2023-06-14 21:50:57
According to the World Health Organization (OMS), the male is responsible for almost half of the couple’s infertility cases, a fact known as the male factor. Given this, science has turned its attention to spermatozoa to improve the rates of fertilization.
Various studies have revealed that the sperm count in the world today is half what it was almost thirty years ago. Many men have low sperm quality, low speed, poor concentration and abnormal shapes. Under these conditions, achieving fertilization of the egg is much more difficult.
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Male infertility has different causes. It can be caused by genetic or infectious problems such as varicocele, which forms varicose veins at the testicular level and reduces sperm production. Some drug treatments can also cause problems.
In addition, lifestyle influences: “andl alcohol, drug use, sedentary lifestyle and poor diet can affect male infertility in the long term”, explains Dr. Álvaro Ascenzo Aparicio, gynecologist and expert in assisted fertility at the Miraflores Clinic.
Given this, science has developed in recent years a series of methods to combat male infertility and one of them is PICSI or Physiological ICSI, a technique that allows selecting the most competent sperm to improve fertilization rates.
How does it work?
PICSI selects the most suitable gametes in man based on their ability to bind to a substance called Hyaluronic Acid (HA), the main component of the cells that surround the egg.
According to the specialist, those spermatozoa, or gametes, that have completed a correct maturation process are capable of developing specific receptors to join HA.
“Only gametes with these characteristics will be able to approach the cells that surround the ovum, pierce the hyaluronic acid and reach the oocyte to fertilize it. Therefore, it is considered that these spermatozoa are of higher quality and have greater integrity in their genetic material than those conventionally selected by observation.”says the specialist.
PICSI is performed in sterile culture dishes, where HA hydrogel microdots are placed. Those gametes that adhere to this acid are carefully selected and removed with a micropipette. The technique was designed to improve the practice of Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), in which a single sperm is selected and injected into the egg to achieve fertilization.
The selection of spermatozoa with this technique allows obtaining better fertilization and pregnancy rates, as well as reducing the chances of abortion. For this reason, its use is recommended in those couples with poor sperm quality in the male or in those who have undergone an ICSI cycle and have not obtained the desired results.
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