SOME CASES OF HUMAN MALE-INFERTILITY ARE EXPLAINED BY ABNORMAL IN-VITRO HUMAN SPERM ACTIVATION

Objective: To determine if a human sperm activation assay can be used to evaluate males exhibiting otherwise unexplained infertility. Design : Sperm from age-matched fertile and idiopathic infertile males were a ssayed in the human sperm activation assay and the results were compar ed. A portion of the sperm from the idiopathic infertile males also wa s used in assisted reproductive technology (ART) attempts at pregnancy . Patients: Idiopathic infertile couples who had extensive fertility t esting with no identified problems that would explain their infertilit y. Fertile males that had fathered one or more children. Main Outcome Measures: Sperm nude ar decondensation-recondensation and DNA synthesi s. Pregnancies resulting from ART using semen from a male whose sperm responded abnormally in the human sperm activation assay. Results: Thi rteen (22%) of 59 idiopathic infertile males produced sperm that respo nded abnormally in the human sperm activation assay. Only 1 (1.7%) of 59 fertile males produced sperm that responded abnormally in the human sperm activation assay. The percentage of abnormal responders in the patient group exhibiting unexplained infertility was significantly hig her than in the fertile male group. No sperm samples that responded ab normally in the human sperm activation assay resulted in pregnancies w hen used in ART. Conclusions: The human sperm activation assay is a ne w and independent indicator for some cases of infertility that otherwi se would be unexplained. The human sperm activation assay appears to h ave utility in determining a sperm sample's efficacy for fertilization in ART attempts at pregnancy.