The impact of paternal factors on cleavage stage and blastocyst development analyzed by time-lapse imaging-a retrospective observational study.

Purpose: Various time-lapse studies have postulated embryo selection criteria based on early morphokinetic markers. However, late paternal effects are mostly not visible before embryonic genome activation. The primary objective of this retrospective study was to investigate whether those early morphokinetic algorithms investigated by time-lapse imaging are reliable enough to allow for the accurate selection of those embryos that develop into blastocysts, while of course taking into account the correlation with the type of injected spermatozoa.

Dietary supplementation of antioxidants improves semen quality of IVF patients in terms of motility, sperm count, and nuclear vacuolization.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the influence of an oral antioxidative supplementation on sperm quality of in vitro fertilization (IVF) patients, as analyzed by sperm motility according to the WHO criteria and motile sperm organelle morphology examination (MSOME).

Methods: Semen samples were collected from 147 patients before undergoing an IVF/intracytoplasmic morphologically-selected sperm injection (IMSI) cycle and 2 - 12 months after an antioxidative supplementation. Semen analysis was evaluated according to WHO and MSOME criteria.

Sperm head vacuoles are not affected by in-vitro conditions, as analysed by a system of sperm-microcapture channels.

Since the introduction of the motile sperm organelle morphology examination, there has been increasing recognition of the fact that the presence of large nuclear vacuoles might have deleterious effects on embryo development. Nevertheless, one fundamental question still being debated is whether specific in-vitro conditions during the handling of semen have an impact on vacuole formation. This study's objective was to analyse whether incubation temperature (20, 37°C) or oxidative stress stimulates the formation of nuclear vacuoles.

Blastocyst development after sperm selection at high magnification is associated with size and number of nuclear vacuoles.

Spermatozoa selection at high magnification before intracytoplasmic sperm injection seems to be positively associated with pregnancy rates after day 3 embryo transfers. The aim was to demonstrate an association between the presence of vacuoles in sperm nuclei and the competence of embryos to develop to day 5. Grading of spermatozoa at x 6000-x 12,500 magnification: grade I, no vacuoles; grade II, or=1 large vacuole; grade IV, large vacuoles with other abnormalities.