Teratozoospermia or teratospermia is an alteration that occurs in men when more than 95% of their sperm have an abnormal morphology.
Therefore, teratospermia is considered a cause of male infertility due to a sperm factor, and its origin is varied and sometimes unrecognized. This is why the Dawasanté experts provide you with a natural treatment to improve the quality and quantity of your sperm; which will allow you to quickly conceive.
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There are several treatments to be able to conceive a child with sperm affected by teratospermia depending on whether the man's sperm has other spermatic disorders, such as, for example, sperm concentration or mobility.
1-Teratozoospermia: what is it?
Poor morphology of the spermatozoa, indeed the latter can present defects in the head, middle part or neck, or the tail.
The WHO estimates that a man with 4% sperm with a normal form (at least) does not have fertility problems. In lower quantity, we are talking about male infertility by teratospermia. This baseline changed in 2010, previously it was 14%, so it is possible that on other sites you will find that teratospermia is considered to be more than 85% abnormal.
According to the strict Kruger criterion, values equal to or greater than 15% of sperm with normal morphology are considered normal. This criterion is always stricter than that of the WHO, but the WHO is the one that is taken as a global reference.
The count of sperm of good or bad morphology is carried out through a medical examination called a spermogram, where the structure of the sperm is analyzed under a microscope.
There are several laboratories which in addition to the Kruger criteria, add those of the WHO.
If the medical report does not specify the details of the analysis to the laboratory, the parameters dictated by the WHO in 2010 are the reference values used.
Diagnosis of teratozoospermia
2-Causes
Teratozoospermia involves male infertility because the sperm that reach the oocyte are unable to fertilize it due to their poor morphology.
The causes that cause the existence of amorphous sperm in human semen are manifold and difficult to diagnose. Here they are:
- Genetic disorders
- Chemotherapy and radiotherapy
- Seminal infections and orchitis
- Varicocele and other testicular disorders
- Febrile period
- Diabetes or meningitis
- Tobacco, alcohol and drug abuse
- Poor lifestyle: poor diet, exposure to toxic substances, clothes that are too tight
Some of these factors can cause reversible teratozoospermia, which goes away with fever, infection, or periods of stress. In the same way, it is possible to recover a good spermatic morphology by improving one's lifestyle, diet, quitting smoking, etc.
3-Types
Sperm morphology defects are classified according to their position on the head, at the neck or at the tail. However, to diagnose teratospermia, all defects are taken into account.
Sperm is considered normal when it has a head with an oval shape and an acrosome inside. The neck or middle piece is slightly larger than the tail, and the tail is elongated and straight.
After analyzing the morphology of the sperm during the spermogram, it is possible to determine the degree of teratozoospermia depending on the seminal quality. For this, the laboratories use the Kruger criteria. Here is their classification:
- Mild teratozoospermia
- 10% to 14% of spermatozoa have normal morphology.
- Moderate teratozoospemia
- the percentage of normal sperm varies between 5% and 9%.
- Severe teratozoospemia
- less than 5% of sperm have normal morphology.
As we have commented before, it is the WHO criteria that are used to diagnose teratospermia, and therefore, this classification is obsolete. However, it is still possible to find it on some spermograms.
3-1 Teratozoospermia index
This seminal parameter is used to know the number of defects that each sperm has. It is possible that sperm has only one malformation, or several distributed over several parts.
In order to calculate the rate of teratospermia (TZI), we use the following formula: TZI = (c + p + q) / x , where each variable means:
- c = head malformations
- p = malformations of the middle part of neck
- q = tail malformations
- x = total number of abnormal sperm
The interpretation of these results is carried out as follows:
- TZI close to 1
- sperm with abnormalities in one area
- TZI close to 2
- spermatozoa with abnormalities in two areas
- TZI nearly 3
- sperm with defects on the head, neck and tail
It is important to note that the same seminal sample can present sperm of three types: one malformation, two, or three. The rate of teratospermia will indicate which type is most present.
4-Teratospermia and pregnancy
A man with teratospermia could have a natural pregnancy without problems if the rest of the seminal parameters such as concentration or mobility are not affected.
However, in cases where the pregnancy is delayed, it is possible to follow the doctor's recommendations to recover the correct sperm morphology.
On the other hand, if teratospermia has a genetic cause or is congenital, it is more difficult to find an effective treatment to cure it.
4-1 Natural treatments
First of all, men who suffer from teratospermia need to change their lifestyle and put aside bad habits like tobacco or alcohol.
A healthy and balanced diet always helps to recover some of the fertility. In concrete terms, foods rich in antioxidants and essential acids such as L-carnitine help improve sperm quality.
Oily fish is another product rich in omega 3 acids which bring great benefits to human reproductive health.
These nutritional contributions can also be taken by food supplements such as Andean maca or vitamin E supplements, a powerful antioxidant.
4-2 Assisted reproduction (ART)
In the case of fertility treatment to be able to achieve pregnancy and mild teratozoospermia, it is possible to perform artificial insemination (AI), if the concentration and mobility of the sperm allow it.
This is the first option to consider if the woman has no problems with fertility and the only cause of the lack of a pregnancy is teratozoospermia.
Faced with cases of moderate or severe teratospermia, it is necessary to do IVF - ICSI. It is an in vitro fertilization technique that uses the intracytoplasmic injection of sperm for the fertilization of oocytes.
If this topic interests you, you will find information here: IVF.
If you need to undergo IVF treatment to become a mother, we recommend that you use the Fertility Report. In 3 simple steps, which will allow you to know the clinics abroad that meet our rigorous quality criteria. In addition, you will receive a report with useful tips before you make clinic visits.
Finally, there is a new technique which is a variation of the previous one. It is known as IMSI and consists of amplifying the image before the micro-injection to be able to observe the sperm morphology in more detail.
The microscope used by IMSI to select the sperm has an objective that amplifies the image to such an extent that morphological abnormalities are detected.
5-Your frequently asked questions
5-1 What is the cause of teratozoospermia?
Teratozoospermia is an alteration that affects male semen and involves most of the sperm having an abnormal shape.
Due to their poor morphology, sperm cannot fertilize the oocyte and cause sterility.
The causes of teratozoospermia are as follows:
- Genetic alterations
- Chemotherapy and radiotherapy
- Semen infections and orchitis
- Testicular trauma
- Varicocele
- Fever
- Diabetes and meningitis
- Tobacco, alcohol, drugs
Bad eating habits, clothes that are too close to the body ...
Certain causes can be resolved (fever, quitting smoking, healthy habits ...), which implies that in some cases, the pathology is reversible.
5-2 Does teratozoospermia cause miscarriages?
In principle, the poor morphology of the sperm does not cause any miscarriage once the fertilization of the oocyte has taken place and the embryo has implanted. If, on the other hand, the sperm also have genetic disorders, this may be a cause of miscarriage.
5-3 How to improve the amorphous sperm of semen?
If the pathology of teratospermia is not specific, the man should follow some indications to modify his lifestyle, which could negatively influence his reproductive state. Some men who stop smoking or alcohol consumption and change their diet may see an improvement in their sperm quality after 3 months.
5-4 Can leukospermia cause teratospermia and male infertility
Leukospermia, also known as leukocytospermia, is the appearance of leukocytes in semen, with a concentration level greater than 1 million per milliliter. The cause of this seminal pathology is an infection of the male reproductive tract which must be treated with antibiotics as it can affect spermatogenesis and cause oligospermia or teratozoospermia.
You can find the information in our article: Leukocytes in semen.
We deliver all over the world.
For more information, you can contact our experts at +229 51374202 direct line or by WhatsApp at the same number