Young man, do you know how fast sperm can run?

Among them, sperm motility is a very important indicator, but in the past it was entirely based on subjective judgment by examiners based on the results of naked eye observation under a microscope. It is not only affected by the examiner's technical level, but also has a considerable degree of subjectivity.

Some laboratories grade and record sperm motility according to the method prescribed by the World Health Organization, while others only make a rough assessment and record it as good, fair, or weak. Therefore, semen examination has remained at a low level. In the 1970s and 1980s, foreign countries successively developed laser light scattering measurement technology and computer image processing automatic analysis system, which made the level of semen examination reach a very precise and complete level.

According to the test, the peak value of sperm motility speed of normal people is 36 microns/second, and the average speed is 35 microns/second, while the peak value of sperm motility speed of infertile patients is 32 microns/second, and the average speed is 31 microns/second. There is a significant difference between the two groups.

According to clinical statistics, about 20% of male infertility patients suffer from azoospermia, about 30% suffer from oligospermia, and about 40% have sperm motility speed lower than 31 microns/second (half of which are lower than 28 microns/second).

Since a considerable number of male infertility patients have seemingly normal semen examinations but actually have low sperm motility, we preliminarily believe that if a person's average sperm motility is lower than 28 μm/s, it should be considered as asthenospermia (i.e. poor sperm motility, or poor sperm motility).

According to the results of animal experiments, there are significant species differences in sperm movement speed, and those with lower speeds also have lower fertility rates. For example, the sperm of cattle can move at a speed of 50 to 70 microns per second, that of mice and rats can reach 45 to 55 microns per second, while that of giant pandas is only about 20 microns per second. The low reproductive capacity of giant pandas is a major challenge in protecting this rare animal.

Since the number of observed cases is too small, it cannot be confirmed that the low fertility rate of giant pandas is due to the slow sperm motility. Clinical test results also show that sperm motility speed has nothing to do with sperm count; it has nothing to do with whether semen is liquefied.

Among the laboratory tests for male infertility, the first one to be examined is of course semen examination.

Routine semen examination indicators include : semen volume, color, pH, agglutination, liquefaction, sperm count, sperm motility, etc.

So, is it possible to increase the sperm motility of male infertile patients and solve their fertility problems? This is very possible. One is to improve sperm motility through Chinese and Western medicine treatment; the other is to increase sperm motility through in vitro treatment methods and then perform artificial insemination.

Experiments show that if a special sperm nutrient incubation solution is carefully added on top of the semen in a test tube, the nutrient solution and semen will be layered like a cocktail, and then the test tube is placed in a 37°C incubator for 3 hours, the active sperm will swim to the upper nutrient solution one after another, and their vitality will be enhanced by the nutrient-rich environment around them.

The sperm movement speed before incubation is 32 microns/second, which can be increased to 42 microns/second after incubation. It can be seen that this special culture method can turn sperm with originally poor motility into "athletic athletes" in one fell swoop. It is reported that this method has enabled many male infertility patients to have their own children.

The two systems developed domestically are very reliable in measuring sperm movement speed. They can quickly obtain measurement results, providing a reliable means for clinical testing and basic research. With these advanced detection methods, doctors can accurately understand some of the functions of sperm, identify the causes of infertility, and use them to detect changes in sperm motility before and after patients take drugs to treat oligospermia or asthenospermia, thereby providing valuable information for research on treatment effects and drug mechanisms of action.

Of course, these instruments also have their shortcomings. For example, the sperm count measured by the automatic sperm function analysis system is often high, while the sperm motility rate is low. This is because there are still many non-sperm particles in the semen sample, and the computer lacks sufficient ability to distinguish particles that are similar in size to sperm, and will mistake these particles for inactive sperm, resulting in deviations.

This is a difficult problem that has not yet been solved both at home and abroad. In order to relieve the physical and mental suffering of infertile patients, we are continuing our efforts to strive to further improve the level of sperm function testing.