Comparative analysis of long versus short co-incubation of gametes on post-insemination outcomes and embryo morphokinetics.

Research Question: Does a short co-incubation of gametes in conventional IVF affect post-insemination outcomes and embryo morphokinetics?

Design: Sibling oocyte randomized pilot study conducted between December 2020 and March 2023. Eligible couples (n = 55) were women aged 18-43 years with BMI 35 km/m or lower and male normal semen parameters. Cumulus oocyte complexes (COC) (six to 12) were randomized in a 1:1:2 proportion in long (16-18 h) or short (2 h) co-incubation IVF exposure and ICSI, respectively.

The First Lugano Workshop on the role of adenomyosis in ART.

Adenomyosis is an important clinical condition with uncertain prevalence, and clinical focus on adenomyosis in patients undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) has increased during recent years. Recognizing the limited clinical knowledge on the impact of adenomyosis on ART outcomes, the First Lugano Adenomyosis Workshop was a symposium involving experts in the field of adenomyosis, covering basic research, imaging, surgery and infertility to highlight current advances and future research areas over a wide range of topics related to adenomyosis. Adenomyosis is characterized by altered oestrogen and progesterone signalling pathways.

Private versus funded infertility care: not a challenge but a call for cooperation.

Private medical care has significantly contributed to the advancement of various medical fields. The birth of private IVF groups in the 1990s led to improvements in stimulation protocols, embryo culture, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, vitrification and preimplantation genetic testing. However, infertility is often misunderstood as a disease, leading to low birth rates and a lack of awareness among the general population.

Assessing the clinical value of day 7 blastocysts: a predictive model for preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) cycles.

Purpose: To identify the benefit of extending embryo culture until day (D)7 based on patients and cycle characteristics.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted including 25,120 blastocysts from 5278 PGT-A autologous cycles between 2017 and 2022. A theoretical cumulative live birth rate (CLBR) was calculated by binomial density function.

Steady morphokinetic progression is an independent predictor of live birth: a descriptive reference for euploid embryos.

Study Question: Can modelling the longitudinal morphokinetic pattern of euploid embryos during time-lapse monitoring (TLM) be helpful for selecting embryos with the highest live birth potential?

Summary Answer: Longitudinal reference ranges of morphokinetic development of euploid embryos have been identified, and embryos with steadier progression during TLM are associated with higher chances of live birth.

What Is Known Already: TLM imaging is increasingly adopted by fertility clinics as an attempt to improve the ability of selecting embryos with the highest potential for implantation. Many markers of embryonic morphokinetics have been incorporated into decision algorithms for embryo (de)selection.