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The occurrence and identification of round spermatids in the ejaculate of men with nonobstructive azoospermia
1Group of Infertility Research, University of Granada Faculty of Sciences, Spain.
Objective:
To evaluate the occurrence of round spermatids in the ejaculate of men suffering from nonobstructive azoospermia as a prerequisite for the therapeutic use of round spermatid injection into oocytes.
Design:
Prospective study.
Setting:
University-based diagnostic and research laboratory.
Patient(S):
Azoospermic men previously thought to be definitively infertile whose cases were revisited in view of the novel method of fertilization by round spermatid injection into oocytes.
Intervention(S):
Smear preparations of cells from patients' ejaculates were stained by three different methods: Papanicolaou, fluorescein-labeled Pisum sativum agglutinin binding, and antiacrosin antiserum immunolabeling.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Search for round spermatids in smear preparations of cells from azoospermic ejaculates.
Result(S):
Of 124 azoospermic men examined, 36 (69%) had round spermatids in the ejaculate. the quantity of round spermatids was not related to serum FSH concentration.
Conclusion(S):
Variable quantities of round spermatids can be detected in the ejaculate of most patients with nonobstructive azoospermia. High serum FSH levels do not predict the absence of spermatids.