Poor sperm DNA integrity

[chuotcon]

Hi everyone.  After 6x IUI and 3 failed ISCI ( none had BFP) i did alot of tests and they came out all clear.  Last month, we did the DNA fragmentation for the sperm and the result was > 30% poor DNA integrity. Please advice me what is the next best thing to do beside using sperm donor.  Has anyone have this problem?  Is there a solution to overcome this?  Thank heaps

[moorebaby]

dh & i are in the same boat. we've done 2 rounds of ivf with icsi. 1st cycle was a bfp with a miscarriage & the 2nd cycle was a bfn, which we just got last week. i have no issues. dh had low/poor everything...count, morphology, motility. for our last cycle, we were referred to a urologist specializing in male infertility. he recommended tesa. can you believe we got NOTHING....well we got something, just none of the sperm had any motility. thank god dh produced a fresh ejaculate specimen prior to the tesa & they were able to retrieve 14 sperm to icsi with 14 mature eggs out of teh 21 they got from me. however, only 2 fertilized. we were sad, but knew that it only takes 1, so we were positive. the 2 were dividing perfectly, exactly like they should every day. we did a 3dt with both of them...a 9-cell slightly fragmented & an 8-cell medium fragmented. we were really optimistic, but we got a bfn. when we got the news, my clinic said it's due to the poor sperm #s & possibly dna. they recommended donor sperm just like they did with the bfp that we miscarried. i'm assuming it's protocol that they mention donor sperm, but we are not ready for that. so we have a follow-up appointment with dh's urologist this friday. we are planning on bringing up the sperm dna fragmentation test that i found about on the internet....the lab is in south dakota & it's not that expensive. i also found on the internet that after the test is done it's a good idea to go on a strict regimen of antioxidants & vitamins c, d, & e & to also eat foods high in those vitamins & antioxidants. then repeat the dna test in 3 months to see if there's any improvement. it's also important to cut out stress & toxins since both are known to damage cells & dna. in addition, getting acupuncture or massages could help...that i know my dh will love. so if we go based on this plan, we will try again in july/august.

[chuotcon]

Thanks Gi,

The test is different from Semen Analysis which just tests Sperm mobility, counts , shape.  Sperm Chromatin Structure Assay tests DNA integrity.  Unfortunately, the test is not part of the normal procedure before doing IUI or ISCI due to it's not common for men who are < 60 yrs old .  But it's only recommended if there is history of miscarrage or unexplain inferty ( after all other tests done and they all clear).  The test itself costs about $500, which is not expensive compare to ISCI or IUI.  I highly recommend this test if everythingelse come clear.



To

[GiGiGiGi]

Here is an article I found:
http://www.asrm.org/Media/Practice/The_clinical_utility.pdf

In the article there is some info on therapies to reduce sperm DNA damage.  Hope this is helpful!

[GiGiGiGi]

Just wondering what test they did to diagnose poor DNA integrity.  That sounds a little more in-depth than the standard Semen Analysis.  I ask because we are dealing with unexplained infertility - just wondering if there is something else the RE should be testing for before we move on to expensive IUI & IVF.

All the best,

Gigi

[Kricket212]

I am sorry this has test came back with poor sperm.  I am concerned with why the Dr's did your IUI & IVF without checking the sperm first.  Doing IVF we don't get many chances to begin with, why would he wait?  
Did your hubby go to urologist yet? I would suggest that & see what he says.