Publications Validate LDT for Sperm Function, as Measure of Fertility

The Cap-Score Sperm Function Test (Androvia LifeSciences) can accurately assess sperms’ capaciatation state, a necessary condition for male fertility, and report the percentage of sperm in a sample that can actually fertilize an egg. The company, which published two papers—clinical and technology validation studies—April 18 in Molecular Reproduction and Development, says the test holds clinical value as a general screening test for men uncertain about their fertility. Approximately 40 percent of infertility is attributable to male factors. Yet, standard semen analysis, which assesses sperm count, motility, and morphology, yields a diagnosis in less than 50 percent of male infertility cases. The rest of infertility cases are believed to be caused by failings in sperm function, which cannot be measured by traditional semen analysis. Experts say that a test that could measure sperm function—a sperm’s ability to fertilize—would have huge clinical importance. "A simple diagnostic assay would provide a needed functional complement to the descriptive assessments of traditional semen evaluations," writes lead author Melissa Moody, from Androvia LifeSciences (Mountainside, N.J.) in one of the papers. "Identifying sperm with deficiencies in fertilizing ability will allow for a more specific understanding of what is now categorized as ‘idiopathic infertility.’ Of much greater practical […]