Correlation Between Morphological Semen Parameters And Sperm Nuclear Dna Damage: Focus On The Nuclear Vacuoles

Since the introduction of ICSI for treating male factor infertility in ART in 1992. it becomes more and more apparent that increased ratios of DNA fragmentation in spermatozoa is one of the main paternal-derived causes of repeated IVF failures. As was shown, selection of the morphologically best sperm under common magnification with standard (Kruger's) criteria does not translate into higher pregnancy (PR) and delivery rates because specific morphological malformations remain undetected. In this study was analysed the ICSI selected sperm population by MSOME (motile sperm organellar morphology examination) and the correlation between the presence of nuclear vacuoles (NV) and DNA damage. Results of this study reveal that selected sperms with normal nuclei have significantly less DNA damage than those with NV (13;5% compared to 78.7%. respectively). Furthermore, only 30.5% of ICSI selected sperms were free of any morphological abnormality; These data show that MSOME is a powerful tool for sperm selection before fertilization. This technique helps to increase the chance of finding sperm without damaged DNA or chromosomal abnormalities;