Conception Chances Magnified by Giant Sperm - They are 15 centimetres long with heads as big as 10¢ pieces - and they've never been seen on this scale. Fertility specialists at IVF Australia have developed technology which magnifies human sperm by 7300 times its normal size - about 18 times larger than they have ever been seen.
The digital imagery gives scientists their clearest picture yet of which sperm are most capable of fertilisation. The technique is being used to help men whose partners have experienced repeated infertility or miscarriages due to DNA damage to sperm or significant morphology problems, such as sperm with oddly shaped or multiple heads.
Some sperm appear normal when magnified 400 times, the largest magnification previously available, but when blown up 7300 times, it is clear their heads have tiny holes in them where the chromatin, or DNA, is housed. This makes them unable to fertilise an egg.
The medical director of IVF Australia, Peter Illingworth, said the imagery was a breakthrough for couples struggling with sperm problems. ''Our experience has shown this technique produces more fertilised eggs, more embryos to transfer or freeze, and a significantly higher pregnancy rate than was possible before.''
The technique has been tested on a group of couples who failed to achieve a pregnancy in 34 cycles of treatment. Once scientists were able to magnify the sperm, 22 further cycles produced eight pregnancies.
The first sperm, (a), is the highest quality possible. The others have oddly shaped or multiple heads.
''And in that group of pregnancies, there have been no miscarriages," Associate Professor Illingworth said.
The patients in the pilot program had an average of 30 per cent DNA-damaged sperm, considered to be in the mid-to-high range, or had less than 4 per cent of normally shaped sperm.
DNA damage can be genetic or can be caused by environmental or lifestyle factors such as smoking, obesity and diabetes. Exposure to toxins, including chemotherapy, can also damage the chromatin, as can some genital tract infections.
At the Westmead laboratory, a sperm sample on a petri dish is put under the microscope and checked for motility - or each sperm's ability to move quickly in a forward direction. The sperm are then slowed in a viscous solution so their shape can be more easily assessed. A template is held over the head of each sperm on the computer screen to determine its size and shape.
The best ones will fit perfectly into the template, with egg-shaped heads and no visible patches or holes. They are pushed to the sides of the dish where their tails are given a sharp smack with a pipette, to disable them. They are then ready to be injected into an egg.
The new digital imaging will cost patients an extra $200, but Simon Cooke, the director of the clinic's ART laboratory services, said it could potentially save patients about $6000 on each treatment cycle. It also eliminated the need for men to have surgery to have their damaged sperm removed from their testes, a procedure which often costs about $2000.
Sally Deeb, 25, had four miscarriages before her doctor diagnosed a problem with her husband's sperm. She is now 18 weeks' pregnant with her first child and will use the imaging process again next time she wants to conceive.
''Having a miscarriage isn't easy. It was very emotionally hard. So knowing this worked straight away, we'll be using it next time.'' ( sydney morning herald )
The digital imagery gives scientists their clearest picture yet of which sperm are most capable of fertilisation. The technique is being used to help men whose partners have experienced repeated infertility or miscarriages due to DNA damage to sperm or significant morphology problems, such as sperm with oddly shaped or multiple heads.
Some sperm appear normal when magnified 400 times, the largest magnification previously available, but when blown up 7300 times, it is clear their heads have tiny holes in them where the chromatin, or DNA, is housed. This makes them unable to fertilise an egg.
The medical director of IVF Australia, Peter Illingworth, said the imagery was a breakthrough for couples struggling with sperm problems. ''Our experience has shown this technique produces more fertilised eggs, more embryos to transfer or freeze, and a significantly higher pregnancy rate than was possible before.''
The technique has been tested on a group of couples who failed to achieve a pregnancy in 34 cycles of treatment. Once scientists were able to magnify the sperm, 22 further cycles produced eight pregnancies.
The first sperm, (a), is the highest quality possible. The others have oddly shaped or multiple heads.
''And in that group of pregnancies, there have been no miscarriages," Associate Professor Illingworth said.
The patients in the pilot program had an average of 30 per cent DNA-damaged sperm, considered to be in the mid-to-high range, or had less than 4 per cent of normally shaped sperm.
DNA damage can be genetic or can be caused by environmental or lifestyle factors such as smoking, obesity and diabetes. Exposure to toxins, including chemotherapy, can also damage the chromatin, as can some genital tract infections.
At the Westmead laboratory, a sperm sample on a petri dish is put under the microscope and checked for motility - or each sperm's ability to move quickly in a forward direction. The sperm are then slowed in a viscous solution so their shape can be more easily assessed. A template is held over the head of each sperm on the computer screen to determine its size and shape.
The best ones will fit perfectly into the template, with egg-shaped heads and no visible patches or holes. They are pushed to the sides of the dish where their tails are given a sharp smack with a pipette, to disable them. They are then ready to be injected into an egg.
The new digital imaging will cost patients an extra $200, but Simon Cooke, the director of the clinic's ART laboratory services, said it could potentially save patients about $6000 on each treatment cycle. It also eliminated the need for men to have surgery to have their damaged sperm removed from their testes, a procedure which often costs about $2000.
Sally Deeb, 25, had four miscarriages before her doctor diagnosed a problem with her husband's sperm. She is now 18 weeks' pregnant with her first child and will use the imaging process again next time she wants to conceive.
''Having a miscarriage isn't easy. It was very emotionally hard. So knowing this worked straight away, we'll be using it next time.'' ( sydney morning herald )
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