Human Reproduction, Vol 13, 2484-2488, Copyright © 1998 by Oxford University Press
JC Calamera, GF Doncel, SB Olmedo, P Kolm and AA Acosta
Loss of sperm motility is associated with the process of sperm senescence
and occurs at different rates within a given normal or abnormal sperm
population. Reactive oxygen species attack cell membrane phospholipids,
generating fatty acid peroxides and other degradation products, that also
have deleterious effects on sperm motility and fertilizing ability. The
objective of this investigation was to study a modification of the original
sperm stress test (MOST), changing the culture medium to one offering
transitional metals and shortening the total test time, to ascertain
whether it can predict fertilization under these laboratory conditions. A
total of 41 semen samples was obtained from patients undergoing in-vitro
fertilization (IVF) at our institution. Semen samples were grouped into
those producing total fertilization rates (FR) within normal limits
(>50%) and those showing low total FR (<50%). The normal FR group had
a significantly greater MOST mean value than the low FR group (0.71 versus
0.44). Furthermore, there was a statistically significant correlation
between the MOST score and ungrouped fertilization rates (r = 0.53, P =
0.0004). Diagnostic statistics for MOST ratio values predicting <50% FR
showed an optimal threshold of 0.39. Collectively, sensitivity,
specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value have
their largest values at this threshold. Taking into account the above
mentioned threshold figures, there is a significant association between
MOST and FR categories (P = 0.0009). In conclusion, MOST is a simple assay
that has significant predictive value for sperm related IVF abnormalities.
ARTICLES
Modified sperm stress test: a simple assay that predicts sperm-related abnormal in-vitro fertilization
Laboratorio de Estudios en Reproduccion, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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