Reliability for the Detection of Sperm DNA Damage by a Sperm Chromatin Dispersion Test (Halosperm)

Evaluation of the Reliability for the Measurement of Sperm DNA Damage by a Sperm Chromatin Dispersion Test (Halosperm)

It is proposed to measure sperm DNA damage by sperm chromatin dispersion test. This measurement helps to better diagnose male infertility and seems easy to apply in routine. However, the reliability of this method needs to be evaluated before applying for clinical practice in andrology laboratory.

The aim of this study is to measure the inter and intra-observer reliability for the measurements of sperm DNA damage by sperm chromatin dispersion test (halosperm). The gold standard to measure sperm DNA damage is TUNEL (Terminal desoxynucleotidyl end labelling) method. However, this method is not easy to apply in routine. Therefore we investigate to analyse the inter-method reliability between sperm chromatin dispersion test and TUNEL.

Inclusion Criteria:

• infertile men
• <50 years
• with at least 5.106spermatozoa/ml in the ejacu

Exclusion Criteria:

• azoospermia