During 32nd National Conference of Spanish Society for Fertility (SEF)

• Male factor study takes on a strenghtened role in the conference  

• Two out of the three finalist papers on basic research dealt with male sterility  

• The Average Sperm Head Area , new success predictor in assisted reproduction treatments  

During 32nd National Conference of Spanish Society for Fertility (SEF), held in Madrid from 16th to 18th May, the valencian assisted reproduction centre CREA was awarded with the first prize for the best scientific paper among hundreds of studies presented.  

On Saturday the 18th May, the Conference’s organising committe decided to award the first prize to the paper entitled  “The Average Sperm Head Area of a sperm sample is a better predictor of altered F.I.S.H. than sperm count or sperm morpholigy”. This research, developed by the specialists of CREA’s Andrology Department, signed by Juan Bataller Sánchez, CREA’s Andrology Lab coordinator, was presented at the Conference by Dr. Miguel Ruiz Jorro, CREA’s co-director and Head of Reproductive Andrology Department at the Clinic.  

According to Dr. Ruíz Jorro: “Among the six studies selected as finalists at the Conference, three were from CREA. Finally, we have been awarded for one of our most important newnesses for male infertility, area of which  we are the only specialized centre in Spain. The aim of our awarded study was to evaluate whether the Average Sperm Head Area is a better predictor of alterations in FISH – fluorescence in situ hybridization- than sperm count or morphology”. 

The Average Sperm Head Area , new success predictor in assisted reproduction treatments  

The Average Sperm Head Area (ASHA) is a new predicting factor of male infertility in assisted reproduction treatments.  It’s a new data prior to requesting FISH, a test analyzing the sperm genetic material to predict the suspect of an altered spermatogenesis, of a possible implantation failure or of recurrent miscarriages.  

“Through the ASHA’s calculation we have been able to verify that it is indeed a parameter with better predicting capacity of altered FISH rather than sperm count or morphology”, explained Dr. Ruíz Jorro.  

Besides the alteration in the spermatogenesis, the study’s result has demonstrated that an altered ASHA is related to lower birth rate after an assisted reproduction treatment. “Being aware of this, after detecting an altered ASHA it could be advisable to perform a FISH on sperm in order to offer a more specific treatment to each couple,  adapting ourselves to their needs”, added the Dr. 

One of the other finalist papers was the one related to Sperm DNA integrity. Single-strand breaks and double-strand breaks can ocurr in the sperm DNA.  Single-strand breaks are usually repaired by the oocyte; however, double-strand breaks are more difficult to repair and they might produce a block in the embryonic development due to mutations and aneuploidies or chromosome irregularities.   

For this reason the paper entitled “Gamma-H2AX identifies more patients with DNA damage than TUNEL for couples with implantation failures” was the second of six finalist works during the Conference. Presented by  Antonio Barberá, biologist of CREA’S Clinic Andrology Department, the results of this research reveal that Gamma-H2AX is a sensitive marker that identifies and distinguishes single-strand and double-strand breaks that might be affecting the sperm in patients with repeated implantation failures.  

Through this marker, it’s possible to guarantee more safety and effectiveness in assisted reproduction treatment than with conventional TUNEL technique. This technique has been the most used until now but it’s not able to differentiate the type of break and therefore it doesn’t help to know the origin of the problem.   

“During the conference, we managed to arise a great interest for the research on fertility problems linked to male factor. Until now, the male has been considered a supporting actor in assisted reproduction treatment, although the clinical practice had already demonstrated that male and female fertility problems are, in the same percentage of cases, the origin of the difficulties to conceive a baby. Thanks to this and to our effort for offering increasingly customized treatments to our patients, we keep investigating and developing tools to solve a problem which is not always dealing with the male reproductive apparatus  with the aim of achieving fertility treatment increasingly safe, simple and effective”, ended Dr. Ruiz. 

Caption: Dr. D. Buenaventura Coroleu (left), co-president of SEF Scientific Committee, giving the award to Dr. Miguel Ruíz Jorro (right), CREA’s co-director and and Head of Reproductive Andrology Department at the Clinic.