Addition of synthetic polymers to a conventional cryoprotectant solution in the vitrification of bovine ovarian tissue.

Some synthetic polymers can be used at low concentrations to reduce the toxicity of conventional cryoprotectant agents. In this study we investigated whether the addition of synthetic polymers to a conventional cryoprotectant solution would improve the cryopreservation of bovine ovarian tissue. Freshly collected ovaries from ten adult crossbred cows were incised using a scalpel in the frontal section.

Cryoprotectant agents for ovarian tissue vitrification: Systematic review.

Studies on the cryopreservation of ovarian tissue usually compare slow freezing versus vitrification and aim to optimize protocols, evaluate combinations or concentrations of cryoprotectant agents (CPAs), exposure time, and the addition of synthetic polymers. This systematic review aimed to identify the different CPAs used for the vitrification of human or primate ovarian tissue and to compare their results in terms of follicular survival and functional preservation. We searched Pubmed and EMBASE for randomized clinical trials or cohort studies comparing CPAs for human and/or primate ovarian vitrification.

Restricted access to assisted reproductive technology and fertility preservation: legal and ethical issues.

Access to assisted reproductive technology (ART) and fertility preservation remains restricted in middle and low income countries. We sought to review the status of ART and fertility preservation in Brazil, considering social indicators and legislative issues that may hinder the universal access to these services. Although the Brazilian Constitution expressly provides the right to health, and ordinary law ensures the state is obliged to support family planning, access to services related to ART and fertility preservation is neither easy nor egalitarian in Brazil.

Insulin-like growth factor 2 is produced by antral follicles and promotes preantral follicle development in macaques†.

Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are known for their involvement in endocrine and paracrine regulation of ovarian function. Although IGF2 is the predominant circulating and intraovarian form of IGFs in primate species, the stage-specific follicular expression, action, and regulation of IGF2 are not well defined. Therefore, experiments were conducted to investigate the follicular IGF production in response to steroid hormone regulation and the direct IGF actions on follicular development and function in vitro.

Building Oncofertility Core Competency in Developing Countries: Experience From Egypt, Tunisia, Brazil, Peru, and Panama.

Purpose: Little is known about oncofertility practice in developing countries that usually suffer from a shortage of health services, especially those related to cancer care.

Materials And Methods: To learn more about oncofertility practice in developing countries, we generated a survey to explore the barriers and opportunities associated with oncofertility practice in five developing countries from Africa and Latin America within our Oncofertility Consortium Global Partners Network. Responses from Egypt, Tunisia, Brazil, Peru, and Panama were collected, reviewed, and discussed.

Creating a Global Community of Practice for Oncofertility.

Fertility preservation in the cancer setting, known as oncofertility, is a field that requires cross-disciplinary interaction between physicians, basic scientists, clinical researchers, ethicists, lawyers, educators, and religious leaders. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Oncofertility Consortium (OC) was formed to be a scientifically grounded, transparent, and altruistic resource, both intellectual and monetary, for building this new field of practice capable of addressing the unique needs of young patients with cancer. The OC has expanded its attention to include other nonmalignant conditions that can threaten fertility, and the work of the OC now extends around the globe, involving partners who together have created a community of shared effort, resources, and practices.

Survey of Fertility Preservation Options Available to Patients With Cancer Around the Globe.

Purpose: Oncofertility focuses on providing fertility and endocrine-sparing options to patients who undergo life-preserving but gonadotoxic cancer treatment. The resources needed to meet patient demand often are fragmented along disciplinary lines. We quantify assets and gaps in oncofertility care on a global scale.

Survey of Third-Party Parenting Options Associated With Fertility Preservation Available to Patients With Cancer Around the Globe.

Purpose: In the accompanying article, "Survey of Fertility Preservation Options Available to Patients With Cancer Around the Globe," we showed that specific fertility preservation services may not be offered at various sites around the world because of cultural and legal barriers. We assessed global and regional experiences as well as the legal status of third-party reproduction and adoption to serve as a comprehensive international data set and resource for groups that wish to begin oncofertility interventions.

Methods: We provide data on the legalities of third-party assisted reproductive technologies and other family-building options in the 28 oncofertility-practicing countries surveyed.

Building Oncofertility Core Competency in Developing Countries: Experience From Egypt, Tunisia, Brazil, Peru, and Panama.

Purpose: Little is known about oncofertility practice in developing countries that usually suffer from a shortage of health services, especially those related to cancer care.

Materials And Methods: To learn more about oncofertility practice in developing countries, we generated a survey to explore the barriers and opportunities associated with oncofertility practice in five developing countries from Africa and Latin America within our Oncofertility Consortium Global Partners Network. Responses from Egypt, Tunisia, Brazil, Peru, and Panama were collected, reviewed, and discussed.

Systemic oxidative stress as a possible mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of mild endometriosis-related infertility.

Research Question: Does systemic oxidative stress occur during the early follicular phase of the menstrual cycle in infertile women with minimal (stage I) or mild (stage II) endometriosis? Are serum oxidative stress markers during the early follicular phase of the menstrual cycle good predictors of successful gestation in these women who undergo ovarian stimulation for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)?

Materials And Methods: A pilot study (prospective case-control study) was conducted in a University Hospital. Serum samples were obtained during the early follicular phase of the natural cycle preceding ovarian stimulation for ICSI of infertile women (with and without stage I and II endometriosis, the latter having male factor infertility). Total hydroperoxides (FOX1), malondialdehyde, advanced oxidation protein products, reduced glutathione, superoxide dismutase, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8OHdG) and vitamin E were analysed in serum from 35 women with stage I or II endometriosis and 60 control women.

Fertility optimization in women with cancer: from preservation to contraception.

Advances in the early diagnosis and treatment of cancer have reduced mortality rates and improved patient survival. For this reason, professionals from different areas have strived to implement actions to increase patient quality-of-life during and after cancer treatment. Among these measures, integral attention in reproductive health is one of the main points for the inclusion, safety, and autonomy of female patients.

Human oocyte morphometry before and after cryopreservation: A prospective cohort study.

The cryopreservation of human oocytes is an important strategy to spare fertility in women submitted to gonadotoxic therapy, ovarian surgery, or even to allow gestation by assisted reproduction technology after natural ovarian senescence. Methods to predict oocyte resistance to cryopreservation are still based on qualitative morphological assessment. In this study we evaluated whether morphometric characteristics of mature oocytes before vitrification and after warming are related to successful fertilization by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

Follicle Viability after Vitrification of Bovine Ovarian Tissue.

 The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of vitrification on the viability of follicles using a three-dimensional (3D) in vitro culture.  Bovine ovarian tissue samples ( = 5) obtained from slaughterhouses were utilized. The cortex was cut into small fragments of 2 × 3 × 0.

Creating a Global Community of Practice for Oncofertility.

Fertility preservation in the cancer setting, known as oncofertility, is a field that requires cross-disciplinary interaction between physicians, basic scientists, clinical researchers, ethicists, lawyers, educators, and religious leaders. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Oncofertility Consortium (OC) was formed to be a scientifically grounded, transparent, and altruistic resource, both intellectual and monetary, for building this new field of practice capable of addressing the unique needs of young patients with cancer. The OC has expanded its attention to include other nonmalignant conditions that can threaten fertility, and the work of the OC now extends around the globe, involving partners who together have created a community of shared effort, resources, and practices.

Strategies to preserve the reproductive future of women after cancer.

Malignant and cardiovascular diseases are the main causes of death in Brazil. Estimates for 2013 predict the occurrence of 189,150 new cases of cancer in Brazilian women. With advanced detection tools, patients are diagnosed and treated for cancer at a younger age and are more likely to survive.

[Serum markers of oxidative stress in infertile women with endometriosis].

Purpose: to compare serum markers of oxidative stress between infertile patients with and without endometriosis and to assess the association of these markers with disease staging.

Methods: this was a prospective study conducted on 112 consecutive infertile, non-obese patients younger than 39 years, divided into two groups: Endometriosis (n=48, 26 with minimal and mild endometriosis - Stage I/II, and 22 with moderate and severe endometriosis - Stage III/IV) and Control (n=64, with tubal and/or male factor infertility). Blood samples were collected during the early follicular phase of the menstrual cycle for the analysis of serum malondialdehyde, glutathione and total hydroxyperoxide levels by spectrophotometry and of vitamin E by high performance liquid chromatography.

[Serum markers of oxidative stress and assisted reproduction procedures results in infertile patients with polycystic ovary syndrome and controls].

Purpose: To compare the serum levels of five markers of oxidative stress and assisted reproduction (AR) outcomes among infertile patients, with tubal and/or male factor and with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Methods: 70 patients were included, 58 with tubal and/or male factor infertility and 12 with PCOS, who underwent controlled ovarian stimulation to perform intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). A blood sample was collected between the third and fifth day of the menstrual cycle in the month prior to ovarian stimulation.