what infections can cause dna fragmentation?is Imsi successful at by passing ?

[Cuppppatea]

Husband has 45 % fragmentation, seeing a urologist is out at the moment. We need to find the cause of the fragmentation. I wonder how much is normal for his age ?

does anyone know what specific infections can cause dna frag? Would the GP be able to help with this maybe?

how effective is Imsi at bypassing it ?

He’s already started to lower caffeine which is a good start I guess.

[DianeArnold Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK]

Hi Fupppatea. Usually GU infections, such as chlamydia. Diane

[soccerkt6]

Hi lovely, since he's not up for seeing a urologist I'd look into ordering the Male Microbiome test from Fertilysis (fertilysis.com/ ) for him. He would collect a semen sample at home and then post it back to the lab in Greece and you'll get your results via email a few weeks later. If anything comes back abnormal then you could bring the results to your GP and ask them to prescribe the appropriate medication.

Your GP might be willing to order a basic urine test for him to check for infections, but it's not as sensitive as a semen culture so I'm not sure it's worth doing tbh. As Diane said, the most common genital tract infections are things like chlamydia, gonorrhoeae, mycoplasma, ureaplasma, trichomonas, gardnerella and herpes simplex.

[Cuppppatea in reply to soccerkt6]

Thanks so much for your reply - I just looked at your bio and you have a long experience with dna frag it seems. He his taking lcarnitine among a few other supplements and I really wonder if that is affecting it. Is 45 considered too high to conceive naturally then ? It has to be fixed and we have to find the cause ?! He’s so annoyingly stubborn - having said that dr Ramsey waiting list is 3 months.

It’s annoying that we’ve had two rounds of icsi already without knowing this info.

[soccerkt6 in reply to Cuppppatea]

I know, it's so frustrating that advanced fertility investigations for men (like dna frag) are still treated as optional by many doctors. It's such a waste of time and money - not to mention the emotional and physical toll - to go through IVF without a full understanding of what issues are present.

One of our doctors told us that you need below ~25% fragmentation in order to have a chance of conceiving naturally. And that tracked with our experience... we conceived a few times when my husband's frag was in the 30s but had early miscarriages with all of them.

L-carnitine is good for sperm so it's a good idea for him to keep taking that, but if there is an external factor like infection or varicocele then supplements alone won't make a massive difference.

Could you perhaps book in with Dr Ramsay (don't mention it to husband 😵) and then maybe in 3 months' time he'll have come around to the idea of seeing someone? You could always cancel your appointment if he's still being stubborn at that point, though in my experience my husband almost always came around to new ideas after he'd had a chance to digest them for a while. And in the meantime, you might ask your GP to refer your husband for an ultrasound to check for varicoceles.

Best of luck! xx

[soccerkt6 in reply to soccerkt6]

I also just remembered that Fertility Solutions offers a semen culture test. It might be easier and faster to get it done through there rather than through Fertilysis.

[Cuppppatea in reply to soccerkt6]

Thanks so much. Just looking at the results - it means 42 % fragmentation detected right? The bottom bit is confusing and we didn’t complete our consultation.

[soccerkt6 in reply to Cuppppatea]

Yes, 42% fragmentation is your result. This is the average percentage of DNA fragmentation per sperm in the semen sample.

The bottom numbers are just additional information that I wouldn't worry about. They basically mean that about 1 in 4 (27%) of your husband's sperm are unhealthy (i.e. have high levels of DNA frag) and about 1 in 3 (32%) are healthy and have low levels of fragmentation.

[Cuppppatea in reply to soccerkt6]

It just makes me feel like there is absolutely no hope for us now….with my old eggs and rubbish amh and his dna frag. It’s likely to be July before we get on another round somewhere. In the mean time I know we can’t get pregnant naturaly so that’s another three months gone. It’s so hard to hold hope. X

[VariR]

Mr Tet Yap is another leading andrologist in London. There is not such a long waiting list and he was brilliant.

[Cuppppatea]

Just to clarify - this means 42 % fragmentation ? The part bellow is confusing and my consultation was cut short.

The info graphic with results is confusing...

[PinkPanther1234]

Hi, when I asked my consultant about DNA fragmentation test she advised us to use IMSI instead, as they would look in the sperm head much closer and pick the best - it's basically a stronger microscope. Cost £200. Perhaps not great advice as I have no idea on DNA fragmentation and perhaps looking at other replies testing and getting to the cause may be the best course. But just thought I'd mention in case this helps. X

[Daisy2024]

Hi there, I came across your post as my partner has just been diagnosed with 42% DNA fragmentation. We are three years down the road in our journey. Have several euploids but all have failed to implant. So we are making going embryo's but the doc said there could be DNA micro deletions.

Did you go to a specialist? What did they day? I am in a bit of shock as I have just been diagnosed with adenomyosis. I am 41 and my partner is 42.

Any advice or knowledge would be really helpful!

Thanks

[Cuppppatea in reply to Daisy2024]

We went to someone for tests - I will DM the name. To be honest I have no idea on treatment ( she suggested seeing a urologist) because the mad thing is I am now 22 weeks pregnant. Natural conception, so close to the consultation it’s crazy.

[Daisy2024 in reply to Cuppppatea]

Congrats! That is great news! 42% is high but it isn't 90%... and with ICSI they pick the good sperm. A good one must have found your egg

You have given me hope!! and will look into your recommended Dr.