Meeting the demand for fertility services: the present and future of reproductive endocrinology and infertility in the United States.

The field of reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI) is at a crossroads; there is a mismatch between demand for reproductive endocrinology, infertility and assisted reproductive technology (ART) services, and availability of care. This document's focus is to provide data justifying the critical need for increased provision of fertility services in the United States now and into the future, offer approaches to rectify the developing physician shortage problem, and suggest a framework for the discussion on how to meet that increase in demand. The Society of REI recommend the following: 1.

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Objective: To report 2 cases of women with vertebral defects, anal atresia, cardiac defects, tracheaesophageal fistula, renal anomalies, and/or limb anomalies (VACTERL association) and the outcomes of their in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles.

Design: A case report. We obtained informed consent from both the patients for this case report.

Development of a dynamic machine learning algorithm to predict clinical pregnancy and live birth rate with embryo morphokinetics.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of generating a center-specific embryo morphokinetic algorithm by time-lapse microscopy to predict clinical pregnancy rates.

Design: A retrospective cohort analysis.

Setting: Academic fertility clinic in a tertiary hospital setting.

Hyperandrogenemia alters mitochondrial structure and function in the oocytes of obese mouse with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Capsule: Hyperandrogenemia in an obese PCOS mouse model results in altered glucose/insulin metabolism and mitochondrial structure and function in the oocytes, in part explaining adverse outcomes and inheritance patterns seen in PCOS.

Objective: To study the oocyte quality by means of mitochondrial structure and function in a well-established classic PCOS mouse model.

Design: Animal study using an obese PCOS mouse model compared with control.

The impact of COVID-19 on REI fellowship educational experience.

Purpose: To assess perceived deficiencies of reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI) fellow education due to changes in care secondary to COVID-19.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study performed in an academic setting. A survey was generated and administered to REI fellows and attendings practicing in programs across the United States.

In utero low-protein-diet-programmed type 2 diabetes in adult offspring is mediated by sex hormones in rats†.

Sex steroids regulate insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism. We had characterized a lean type 2 diabetes (T2D) rat model using gestational low-protein (LP) diet programming. Our objective was to identify if endocrine dysfunction leading to decreased sex hormone levels will precede the development of T2D and if steroid replacement will prevent the onset of the disease.

Prenatal androgen induced lean PCOS impairs mitochondria and mRNA profiles in oocytes.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common ovulatory defect in women. Although most PCOS patients are obese, a subset of PCOS women are lean but show similar risks for adverse fertility outcomes. A lean PCOS mouse model was created using prenatal androgen administration.

Sex Dependent Dysregulation of Hepatic Glucose Production in Lean Type 2 Diabetic Rats.

We have characterized a lean type 2 diabetic rat model by gestational low protein programming. We aimed to identify if the regulation of hepatic glucose production (HGP) via gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis is affected and if there are any sex differences. Fasting (6-7 months old) type 2 diabetic rats received HO followed by a primed constant rate infusion of [6,6-H] glucose.

A Novel Ultrasound-Guided Technique for Hysteroscopic Adhesiolysis in High-Risk Patients.

Hysteroscopy is a common gynecologic surgical procedure. Certain diagnoses, notably intrauterine adhesions and cervical stenosis, make hysteroscopy more complicated because of an increased likelihood of complications. Three patients, 1 with cervical stenosis and 2 with Asherman syndrome, underwent ultrasound (US)-guided adhesiolysis.

Neonatal outcomes among twins stratified by method of conception: secondary analysis of maternal fetal medicine (MFMU) network database.

Purpose: To investigate whether twin pregnancies conceived by different forms of fertility treatments are associated with adverse neonatal outcomes and to examine the difference in maternal and obstetrical characteristics between patients.

Methods: Our study was a retrospective analysis of twin pregnancies conceived by fertility treatments from a prospectively collected database. Treatments were stratified into two groups: group 1 (ART) consisted of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), and group 2 (non-ART) included intrauterine insemination (IUI) and ovulation induction (OI).

Folate treatment partially reverses gestational low-protein diet-induced glucose intolerance and the magnitude of reversal is age and sex dependent.

Objectives: Gestational low-protein (LP) programming causes glucose intolerance (GI) and insulin resistance (IR) in adult offspring. Folate supplementation has been shown to rescue the offspring from various programming effects. The aim of this study was to investigate whether folate supplementation during pregnancy reverses LP-induced GI and IR.

Cyanotic congenital heart disease following fertility treatments in the United States from 2011 to 2014.

Objective: To examine the risk for cyanotic congenital heart diseases (CCHDs) among live births in the USA, resulting from various forms of infertility treatments.

Methods: This study is a cross-sectional analysis of live births in the USA from 2011 to 2014. Infertility treatments are categorised into two of the following groups on birth certificates: assisted reproductive technology (ART) fertility treatment (surgical egg removal; eg, in vitro fertilisation and gamete intrafallopian transfer) and non-ART fertility treatment (eg, medical treatment and intrauterine insemination).

Effect of advanced maternal age on maternal and neonatal outcomes in assisted reproductive technology pregnancies.

Objectives: To compare maternal and neonatal outcomes between women with assisted reproductive technologies pregnancy aged <40, 40-44, 45-49, and ≥50 years.

Study: Design In a population-level analysis study, all live births by ART identified on birth certificate between 2011 and 2014 were extracted (n=101,494) using data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention-National Center for Health Statistics (CDC-NCHS). We investigated and compared maternal and neonatal outcomes based on conditions routinely listed on birth certificates.

Implantation failure of endometrial origin: it is not pathology, but our failure to synchronize the developing embryo with a receptive endometrium.

Repeated implantation failure (RIF) is an intriguing, massive failure of reproductive treatment in otherwise healthy women leading to the introduction of empirical adjuvant interventions that are costly, inefficient, and frustrating for our patients. In this article, we will try to convince the readers that RIF is neither a stigma nor a mysterious pathology but rather our failure to diagnose and properly synchronize the euploid blastocyst with the patient's personalized window of implantation.

Does an increased body mass index affect endometrial gene expression patterns in infertile patients? A functional genomics analysis.

Objective: To analyze the transcriptomic profile of endometrial gene alterations during the window of implantation in infertile obese patients.

Design: Multicenter, prospective, case-control study.

Setting: Three academic medical centers for reproductive medicine.

Novel lean type 2 diabetic rat model using gestational low-protein programming.

Background: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) in lean individuals is not well studied and up to 26% of diabetes occurs in these individuals. Although the cause is not well understood, it has been primarily attributed to nutritional issues during early development.

Objective: Our objective was to develop a lean T2D model using gestational low-protein (LP) programming.

Pelvic pedicled omental flaps and autologous free omental grafts in a rabbit model.

Background: There is a need to identify an inexpensive, effective method to prevent postoperative adhesion formation. The objective of this study was to create a novel model for studying omentum as a pelvic adhesion barrier. Randomized, prospective, controlled surgical intervention with serial follow-up in 16 female rabbits at a University-based Center for Comparative Medicine.

Premature ovarian failure: clinical presentation and treatment.

Premature ovarian failure is a devastating diagnosis for reproductive-aged women. The diagnosis is relatively easy. However, it has serious health consequences, including psychological distress, infertility, osteoporosis, autoimmune disorders, ischemic heart disease, and increased risk for mortality.

VCAM-1 on peritoneum and α4β1 integrin in endometrium and their implications in endometriosis.

The objective of the study is to investigate vascular cellular adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) expression on peritoneal mesothelial cells and α4β1 integrin on eutopic endometrium as possible mechanisms in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. It is a case-control study carried out at an academic medical center. Participants are patients with (n=9) and without (n=15) endometriosis.

Perioperative evaluation in Herlyn-Werner-Wunderlich syndrome.

Background: Herlyn-Werner-Wunderlich syndrome is defined by uterine didelphys, obstructed hemivagina, and ipsilateral renal agenesis. We report the presentation, radiographic findings, and outcomes of three patients with Herlyn-Werner-Wunderlich syndrome who underwent surgical management at a tertiary care academic medical center.

Cases: Two patients were diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging and one by ultrasonography.

Hyperandrogenism of ovarian etiology: utilizing differential venous sampling for diagnosis.

Background: We report the diagnosis and management of testosterone hypersecretion in the presence of an adrenal mass and no initially discernible ovarian mass.

Case: A 64-year-old woman with severe hyperandrogenism, including serum testosterone 392 ng/dL, male-pattern baldness, and hirsutism, required bilateral ovarian and adrenal venous sampling to determine the source of the testosterone. Once an ovarian origin was confirmed, total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy were performed for definitive treatment.