Effect of acupuncture on assisted reproduction treatment outcomes.

Background: Acupuncture has recently been used as a complementary technique in the management of infertility. It has physiological and psychological effects and may be considered an alternative for stress reduction in women undergoing infertility treatments.

Objective: To examine the hypothesis that acupuncture treatment may increase the pregnancy rate in patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles.

Assisted reproductive technology outcomes in azoospermic men: 10 years of experience with surgical sperm retrieval.

An azoospermic man suffers from an absence of sperm in the ejaculate and this condition is present in about 10% of infertile men. Obstructive azoospermia (OA) is characterized by an occlusion or partial absence of the reproductive tract with the presence of normal spermatogenesis. On the other hand, non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) is characterized by impaired spermatogenesis.

Zona pellucida birefringence in in vivo and in vitro matured oocytes.

Objective: To evaluate zona pellucida birefringence (ZPB) in immature and mature oocytes collected after controlled ovarian stimulation and to assess the influence of ZPB on oocyte development.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting(s): Private assisted reproduction centre.

Metaphase II human oocyte morphology: contributing factors and effects on fertilization potential and embryo developmental ability in ICSI cycles.

Morphologic abnormalities in the oocyte are relevant for determining its developmental fate and could be related to controlled ovarian stimulation protocols and ovarian response. The contributing factors of oocyte dysmorphism incidence and its effects on fertilization potential and embryo development are the object of discussion in this study.

Outcome of ICSI using zona pellucida-bound spermatozoa and conventionally selected spermatozoa.

This study aimed to investigate whether the spermatozoa-zona pellucida binding test is able to select spermatozoa with higher fertilization potential and higher rate of successful embryo development. This prospective study was performed with metaphase II (MII) oocytes retrieved from couples undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles. For each patient, half of the MII oocytes were injected using a routine ICSI method (control group, n = 194) while the other half were injected with previously zona pellucida-bound spermatozoa (ZP-binding group, n = 194).

Deciding the fate of supernumerary frozen embryos: parents' choices.

Embryo cryopreservation is a routine procedure in assisted reproductive technologies. Although couples have been informed about all potential procedures, some of them face the dilemma of what to do with surplus frozen embryos. The purpose of this qualitative study was to evaluate the attitude of patients toward their surplus cryopreserved embryos.

Zona pellucida birefringence score and meiotic spindle visualization in relation to embryo development and ICSI outcomes.

The meiotic spindle and the zona pellucida exhibit molecular order when imaged with polarized optics. This study aimed to investigate possible factors contributing to the zona pellucida birefringence score and meiotic spindle visualization, and to evaluate whether these structures may predict intracytoplasmic sperm injection outcomes. Oocytes were divided into groups according to zona pellucida birefringence and meiotic spindle visualization.

Poor ovarian response in patients younger than 35 years: is it also a qualitative decline in ovarian function?

Objective: To investigate whether poor response to controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) is due to a qualitative decline in ovarian function.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 436 patients younger than 35-years old, undergoing COS for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Patients with four or fewer MII oocytes after COS (poor-responder group, PR, n = 52) were age-matched with normoresponder patients (NR, n = 364).

[Safe gametes acquisition through association of seminal processing techniques with HIV serodiscordant couples].

Purpose: the propose of this study was to analyze the clinical and laboratorial parameters of patients submitted to human assisted reproduction techniques with association of sperm processing techniques, in order to remove virus particles from semen samples of couples in which men was infected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Methods: assessed were 11 intracytoplasmatic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles from couples whose men were HIV seropositive (HIV Group), and 35 cycles in which semen donors' samples were used in ICSI procedures (Control Group). Semen samples from Control Group were submitted to routine semen analysis, sperm wash and cryopreservation.

A comparison of post-thaw results between embryos arising from intracytoplasmic sperm injection using surgically retrieved or ejaculated spermatozoa.

Objective: To study the effect of freeze-thaw on embryos derived from intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) using surgically retrieved and ejaculated spermatozoa.

Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: Private IVF center.

Prognostic value of meiotic spindle imaging on fertilization rate and embryo development in in vitro-matured human oocytes.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between spindle visualization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outcomes in controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) cycles.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: Assisted reproduction center.

Spindle imaging: a marker for embryo development and implantation.

Objective: To examine whether the presence of birefringent spindles in living human oocytes can be used as a predictive factor associated with embryo morphology to allow embryo selection before transfer and its association with IVF outcomes.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: Assisted reproduction center in Brazil.

Use of pig oocytes for training new professionals in human assisted reproduction laboratories.

Objective: To evaluate whether swine oocytes are useful for training new technicians in a human reproduction laboratory.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: Graduate school in assisted reproductive techniques (ART) in Brazil.