Reliable male infertility test on the way

About half of all infertility cases are focused on the man. And now there is a new test for male infertility which will save time, money and emotional heartbreak.

The breakthrough is called Sperm Comet and it was created by Professor Sheena Lewis who leads the Reproductive Medicine research group at Queen’s University in Belfast. She has more than a decade of research backing the new product.

“Until now, there have been few accurate ways of measuring a man’s fertility. Traditionally the diagnosis of male infertility has relied on semen analysis. This provides the basic information on which fertility specialists base their initial diagnosis. However, its clinical value in predicting male fertility or success with infertility treatment is limited, particularly if the semen analysis results are normal. The SpermComet test is so called because it looks just like a comet in the sky. The head of the ‘Comet’ is undamaged DNA and the tail is damaged DNA. From the tail of the ‘comet’ we can measure exactly the amount of damaged DNA in each individual sperm. Good quality sperm DNA is closely associated with getting pregnant and having a healthy baby, and the SpermComet Test is the most sensitive test available for sperm DNA testing,” said Professor Lewis.

With the number of infertile couples increasing by about 5% in Europe alone each year, there is a market for this new product. Testing is going on right now is already available in many clinics in Europe.

Source: Queen’s University Belfast, Medical News Today