SPERM TREATMENT WITH PENTOXIFYLLINE IMPROVES THE FERTILIZING ABILITY IN PATIENTS WITH ACROSOME REACTION INSUFFICIENCY

Objective: To test whether pentoxifylline, a drug previously shown to sensitize spermatozoa from normal samples to the action of acrosome re action stimuli, can be used to improve the fertilizing ability of sper matozoa from patients with acrosome reaction insufficiency. Design: Pr ospective analysis of pentoxifylline effects on the acrosome reaction and zona-free egg penetration; retrospective comparison of IVF results with and without the use of pentoxifylline. Setting: Private hospital , public research center, and university-based laboratory. Patients: I n vitro fertilization patients selected on the basis of a previous acr osome reaction test. Interventions: None in the experimental part; IVF -ET in the clinical part of this study. Main Outcome Measures: Frequen cy of the acrosome reaction, rate of penetration of zona-free eggs, no rmal fertilization in IVF attempts. Results: Pentoxifylline improves t he acrosome reaction scores and zona-free egg penetration rates in pat ients with acrosome reaction insufficiency. Preliminary clinical exper ience shows an improvement of IVF results in these patients.Conclusion s: In vitro pentoxifylline treatment of spermatozoa to be used in IVF improves the sperm fertilizing ability in patients with acrosome react ion insufficiency. However, the effect of pentoxifylline on the acroso me reaction should be tested individually in each patient before the a pplication of the drug in this new indication.