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Objective: To determine whether translocation carriers have a reduced number of usable blastocysts compared with infertile controls., Design: Retrospective cohort study., Setting: Single infertility practice., Patient(s): All cycles of balanced translocation carriers undergoing in vitro fertilization with preimplantation genetic testing for structural rearrangements at a single infertility center compared with an age-matched control cycles of infertile patients undergoing preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy from January 2012 to August 2022., Intervention(s): Balanced translocation carriers., Main Outcome Measure(s): The primary outcome measures were blastulation rate, usable blastulation rates, and live birth rate (LBR). The secondary outcome measures were sustained implantation rate, fertilization rate, number of oocytes retrieved, number of metaphase II oocytes, total blastulation failure, number of 2-pronuclear embryos, and number of euploid embryos. Outcome measures were compared between male translocation carriers and controls, female translocation carriers and controls, and Robertsonian and reciprocal translocation carriers., Result(s): A total of 1,291 retrieval cycles from 993 patients were included, of whom 255 patients were translocation carriers, whereas 738 were controls. Of those with translocations, 30 (11.5%) were Robertsonian carriers, and 231 (88.5%) were reciprocal carriers. There was a statistically significant difference in the blastulation rate between carriers and controls (59.5% vs. 62.1%). However, usable blastulation rates (47.2% vs. 50.0%) were equivalent between groups. There were no differences in the number of oocytes retrieved (18.5 vs. 18.3), number of 2-pronuclear embryos (13.4 vs. 12.5), sustained implantation rate (71.9% vs. 75.1%), or LBR (63.3% vs. 66.1%) between translocation carriers and controls. In both male and female translocation carriers vs. controls, there were no differences in usable blastulation rates or LBRs. When comparing Robertsonian with reciprocal translocation carriers, the rates of blastulation, usable blastulation, sustained implantation, and live birth were equivalent., Conclusion(s): Despite fewer euploid embryos, there were no differences in the rates of usable blastulation or live birth in balanced translocation carriers, regardless of sex of affected partner or type of rearrangement, compared with controls. Routine karyotyping for blastulation failure may not be necessary on the basis of these findings., Competing Interests: Declaration of Interests K.N.L. has nothing to disclose. M.M. has nothing to disclose. N.G.P. has nothing to disclose. L.L. has nothing to disclose. A.S.-M. has nothing to disclose. J.F. reports travel support from Ferring Pharmaceuticals for the ASPRIe Annual Meeting. E.O. has nothing to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To investigate whether leukocytospermia (defined as the presence of ≥ 1 × 10 6 white blood cells/mL) affects clinical and embryologic outcomes in in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A)., Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study including 5425 cycles between January 2012 to December 2021 at a single large university-affiliated fertility clinic. The primary outcome was live birth rate (LBR)., Results: The prevalence of leukocytospermia was 33.9% (n = 1843). Baseline characteristics including female age, BMI, AMH, Day 3 FSH, and male partner's age were similar in cycles with and without leukocytospermia. The LBR after the first euploid embryo transfer was similar in those with and without leukocytospermia (62.3% vs. 63% p = 0.625). Secondary outcomes including clinical pregnancy rate (CPR), sustained implantation rate (SIR), fertilization (2PN) rate, blastulation rate, and aneuploidy rate were also evaluated. The CPR (73.3% vs 74.9%, p = 0.213) and SIR (64.6% vs. 66%, p = 0.305) were similar in both groups. The 2PN rate was also similar in both groups (85.7% vs. 85.8%, p = 0.791), as was the blastulation rate per 2PN (56.7% vs. 57.5%, p = 0.116). The aneuploidy rate was not significantly different between groups (25.7% vs 24.4%, p = 0.053). A generalized estimation equation with logistic regression demonstrated that the presence leukocytospermia did not influence the LBR (adjusted OR 0.878; 95% CI, 0.680-1.138)., Conclusion: Leukocytospermia diagnosed just prior to an IVF cycle with PGT-A does not negatively impact clinical or embryologic outcomes., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Despite advances in the field of male reproductive health, idiopathic male infertility, in which a man has altered semen characteristics without an identifiable cause and there is no female factor infertility, remains a challenging condition to diagnose and manage. Increasing evidence suggests that oxidative stress (OS) plays an independent role in the etiology of male infertility, with 30% to 80% of infertile men having elevated seminal reactive oxygen species levels. OS can negatively affect fertility via a number of pathways, including interference with capacitation and possible damage to sperm membrane and DNA, which may impair the sperm's potential to fertilize an egg and develop into a healthy embryo. Adequate evaluation of male reproductive potential should therefore include an assessment of sperm OS. We propose the term Male Oxidative Stress Infertility, or MOSI, as a novel descriptor for infertile men with abnormal semen characteristics and OS, including many patients who were previously classified as having idiopathic male infertility. Oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) can be a useful clinical biomarker for the classification of MOSI, as it takes into account the levels of both oxidants and reductants (antioxidants). Current treatment protocols for OS, including the use of antioxidants, are not evidence-based and have the potential for complications and increased healthcare-related expenditures. Utilizing an easy, reproducible, and cost-effective test to measure ORP may provide a more targeted, reliable approach for administering antioxidant therapy while minimizing the risk of antioxidant overdose. With the increasing awareness and understanding of MOSI as a distinct male infertility diagnosis, future research endeavors can facilitate the development of evidence-based treatments that target its underlying cause., Competing Interests: None of the authors declares competing financial interests. The authors do not have any potential interest in promoting MiOXSYS., (Copyright © 2019 Korean Society for Sexual Medicine and Andrology.)

Traditionally, the success of a researcher is assessed by the number of publications he or she publishes in peer-reviewed, indexed, high impact journals. This essential yardstick, often referred to as the impact of a specific researcher, is assessed through the use of various metrics. While researchers may be acquainted with such matrices, many do not know how to use them to enhance their careers. In addition to these metrics, a number of other factors should be taken into consideration to objectively evaluate a scientist's profile as a researcher and academician. Moreover, each metric has its own limitations that need to be considered when selecting an appropriate metric for evaluation. This paper provides a broad overview of the wide array of metrics currently in use in academia and research. Popular metrics are discussed and defined, including traditional metrics and article-level metrics, some of which are applied to researchers for a greater understanding of a particular concept, including varicocele that is the thematic area of this Special Issue of Asian Journal of Andrology. We recommend the combined use of quantitative and qualitative evaluation using judiciously selected metrics for a more objective assessment of scholarly output and research impact.

Many couples present fertility problems at their reproductive age, and although in the last years, the efficiency of assisted reproduction techniques has increased, these are still far from being 100% effective. A key issue in this field is the proper assessment of germ cells, embryos and endometrium quality, in order to determine the actual likelihood to succeed. Currently available analysis is mainly based on morphological features of oocytes, sperm and embryos and although these strategies have improved the results, there is an urgent need of new diagnostic and therapeutic tools. The emergence of the - OMICS technologies (epigenomics, genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics) permitted the improvement on the knowledge in this field, by providing with a huge amount of information regarding the biological processes involved in reproductive success, thereby getting a broader view of complex biological systems with a relatively low cost and effort.