Methods for the Detection of ROS in Human Sperm Samples

A. Agarwal et al. (eds.), Studies on Men’s Health and Fertility, Oxidative Stress in Applied Basic Research and Clinical Practice, DOI 10.1007/978-1-61779-776-7_13, © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012 Abstract Male-factor signifi cantly contributes to infertility in couples of reproductive age. Several studies have shown that oxidative stress (OS) is involved in the pathophysiology of male infertility. It is caused by an imbalance between the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the ability of the antioxidants to scavenge them. There are several methods to measure seminal ROS in the clinical setting, most notably among them is the chemiluminescence assay. This technique measures the global ROS, i.e., both the intraand extracellular ROS. The measurement of seminal ROS employing the chemiluminescence technique in clinical andrology labs is explained in this chapter. Through a deeper understanding of ROS and its measurement, clinical andrology labs can better assist patients to achieve increased rates of fertility and pregnancy.