Effect of human T-cell lymphotrophic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) in seropositive infertile women on intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outcome

Background: Human T-cell Lymphotrophic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) has infected more than 20 million people worldwide. Northeast of Iran, Mashhad, the capital of Razavi Khorasan Province, is endemic for HTLV-1 with a prevalence of 3% among general population.
Objective: We evaluated the ICSI outcome in our program for (HTLV-1) serodiscordant couples (SDCs) with the female infected in comparison with control group.
Materials and Methods: This study was performed between 2007 and 2011 in Novin Infertility Treatment Center (Mashhad, Iran). We examined 32 ICSI cycles of HTLV-1 infected women in comparison with an age matched control group (n=62). ICSI outcome was compared regarding fertilization rate (FR), embryo quality parameters, implantation rate (IR), clinical pregnancy rate (PR), and abortion rate (AR).
Results: Fertilization (p=0.15), implantation (p=0.33), and pregnancy rate (p=0.12) were similar between the groups. No difference was found regarding the number of transferred embryos (on day 2 or 3) and cryopreserved embryos, multiple pregnancies, or abortion rates between the groups.
Conclusion: Our results suggest that the embryo quality and ICSI outcome are not affected by HTLV-1 infection in serodiscordant couples. The major finding of this study is that the outcome of ICSI in HIV-I-infected patients and seronegative controls is similar.