title: No evidence for a decreased fertilizing potential after in-vitro fertilization using spermatozoa from polyzoospermic men.
abstract: Polyzoospermia is generally recognized as a male factor contributing to infertility and/or recurrent abortion. Although a reduced spermatozoal fertilizing capacity is assumed to be involved, so far there is no conclusive explanation for the assumed reduced reproductive performance in these patients, and data on the fertilizing capacity of spermatozoa from polyzoospermic men are lacking. The present study therefore aimed at analysing the outcome after in-vitro fertilization (IVF)-embryo transfer in polyzoospermic patients. Retrospective analysis showed that only 0.5% out of 7863 IVF cycles were performed with spermatozoa from polyzoospermic men. The outcome of these IVF cycles shows neither a reduction in spermatozoal fertilizing capacity nor an increase in pregnancy wastage in cycles in which a pregnancy was obtained. These results may suggest a normal reproductive potential in polyzoospermic patients and therefore the question may be raised whether polyzoospermia represents a real pathological entity leading to infertility.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Reproductive Medicine, University Hospital, Dutch-speaking Brussels Free University (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Belgium.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tournaye
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Staessen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Camus
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Verheyen
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Devroey
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Van Steirteghem
mesh_terms: D004624:Embryo Transfer; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology*