Smoking habits of parents and male: female ratio in spermatozoa and preimplantation embryos

BACKGROUND Previous observations have addressed a decreased male:female ratio associated with smoking. Our aim was to assess whether this effect is observed at the spermatozoa or at the early embryo development. METHODS We retrospectively assessed smoking intake habits of 56 couples included in our preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) program. Three groups were established according to male or female cigarette consumption per day: non-smokers, smokers (1-19 cigarettes per day) and heavy smokers (> or =20 cigarettes per day). Fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) was performed on ejaculated sperm samples to analyse chromosomes X and Y. On day 3, embryos were also analysed. Additionall…

Cigarette Consumption and X-Sperm Enrichment After Swim-Up

Sperm selection by swim-up in terms of deoxyribonucleic acid fragmentation as measured by the sperm chromatin dispersion test is altered in heavy smokers.

Toxic habits and their relationship with male factor infertility have been a matter of investigation in recent years, and smoking is one of the most common lifestyle toxic exposures to harmful substances. The analysis of sperm deoxyribonucleic acid fragmentation after capacitation detected a detrimental effect produced by tobacco, and this deleterious effect alters the sperm swim-up selection process in smokers, although the molecular and cellular basis of this phenomenon remain to be elucidated.

Cigarette smoking affects specific sperm oxidative defenses but does not cause oxidative DNA damage in infertile men

Objective To evaluate the effects of tobacco consumption on the oxidative defenses of sperm, the glutathione system (GS), and sperm DNA oxidation. Design Double-blind experimental study. Setting Andrology laboratory in a university-affiliated private setting. Patient(s) One hundred seventeen semen samples from infertile males. Intervention(s) None. Main Outcome Measure(s) (a) sperm GS enzymatic activity with respect to glutathione peroxidase isoforms GPx-1 and GPx-4, glutathione reductase (GR), and cellular glutathione (GSH) content (n = 29); (b) GPx-1, GPx-4, and GR m RNA expression analysis (n = 33); (c) oxidative DNA damage quantification using OXIDNA assay kit (n = 55). Two groups were …

Report of results obtained in 2,934 women using donor sperm: donor insemination versus in vitro fertilization according to indication.

Objective To demonstrate that the use of donor sperm leads to varying outcome rates and that its use has evolved. Design Retrospective observational cohort study. Setting University-affiliated private IVF setting. Patient(s) Women (2,934) undergoing donor insemination (DI) or IVF with donor sperm (IVF-D). Intervention(s) None. Main Outcome Measurement(s) We evaluated the distribution of the clinical indications for the use of donated sperm, studying the reproductive outcome. Result(s) A total of 1,663 DI (57%) and 1,271 IVF-D (43%) were performed. There were significant differences in the indications for the use of donated sperm (DI vs. IVF-D). Regarding pregnancy rates (PR), cases of nonob…

Impact of chromosomal abnormalities on preimplantation embryo development.

Objectives To evaluate the influence of numerical chromosomal abnormalities on preimplantation embryo development. Methods This study includes 6936 embryos from 1245 women undergoing preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). Indications for aneuploidy screening were: recurrent miscarriages, implantation failure, severe male factor, advanced maternal age, and mixed causes. Embryo biopsy was performed on day 3, and embryos were co-cultured until day 5, when embryo transfer was performed. Results In the aneuploidy screening regimen, normal euploid embryos showed significantly higher blastocyst rates (68.2%) compared to chromosomally abnormal (42.8%, p < 0.0001) and mosaic (53.7%, p < 0.0001) em…

Processing Sperm Samples in HIV-Positive Patients

Human immunodeficiency virus is an important public health problem; about 40 million people around the world are actually infected with HIV type 1 virus. Furthermore, prolonged survival of patients under highly active antiretroviral therapy has given rise to a new demand from SDC couples who wish to have children. HIV serodiscordant couples with the male infected wish to make use of assisted reproduction techniques in combination with semen washing in order to decrease the risk of transmission to the partner or to the newborn. Thus it is essential to test the effectiveness of techniques aimed at reducing HIV and HCV loads in infected semen using molecular biology tests. Nevertheless, its ef…

Effect of different 6-dimethylaminopurine (6-DMAP) treatments on reversible arresting of mono- and tripronuclear embryos at the pronuclear stage

Time-dependent O2 consumption patterns determined optimal time ranges for selecting viable human embryos.

Objective To evaluate correlations between metabolic activity and implantation potential of transferred embryos in a study based on oxygen (O 2 ) consumption (OC) measurements, because O 2 uptake is directly related to the capacity of an embryo to produce energy via adenosine triphosphate. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Infertility institute. Patient(s) Five hundred seventy-five injected oocytes in 56 first oocyte donation cycles with embryo transfer on day 3. Intervention(s) None. Main Outcome Measure(s) We analyzed embryo destination viability and implantation depending on the embryo OC rate obtained from 47,741 measurements (up to 85 measurements per embryo, 2–3 measurements …