title: Pregnancy rates are higher with intracytoplasmic morphologically selected sperm injection than with conventional intracytoplasmic injection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To verify whether microinjection into retrieved oocytes of motile spermatozoa with morphologically normal nuclei, strictly defined by high power light microscopy (x >6000), improves the IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) pregnancy rate in couples with repeated ICSI failures.
  
  
  METHODS
  Comparative prospective study testing routine IVF/ICSI outcome parameters against those of modified ICSI based on morphological selection of spermatozoa with normal nuclei.
  
  
  METHODS
  Male factor fertility laboratory and IVF center.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-two couples, with at least two previous consequent pregnancy failed ICSI cycles, underwent a single ICSI trial preceded by morphological selection of spermatozoa with normal nuclei. Fifty of these couples were matched with couples who underwent a routine ICSI procedure at the same IVF center and exhibited the same number of previous ICSI failures.
  
  
  METHODS
  Standard ICSI and modified ICSI.
  
  
  METHODS
  ICSI pregnancy rate.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The matching study revealed that pregnancy rate after modified ICSI was significantly higher than that of the routine ICSI procedure (66.0% vs. 30.0%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Microinjection into retrieved oocytes of selected spermatozoa with strictly defined morphologically normal nuclei improves significantly the incidence of pregnancy in couples with previous ICSI failures.
authors.affiliation: Male Fertility Laboratory, Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel. bartoob@mail.biu.ac.il
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bartoov
authors.forename: Arie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Berkovitz
authors.forename: Fina
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Eltes
authors.forename: Avraham
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kogosovsky
authors.forename: Arie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yagoda
authors.forename: Hanna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lederman
authors.forename: Shira
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Artzi
authors.forename: Moshe
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.forename: Yona
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Barak
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008845:Microinjections; D009865:Oocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D013076:Sperm Count; D020554:Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000166:cytology* / Q000473:pathology; D017211:Treatment Failure