Cytogenetic and andrological status and ICSI-results in couples with severe male factor infertility

Aim: To pursue whether cytogenetic aberrations correlate with specific sper matological or hormonal abnormalities. Methods: 305 infertile couples were investigated. All male partners were referred to a complete andrological wo rkup with physical examination, determination of hormones, HIV testing and semen analysis. Cytogenetic analysis was carried out in both partners by me ans of standard techniques using cultured lymphocytes from peripheral blood . Results: Among the 305 couples, 10 men (3.2%) and 10 women (3.2%) showed constitutional chromosomal aberrations, including reciprocal translocations (n = 7), Robertsonian translocations (n = 3), inversions (n = 3 ), other s tructural aberrations (n = 4) and sex chromosome aberrations (n = 3). In ad dition to the impaired sperm count in most of the patients, a tendency to a n increased proportion of spermatozoa with acrosome defect was observed. Co nclusion: Chromosomal aberrations may contribute to the low fertilization a nd pregnancy rates in the infertile couples.