Anyone had a SCSA test for sperm fragmentation

[NAT025]

Hi All

I was wondering if anyone's DH has had a test called SCSA which checks for DNA / fragmentation damage?
And if it has come back positive, can it be rectified / improved in anyway?

[Mon]

Hi Nat,

My DH had this test done. I cant remember the exact result he got, but it wasnt the best. I think it was around 34%. My DH has triple sperm defect which is low sperm count, poor morphology and fragmented DNA. FS put him on a 3 month detox to see what happened to sperm results. He had to drink black tea 3-4 times a day, freshly squeezed OJ and limit alcohol to just 3 glasses of red wine per week. He tried but he wasnt that good at sticking to it. Hard for him to give up his beer, smokes and drink tea (he doesnt really like it). There was a slight improvement in volume and morphology, but DNA remained the same. I dont think much has been done to fix sperm quality. I would be interested to know. IVF in particular ICSI means that they can isolate the good sperm from the dodgy's and treat the problem this way. It's a business I guess. Ie. just go straight to ICSI and this will bypass the issue - well that is how I feel it has been pitched at us! I would be keen to know if there are ways to fix this!

Mon

[slyder]

But does ICSI isolate sperm without DNA damage? I was reading studies about this yesterday and I got the impression that whilst ICSI certainly allows the best 'appearing' sperm to be chosen, the DNA thinkg is pot luck. I may be wrong.

[belle333]

Hey Slyder - that is my understanding too.

[Amity]

My understanding is that the only thing which will determine DNA fragmentation in an embryo is PGD. They don't "check" sperm, as such, prior to fertilisation.

Good luck...

[slyder]

Divvy, SCSA is a test which solely looks at DNA damage in sperm cells. It isn't routinely performed, and not all labs can do it. But it can be done prior to fertilisation and independent of any embryos.

As for PGD, I'm no expert on it, but I don't think it looks for DNA fragmentation, only genetic abnormalities where a known risk exists.