Comparison of the aneuploidy frequency in embryos derived from testicular sperm extraction in obstructive and non-obstructive azoospermic men.
BACKGROUND
The use of ICSI has been a major breakthrough in the treatment of male infertility. Even azoospermic patients with focal spermatogenesis in the testis (not sufficient to spill over into the ejaculate) may benefit from the technique. Previous reports suggest a higher pregnancy rate after ICSI treatment in patients with obstructive azoospermia (OA) compared to their non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) counterparts, which could be due to a higher aneuploidy frequency in the embryos of the latter group. We therefore conducted a prospective cohort study to compare the aneuploidy frequency of the screened embryos between the two groups.


METHODS
From May 2001 until September 2003, we offered couples with an OA or NOA partner ICSI in combination with preimplantation genetic diagnosis for aneuploidy screening.


RESULTS
No difference in age (30.6 and 33.5 years) or stimulation parameters was observed between the two groups; 53 and 60% of the embryos were abnormal in the NOA and OA groups respectively (P = not significant).


CONCLUSIONS
The aneuploidy frequency in embryos obtained from NOA as well as OA men is similar and very high, despite the young age of their female partners.
Platteau
P
P
Centre for Reproductive Medicine, University Hospital, Dutch-speaking Brussels Free University (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), 1090, Belgium. peter.platteau@az.vub.ac.be
Staessen
C
C
Michiels
A
A
Tournaye
H
H
Van Steirteghem
A
A
Liebaers
I
I
Devroey
P
P
D000328:Adult; D000782:Aneuploidy; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009845:Oligospermia / Q000601:surgery*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D020554:Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic; D013094:Spermatozoa; D013737:Testis; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting