Teratospermia

Teratospermia or teratozoospermia is a condition characterized by the presence of sperm with abnormal morphology that affects fertility in males.

-spermia,
Further information: Testicular infertility factors
Aspermia—lack of semen; anejaculation
Asthenozoospermia—sperm motility below lower reference limit
Azoospermia—absence of sperm in the ejaculate
Hyperspermia—semen volume above upper reference limit
Hypospermia—semen volume below lower reference limit
Oligozoospermia—total sperm count below lower reference limit
Necrozoospermia—absence of living sperm in the ejaculate
Teratozoospermia—fraction of normally-formed sperm below lower reference limit

Causes

The causes of teratozoospermia are unknown in most cases. However, Hodgkin's disease, coeliac disease, and Crohn's disease may contribute in some instances.[1] Lifestyle and habits (smoking, toxin exposure, etc.) can also cause poor morphology. Varicocele is another condition that is often associated with decreased normal forms (morphology).

In cases of globozoospermia (sperm with round heads), the Golgi apparatus is not transformed into the acrosome that is needed for fertilization.[2]

Symptoms and treatment

The presence of abnormally-shaped sperm can negatively affect fertility by preventing transport through the cervix and/or preventing sperm from adhering to the ovum. Achieving a pregnancy may be difficult.[3]

In testing for teratozoospermia, sperm are collected, stained and analyzed under a microscope to detect abnormalities. These abnormalities may include heads that are large, small, tapered, or pyriform or tails that are abnormally shaped.[4]

Antiestrogens have been shown to be effective in the treatment of teratozoospermia.[3]

Teratozoospermia (including the globozoospermia[5] type), may be treated by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), injecting sperm directly into the egg.[6] Once the egg is fertilized, abnormal sperm morphology does not appear to influence blastocyst development or blastocyst morphology.[6] Even with severe teratozoospermia, microscopy can still detect the few sperm cells that have a "normal" morphology, allowing for optimal success rate.[6]

See also

References
  1. "Etiology of male infertility and Oligo-, Astheno-, Teratospermia (OAT)".
  2. Page 155 in: Hermann Behre; Eberhard Nieschlag (2000). Andrology : Male Reproductive Health and Dysfunction. Berlin: Springer. ISBN 3-540-67224-9.
  3. "Medical treatment of male infertility".
  4. "Endotext.com - Endocrinology of Male Reproduction, Clinical Management of Male Infertility". Archived from the original on 2008-11-21. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
  5. Egashira A, Murakami M, Haigo K, Horiuchi T, Kuramoto T (September 2009). "A successful pregnancy and live birth after intracytoplasmic sperm injection with globozoospermic sperm and electrical oocyte activation". Fertil. Steril. 92 (6): 2037.e5–2037.e9. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2009.08.013. PMID 19800059.
  6. French DB, Sabanegh ES, Goldfarb J, Desai N (March 2010). "Does severe teratozoospermia affect blastocyst formation, live birth rate, and other clinical outcome parameters in ICSI cycles?". Fertil Steril. 93 (4): 1097–1103. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2008.10.051. PMID 19200957.
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