Obstetric and prenatal outcome in menopausal women: a 12-year clinical study.

The obstetric and prenatal outcome in post-menopausal women of advanced age in an oocyte donation programme is described in this paper, the oldest being aged 63 years. A total of 2729 candidates were visited up to November 2000. Only 1150 (42%) were accepted, with 1579 being rejected during a rigorous selection procedure.

Zona opening of human embryos using a non-contact UV laser for assisted hatching in patients with poor prognosis of pregnancy.

The aim of this study was to examine the safety and the efficiency of a 'non-contact' UV laser to assist hatching through zona opening of human embryos. Between January and November 1995 we performed zona drilling for assisted hatching using a new laser system (PALM UV Laser microbeam), operating in a 'non-contact' mode to create a hole in the zona pellucida of human embryos. In a randomized study, laser zona opening was applied on embryos from two groups of patients with repeated in-vitro fertilization (IVF) failures (two to four attempts): group A was composed of 107 patients who received mixed embryos (216 laser-treated and 223 not treated) and group B of 72 patients who received 218 laser-treated embryos only.

Zona thinning with the use of laser: a new approach to assisted hatching in humans.

From 1993 to 1994, in our centre, laser-assisted hatching was performed on 2- to 4-cell stage embryos obtained from in-vitro fertilization (IVF) patients. We treated 376 embryos from 96 patients with repeated IVF failures (two to four attempts) (group A) and 397 embryos from 111 patients undergoing IVF for the first time (group B). Embryos were transferred immediately after the laser treatment.

Fetal and maternal morbidity and mortality in menopausal women aged 45-63 years.

The pregnancies achieved up to April 1994 among 162 recipients who participated in our oocyte donation programme were studied. Of these, 113 were > 45 years old and 49 were < 45 years old (25-44); approximately 300 women were not admitted to our programme for various reasons. The 113 recipients considered in this study were divided into two age groups: group A, 45-49 years old (54 patient cycles); and group B, 50-60 years old (58 patient cycles); there was also one case of a 63 year old woman.