Publications by authors named "Azam Agharahimi"

Background: Single sperm cryopreservation (SSC) is a specific technique especially used in individuals with small numbers of sperm who suffered from non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA). Testicular specimens possess poor motility and low population of viable spermatozoa. Therefore, sperm selection methods such as applying pentoxifylline (PTX) may improve motility in these cases.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to assess how artificial seminal fluid (ASF) affects the quality of sperm collected from azoospermic men, compared to a standard medium (Ham's F10).
  • Results showed that testicular sperm improved in motility and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) after 2 hours in ASF, while epididymal sperm did not display significant improvements in either medium after 24 hours.
  • The findings suggest that testicular sperm benefit more from ASF in a short-term setting, indicating that different environments may be necessary for optimizing sperm quality based on their source.
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Single sperm cryopreservation is a new method to preserve small numbers of spermatozoa in small droplets. So far, several devices have been introduced for this technique, but more studies are needed for its optimization. The aim of this study was optimizing the previous device for low number of spermatozoa and low volume semen, which led to design of Cryotop Vial device.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates sperm selection methods for couples with unexplained infertility, comparing the efficacy of physiological intracytoplasmic sperm injection (PICSI) and magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS) based on sperm DNA fragmentation. * -
  • Researchers analyzed sperm samples using various techniques, finding that both PICSI and MACS significantly reduced DNA fragmentation compared to the swim-up method, with MACS achieving a greater reduction. * -
  • Although MACS was more effective in reducing sperm DNA fragmentation rates than PICSI, neither method was able to completely eliminate sperm with DNA fragmentation in the final sample. *
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Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) has been utilized in intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) for immobilization and manipulation of spermatozoa. This study aims to determine the suitable time that sperm cells could be safely exposed to PVP during ICSI procedure. Twenty-five normal semen samples were prepared using the swim-up method and then were exposed to 10% PVP at different time intervals (15, 30 and 60 min).

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Testicular sperm extraction (TESE) is an invasive surgery for achieving the spermatozoa in cases with azoospermia. In these patients, the number of retrieved spermatozoa is limited and the optimal cryo-storage is very critical for their fertility preservation. Therefore, single sperm vitrification has been introduced for preservation of low number of spermatozoa.

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Background: Synchronization between the embryonic stage and the uterine endometrial lining is important in the outcomes of the vitrified-warmed embryo transfer (ET) cycles.

Objective: The aim was to investigate the effect of the exact synchronization between the cleavage stage of embryos and the duration of progesterone administration on the improvement of clinical outcomes in frozen embryo transfer (FET) cycles.

Materials And Methods: 312 FET cycles were categorized into two groups: (A) day-3 ET after three days of progesterone administration (n = 177) and (B) day-2 or -4 ET after three days of progesterone administration (n = 135).

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Vitrification is a technique for preservation of human oocytes. There is still a lack of basic research about the possible effects of vitrification on subsequent embryos following oocyte vitrification. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the embryo morphokinetic parameters formed after fertilization of vitrified-warmed oocytes, where an intact meiotic spindle (MS) was observed pre- and post-cryopreservation.

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The chemical composition and physiological properties of seminal fluid (SF) affect sperm quality. The objective was to investigate the effects of in vitro exposure of artificial seminal fluid (ASF) and biological seminal fluid (SF) on sperm quality. Asthenozoospermic ejaculates (n = 20) were divided into two aliquots.

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Background: Sperm quality is an important factor in assisted reproductive technology (ART) that affects the success rate of infertile couples treatment. incubation of sperm can influence its parameters and DNA integrity. The present study focused on the effect of different incubation temperatures sperm parameters on asthenoteratozoospermia semen prepared with density gradient centrifugation at different times.

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Evaluation of sperm integrity may predict the in vitro fertilisation (IVF) outcomes. The aim was to evaluate the relationship between the sperm DNA fragmentation (sDNAf) with embryo morphology and morphokinetic using time-laps monitoring (TLM) and to select the best time points for normalisation in IVF setting. After evaluating the fertilisation and pronuclei (Z) scoring, 328 normally fertilised oocytes were assessed to time of pronuclei fading, time of 2 to 8 discrete cells (t2-t8) and abnormal cleavage patterns, such as multinucleation, direct cleavage, reverse cleavage and fragmentation.

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Purpose: The aim was to assess the correlation of sperm apoptotic transcript levels with cleavage stage embryokinetic and pregnancy outcomes of intracytoplasmic morphologically selected sperm injection (IMSI) and ICSI methods in patients with male factor infertility.

Material And Methods: Eighty male factor cases were divided into ICSI and IMSI groups. ICSI was done routinely, and for IMSI, sperm was selected at high magnification and injected.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study explores how Erythrocyte lysing buffer (ELB) affects sperm quality during ICSI by comparing it with a control group using normal ejaculated sperm.
  • - Results showed that sperm treated with ELB had significantly lower motility and viability compared to the control group, both immediately after treatment and one hour later.
  • - Additionally, ELB increased DNA fragmentation in sperm, suggesting that it may harm sperm cells, leading the researchers to recommend against its use in handling testicular semen.
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Background: The aim of this study was to assess the impact of total serum E2 on the day of human chronic gonadotropin (hCG) administration and the serum E2 per oocyte ratio on the outcomes of assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycles.

Methods: A total of 205 women were categorized into 3 groups according to the serum E2 levels: 1: ≤1500 ; 2: 1500-3000 ; 3: >3000 . Another categorization included 3 groups according to E2/oocyte ratio: A: ≤150 per oocyte; B: 150-200 per oocyte; and C: >200 per oocyte.

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Background: Cumulus cells, as oocyte nurse cells, provide a suitable microenvironment with growth factors and cellular interactions required for oocyte maturation. Thus, these cells may serve as a natural niche for studies of female germ cell development. Cumulus cells may help attain a better understanding of the causes of infertility in women and eventually improve the outcomes of cases that respond poorly to standard infertility treatment.

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Background: Vitrification is a routine procedure in assisted reproductive technique (ART) lab. However, there is widespread variability between protocols of different centres. The aim of this study was to compare the chemical pregnancy, clinical pregnancy and live birth rates between one-day embryo culture and immediate transfer for frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) cycles.

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Our objective was to evaluate the effect of IMSI on embryo kinetics and clinical outcomes in patients with different aetiologies of male infertility. A total of 150 couples with different aetiologies of male infertility were randomly divided into ICSI and IMSI treatment groups (n = 75). ICSI was done accordingly.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The study involved comparing the ultrastructure of fresh and vitrified CCs from women undergoing assisted reproductive technologies, using transmission electron microscopy to observe changes after vitrification.
  • * Results showed that while the overall organelle structure of vitrified CCs remained similar to fresh CCs, there were notable increases in lipid droplets and vacuoles, indicating a specific sensitivity of CCs to the vitrification process, which is important for ART considerations.
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Cryopreservation and subsequent survival of semen samples with low numbers of human spermatozoa in assisted reproductive technology (ART) facilities can be challenging. The aim of this study was to compare the quality of warmed human spermatozoa following vitrification using direct submerging (DS) in liquid nitrogen (LN) or with LN vapour (V). Normozoospermic ejaculates were prepared by the swim-up technique and the motile sperm fraction was divided into three groups: (i) fresh (control); (ii) DS methods in LN (DS Group); or (iii) cryopreserved in V (Group V).

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The purpose was to investigate the correlation between pronuclei (PN) morphology and morphokinetic behaviors of derived embryos with time lapse monitoring (TLM) in assisted reproduction setting. Over time, PN morphology from PN appearance (PNA) to PN fading (PNF), PNF according to size, contact, number and position of nuclear precursor bodies (NPBs) within each PN and morphokinetics variables, including absolute time points, relative timing parameters, cleavage patterns and arrest rate, were evaluated using TLM. There were insignificant relationship between morphokinetics variables including tBP2, tPNA, tPNF, t2, t3, t4, t5, t6, t7, t8, S1, CC2, S2 and Z scoring according Z1 to Z4 (p > .

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maturation (IVM) of the immature oocytes recovered from the surgically removed ovarian tissue has been considered as a process for fertility preservation in patients with cancer. Fertility preservation for a woman with Mullerian adenocarcinoma. A 37-year-old woman with Mullerian adenocarcinoma was a candidate for ovarian resection.

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Background: Sperm vitrification is a technique of ice and cryoprotectant free cryopreservation by direct plunging of sperm suspension into liquid nitrogen (LN2). The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of cryoprotectant free-vitrification on human sperm fine structure by MSOME technology and the fertility potential by zona binding assay (ZBA).

Methods: 20 normo-ejaculates were prepared by swim up technique, and supernatants were divided into two parts of fresh and vitrified groups.

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High implantation success following in vitro fertilization cycles are achieved via the transfer of embryos with the highest developmental competence. Multiple pregnancies as a result of the transfer of several embryos per cycle accompany with various complication. Thus, single-embryo transfer (SET) is the preferred practice in assisted reproductive technique (ART) treatment.

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Optimizing the efficiency of the in vitro fertilization procedure by improving pregnancy rates and reducing the risks of multiple pregnancies simultaneously are the primary goals of the current assisted reproductive technology program. With the move to single embryo transfers, the need for more cost-effective and noninvasive methods for embryo selection prior to transfer is paramount. These aims require advancement in a more acquire gametes/embryo testing and selection procedures using high-tech devices.

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