Modified sperm stress test: a simple assay that predicts sperm-related abnormal in-vitro fertilization

Loss of sperm motility is associated with the process of sperm senescence a nd occurs at different rates within a given normal or abnormal sperm popula tion, Reactive oxygen species attack cell membrane phospholipids, generatin g fatty acid peroxides and other degradation products, that also have delet erious 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 meta ls and shortening the total test time, to ascertain whether it can predict fertilization under these laboratory conditions. A total of 41 semen sample s was obtained from patients undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) at our institution. Semen samples were grouped into those producing total fertili zation 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 statisti cally significant correlation between the MOST score and ungrouped fertiliz ation rates (r = 0.53, P = 0.0004), Diagnostic statistics for MOST ratio va lues 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 betw een MOST and FR categories (P = 0.0009), In conclusion, MOST is a simple as say that has significant predictive value for sperm related IVF abnormaliti es.