl 1987;10:653–662
Edwards RG: In vitro fertilization and embryo replacement: Opening lecture. Ann NY Acad Sci 1985;442:1–22
Veeck LL, Wortham JWE, Witmyer J, Sandow BA, Acosta AA, Garcia JE, Jones GS, Jones HW: Maturation and fertilization of morphologically immature human oocytes in a program of in vitro fertilization. Fertil Steril 1983;39:594–602
Hellinga G: Clinical Andrology. London, William Heinemann Medical Books, 1976
Hinting A, Schoonjans F, Comhaire F: Validation of a single step procedure for the objective assessment of sperm motility characteristics. Int J Androl 1988;11:277–287
World Health Organization: Laboratory Manual for Semen Analysis and Sperm Cervical Mucus Interaction, rev ed. London/New York, Cambridge University Press, 1987
Turner DA: An intuitive approach to receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. J Nucl Med 1978;19:213–224
Robertson EA, Zweig MH: Use of receiver operating characteristic curves to evaluate the clinical performance of analytical systems. Clin Chem 1981;27:1569–1574
Griner PF, Mayewski RJ, Mushlin AI, Greenland P: Selection and interpretation of diagnostic tests and procedures. Principles and applications. Ann Intern Med 1981;94:553–600
Gerris J, Khan I: Correlation between in vitro fertilization and human sperm density and motility. J Androl 1987;8:48–51
Acosta AA: Sperm manipulation. IV Pan American Congress of Andrology, Serono Symposium on Human Reproduction, Programs and Abstracts, 1987, p 20
Aitken RJ, Best FSM, Richardson DW, Djahanbakhch O, Templeton A, Lees MM: An analysis of semen quality and sperm function in cases of oligozoospermia. Fertil Steril 1982;38:705–711
World Health Organization: Workshop on the standardized investigation of the infertile couple.In Fertility and Sterility, RF Harrison, J Bonnar, W Thomson (eds). Lancaster/Boston/The Hague/Dordrecht, MTP Press, 1984, pp 427–441
World Health Organization (FH Comhaire, DM De Kretser, TT Farley, PJ Rowe): Towards more objectivity in diagnosis and management of male infertility. Int J Androl 1987;Suppl 7:1–53
Russel LD, Rogers BJ: Improvement in the quality and fertilizing potential of a human sperm population using the rise technique. J Androl 1987;8:25–33
Hinting A, Comhaire F, Vermeulen L, Dhont M, Vermeulen A, Vandekerckhove D: Possibilities and limitations of techniques of assisted fertilization for the treatment of male infertility: Preliminary results (submitted for publication)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Comhaire, F.H., Vermeulen, L., Hinting, A. et al. Accuracy of sperm characteristics in predicting the in vitro fertilizing capacity of semen. J Assist Reprod Genet 5, 326–331 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01129567
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01129567