Asthenozoospermia (or asthenospermia) is the medical term for reduced
sperm
Sperm is the male reproductive cell, or gamete, in anisogamous forms of sexual reproduction (forms in which there is a larger, female reproductive cell and a smaller, male one). Animals produce motile sperm with a tail known as a flagellum, whi ...
motility
Motility is the ability of an organism to move independently, using metabolic energy.
Definitions
Motility, the ability of an organism to move independently, using metabolic energy, can be contrasted with sessility, the state of organisms th ...
. Complete asthenozoospermia, that is, 100% immotile spermatozoa in the ejaculate, is reported at a frequency of 1 of 5000 men.
Causes of complete asthenozoospermia include
metabolic deficiencies, ultrastructural abnormalities of the sperm flagellum (see
Primary ciliary dyskinesia
Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a rare, autosomal recessive genetic ciliopathy, that causes defects in the action of cilia lining the upper and lower respiratory tract, sinuses, Eustachian tube, middle ear, Fallopian tube, and flagella of ...
) and
necrozoospermia
Necrospermia (or necrozoospermia) 'Shukra Dosha'' in Hindi or Sanskritis a condition in which there is a low percentage of live and a very high percentage of immotile spermatozoa in semen.
Necrospermia is usually confused with asthenozoospermia, ...
.
[
It decreases the ]sperm quality
Semen quality is a measure of male fertility, a measure of the ability of sperm in semen to accomplish fertilization. Semen quality involves both sperm quantity and quality
Cryptorchidism, hypospadias, testicular cancer and poor semen quality ma ...
and is therefore one of the major causes of infertility
Infertility is the inability of a person, animal or plant to reproduce by natural means. It is usually not the natural state of a healthy adult, except notably among certain eusocial species (mostly haplodiploid insects). It is the normal state ...
or reduced fertility in men. A method to increase the chance of pregnancy is ICSI ICSI may refer to:
* Intracytoplasmic sperm injection, a medical technique used in assisted reproduction
* International Computer Science Institute, a non-profit research lab in Berkeley, California
* Institute of Company Secretaries of India
...
.[ The percentage of viable spermatozoa in complete asthenozoospermia varies between 0 and 100%.][
]
DNA fragmentation
Sperm
Sperm is the male reproductive cell, or gamete, in anisogamous forms of sexual reproduction (forms in which there is a larger, female reproductive cell and a smaller, male one). Animals produce motile sperm with a tail known as a flagellum, whi ...
DNA fragmentation
DNA fragmentation is the separation or breaking of DNA strands into pieces. It can be done intentionally by laboratory personnel or by cells, or can occur spontaneously. Spontaneous or accidental DNA fragmentation is fragmentation that gradually a ...
level is higher in men with sperm motility
Sperm motility describes the ability of sperm to move properly through the female reproductive tract (internal fertilization) or through water (external fertilization) to reach the egg. Sperm motility can also be thought of as the ''quality'', whi ...
defects (asthenozoospermia) than in men with oligozoospermia
Terms oligospermia, oligozoospermia, and low sperm count refer to semen with a low concentration of sperm and is a common finding in male infertility. Often semen with a decreased sperm concentration may also show significant abnormalities in sperm ...
or teratozoospermia
Teratospermia or teratozoospermia is a condition characterized by the presence of sperm with abnormal morphology that affects fertility in males.
Causes
The causes of teratozoospermia are unknown in most cases. However, Hodgkin's disease, coeliac ...
.male infertility
Male infertility refers to a sexually mature male's inability to impregnate a fertile female. In humans it accounts for 40–50% of infertility. It affects approximately 7% of all men. Male infertility is commonly due to deficiencies in the semen, ...
.
Asthenozoospermia and DHA
In 2015, Eslamian et al. found a correlation between the composition of the sperm lipid membrane and the odds of having asthenozoospermia. The sperm that have more polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) shown better fertility results.
DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is an acid formed by six double bonds which allows the fluidity of the membrane, necessary for the fusion with the ovule.
Studies in mice have shown that DHA is essential for acrosome reaction and a DHA deficiency results in abnormal sperm morphology, loss of motility and infertility; which can be restored by dietary DHA supplementation.
Furthermore, the supplementation with DHA in humans has been reported to increase sperm motility. But also, DHA supplementation can protect spermatozoa against the damage caused by the cryopreservation process.
References
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*
External links
GP Notebook
Testicular infertility factors
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