In infertile men undergoing varicocele embolization, sperm motility before treatment predicts their odds of siring a pregnancy, according to a report in the August issue of Radiology.

The findings also indicate that retrograde venous embolization improves a variety of semen parameters and results in sired pregnancies in roughly one third of partners.

The study, by Dr. Sebastian Flacke, from the University of Bonn Medical School in Germany, and colleagues, involved 223 clinically infertile men with 228 varicoceles and related oligoteratoasthenospermia who underwent endovascular embolization of the spermatic veins.

Overall, 226 varicoceles were successfully treated. Clinical and ultrasonographic evaluation revealed varicocele resolution in 206 patients (92.4 per cent).

Varicocele embolization was associated with significant improvements in both sperm motility and sperm count (p < 0.001 for both). Still, the average values were considered abnormal based on World Health Organization guidelines.

Baseline sperm motility was the only significant pretreatment predictor of sired pregnancy (p = 0.006), the authors found. Other potential predictors, such as clinical grade, hormone levels, ultrasound findings, and other semen parameters, failed to reach statistical significance.

The fertility benefits seen with retrograde venous embolization are “similar to those reported after surgical repair,” the authors conclude. This treatment could be a “useful adjunct to in vitro fertilization therapy.”

Technorati Tags: motility, oligoteratoasthenospermia, pregnancy, sperm, treament, ultrasonographic, varicocele