Often the treatment option is to seek assisted reproduction technologies such as “ICSI” (where sperm is injected directly in to the egg). Whist these techniques often achieve fertilisation, they are often associated with increased rates of miscarriage and adverse clinical outcomes. This is because the sperm often have high levels of oxidative stress and DNA damage. This project seeks to develop a new and robust diagnostic test of sperm quality based in levels of oxidative stress with the hope of this work leading to targeted treatment options or even preventative regimes in the future.
Dr Geoffry De Iuliis