Analysis of DNA damage in men's sperm cells – the Sperm Comet test
It is more than just the number of sperm cells and their motility that is important for a man's fertility.
As most people know, the genetic material, DNA, in a woman's eggs deteriorates with age, making it more difficult for her to get pregnant and have children. It turns out the same is true for men.
At Medicus we can offer a DNA damage analysis in collaboration with the British company Examen. This test is called the Sperm Comet test and provides information about the degree of DNA damage in the sperm cells. The degree of DNA damage shows a good correlation with the man's fertility.
What does the test answer?
The test provides answers to three parameters:
- average DNA damage per sperm cell in the sample (%)
- the proportion of sperm with low DNA damage (%)
- the proportion of sperm with high DNA damage (%).
This is the only test that quantifies the degree of DNA damage in individual sperm cells and only requires a minimum of 5000 sperm cells to perform the test.
What can DNA damage in sperm cells lead to?
DNA damage in a man's sperm cells manifests itself in several ways. It can lead to reduced fertility, abnormal development of the fertilized eggs, or repeated premature termination of pregnancies.
The Sperm Comet test is the only DNA test that is sensitive enough to predict poor fertilization ability, poor embryo development and thus also the quality of the blastocyst on day 5.
What can we do with the results of the test?
Based on the results of the test, we can either provide advice and guidance on how to reduce DNA damage in the sperm cells themselves or we can create a treatment plan based on the information from the Sperm comet test.
