Sperm morphology and chromatin condensation before and after semen processing

Semen analysis constitutes the most important investigation of male inferti lity. However, the true anomalies present in defective sperm cells have bee n only partially characterized. The integrity of the sperm chromatin may pl ay the most important role, particularly in ICSI, where most of the natural selection mechanisms are bypassed. This study was carried out to character ize sperm morphology (strict criteria), to evaluate chromatin condensation and sperm count in native semen as well as after semen preparation by the s wim-up technique, and to eventually evaluate any correlation between these parameters. Semen from 90 men was analyzed for the above parameters in both the fresh and processed semen. Whereas the sperm count decreased after spe rm preparation by the swim-up technique in comparison to the value in the F resh semen (p < .001), there was an increase in the percentage of morpholog ically normal (p < .001) and chromatin-condensed sperm (p = .99). However, there was no correlation between sperm morphology, chromatin condensation, and sperm count either in the fresh or in the processed semen samples. Thes e results suggest that sperm morphology, sperm count, and chromatin condens ation are independent parameters that should be evaluated separately in the assessment of male fertility in an assisted reproduction program.