Success of assisted reproductive technology treatment and couple relationship: A pilot study on the role of romantic attachment.

Infertility is a deeply distressing experience, which can threaten important personal and martial goals, frequently affecting the psychophysical health. A supportive relationship and a secure romantic attachment appear to reduce infertility stress, as well as play a relevant role in the success of assisted reproductive technology treatments. The principal aim of the study is to investigate the predictive effect of romantic attachment, couple characteristics, quality of life and age on assisted reproductive technology outcome.

Alexithymia, infertility-related stress and quality of life in women undergoing an assisted reproductive treatment.

The investigation of the association between alexithymia and quality of life in infertility is a relatively neglected area of research. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between alexithymia and infertility-related quality of life in women during Assisted Reproductive Treatment. Data were collected in a clinic in Rome, 93 infertile women completed the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Fertility Quality of Life (FertiQoL) questionnaire and a socio-demographic questionnaire.

The effects of an expressive writing intervention on pregnancy rates, alexithymia and psychophysical health during an assisted reproductive treatment.

World Health Organization reported that in developed countries one in four couples experience infertility with serious implications for the psychophysical well-being. Aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of Pennebaker's writing technique on pregnancy rates, alexithymia and psychophysical health during an assisted reproductive treatment (ART). 91 women admitted for an ART were randomly divided into two groups: an experimental one ( = 46), where women wrote about their thoughts and emotions concerning the infertility experience, and a control group ( = 45) where women did not write.

Effect of Myoinositol and Antioxidants on Sperm Quality in Men with Metabolic Syndrome.

This prospective longitudinal study investigated the effects of a dietary supplement in patients affected by reduced sperm motility (asthenospermic males) with metabolic syndrome. The product tested was Andrositol®, which contains myoinositol (MI) as principal compound, in association with other molecules, and the parameters evaluated were semen characteristics as well as hormone and metabolic profiles. The inclusion criteria were subjects aged over 18 years, with asthenospermia and metabolic syndrome.

Next generation sequencing in the identification of a rare genetic disease from preconceptional couple screening to preimplantation genetic diagnosis.

Introduction: the use of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) in the diagnosis of rare genetic pathologies is becoming ever more widespread in clinical practice. The following study reports the first case of preimplantation diagnosis through NGS of a form of LAMA2-related muscular dystrophy.

Case Report: a couple came to our Reproductive Medicine Centre for a preconceptional genetic consultation and for advice regarding secondary infertility.

Molecular profiling of human oocytes after vitrification strongly suggests that they are biologically comparable with freshly isolated gametes.

To assess the effects of vitrification on the biomolecular profile of oocytes, we analyzed through real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction eight genes encoding critically important proteins for embryo development and compared this partial transcriptome with that of freshly collected gametes isolated from the same women. The comparison of the molecular profiles demonstrated that our vitrification protocol does not alter the biomolecular quality of oocytes: in fact, between the two groups we found the absence of statistically significant variations. Accordingly, this cryopreservation technique might be helpful in preserving women's fertility.