X-Message-Number: 12349
Date: Mon, 30 Aug 1999 21:45:49 -0400
From: Jan Coetzee <>
Subject: cryopreserved sperm

Arch Androl 1997 Jul-Aug;39(1):33-8

Effect of centrifuge speed, refrigeration medium, and sperm
washing medium on cryopreserved sperm quality after
thawing.

Sharma RK, Vemulapalli S, Kohn S, Agarwal A

Department of Urology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio 44195, USA.

Cryopreservation and subsequent thawing of semen for assisted
reproductive procedures
decreases sperm motility; motility further reduces when the
cryoprotectant medium is removed
because of the osmotic shock and centrifugation done to prepare the
sperm. To compare motility
and thus pregnancy rates, this study examined the effects of adding an
additional refrigeration
medium and three different centrifugation speeds for sperm preparation.
Semen samples from 16
healthy normal volunteers were obtained by masturbation after 48 h of
abstinence. Sperm
motility and other motion characteristics were analyzed with a
computer-assisted semen
analyzer before freezing, after thawing, and after centrifugation. Each
sample was divided into 6
aliquots and frozen using the liquid nitrogen vapor method. After
thawing, human tubal fluid
(HTF) with 5% human serum albumin was added to 3 aliquots, and
refrigeration medium
(identical to freezing medium without glycerol) was added to the
remaining 3 tubes for each
specimen. The tubes containing the two media were then washed by
centrifugation at 100 g, 300
g, and 500 g for 10 min. Aliquots with refrigeration medium did not
significantly differ from
those with HTF for percent motility, curvilinear velocity, straight-line
velocity, and amplitude
of lateral head displacement at any centrifugation speed. Motile sperm
count was significantly
greater only at 100 g and 300 g for refrigeration medium (p = .02 and
.01) and HTF (p = 0.001);
at 300 g, average path velocity in refrigeration medium aliquots (p =
.01) and linearity in HTF
(p = .01) were greater. The results indicated that the reduction in
motility and other motion
characteristics probably cannot be overcome by changing factors such as
the sperm preparation
medium or centrifugation speed. More effective cryopreservation
techniques or preparation
methods that eliminate centrifugation need to be developed.

PMID: 9202831, UI: 97346414

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