Percutaneous-assisted laparoscopy for ovarian tissue cryopreservation: a single-center experience.

Purpose: To compare surgical and post-operative outcomes of patients submitted to traditional laparoscopy and percutaneous-assisted laparoscopy for ovarian tissue explant for cryopreservation.

Methods: This is a single-center retrospective comparative study conducted in IRCCS "Regina Elena" National Cancer Institute of Rome. Patients submitted to laparoscopic excision of ovarian tissue, before starting chemotherapy were enrolled.

Circulating cell free DNA and citrullinated histone H3 as useful biomarkers of NETosis in endometrial cancer.

Background: Cancer mortality is mainly caused by organ failure and thrombotic events. It has been demonstrated that NETosis, a chromatin release mechanism implemented by neutrophils, may contribute to these lethal systemic effects. Our aim was to investigate NETosis biomarkers in endometrial cancer (EC).

Negligible serum anti-müllerian hormone: pregnancy and birth after a 1-month course of an oral contraceptive, ovarian hyperstimulation, and intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

Objective: To describe a patient with isolated negligible (<0.5 ng/mL or <3.6 pmol/L) anti-müllerian hormone (AMH) levels who underwent intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) for severe oligoasthenoteratozoospermia, displayed ovarian hyperstimulation after a 1-month course of an oral contraceptive (OC), had a singleton pregnancy and delivered a healthy boy.

Significance of metaphase II human oocyte morphology on ICSI outcome.

Objective: To evaluate the influence of specific oocyte morphologic features (morphotypes) on intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outcome. The identification of oocyte quality markers is particularly important when a low number of oocytes can be used for IVF.

Design: Retrospective analysis.

Birth of a healthy boy after fertilization of cryopreserved oocytes with cryopreserved testicular spermatozoa from a man with nonmosaic Klinefelter syndrome.

Objective: To report the first birth with frozen spermatozoa and frozen oocytes in a case of nonmosaic Klinefelter syndrome.

Design: Case report.

Setting: Private IVF clinics and a university hospital.

Developmental potential of fully intact and partially damaged cryopreserved embryos after laser-assisted removal of necrotic blastomeres and post-thaw culture selection.

Objective: Partially damaged frozen and thawed embryos are currently considered to have a lower viability than intact ones. This study was undertaken to compare the performance of intact frozen and thawed embryos with that of partially damaged embryos after removal of the necrotic blastomeres.

Design: Observational clinical series.

Significance of morphological attributes of the early embryo.

There are many morphological transformations during development of human embryos that mainly involve phenomena that can be easily assessed in living embryos by simple non-invasive microscopical observation. A clear correlation between pronuclear morphology and the ability of the resulting embryo to continue developing and to implant has been described. There is also general agreement that a positive relationship exists between early embryo morphology and implantation rate.

ICSI in cases of sperm DNA damage: beneficial effect of oral antioxidant treatment.

Background: Most studies examining the use of ICSI for cases of elevated sperm DNA fragmentation report poor pregnancy and implantation rates. ICSI with testicular sperm samples has recently been suggested for these cases. Here we test a less invasive approach based on oral antioxidant treatment prior to ICSI with ejaculated spermatozoa.

Reduction of the incidence of sperm DNA fragmentation by oral antioxidant treatment.

Sperm DNA fragmentation is known to compromise male fertility. Previous findings have suggested the implication of oxidative stress in the etiology of this pathological condition. The present study was conducted to find out if the pathologically increased incidence of DNA fragmentation in ejaculated spermatozoa can be reduced by oral treatment with two antioxidants, vitamins C and E.

Meiotic spindle visualization in living human oocytes.

A computer-assisted polarization microscopy system (polscope) has made it possible to analyse the meiotic spindle of oocytes subjected to intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) without affecting their viability. It has been shown that the presence of a detectable birefringent meiotic spindle inside the oocyte cytoplasm of human metaphase II (MII) prepared for ICSI is an indicator of oocyte quality, such as fertilization and developmental ability. Meiotic spindle imaging has also shown that this structure, when detectable, is not always aligned with the first polar body (PB1) in fresh MII oocytes.

Natural in vitro fertilization cycles.

Although the first in vitro fertilization (IVF) baby was born after a natural IVF cycle, very soon this procedure was almost abandoned mainly because of the very high cancellation rates, and controlled pharmacological ovarian hyperstimulation became the standard treatment in IVF cycles of normoresponder patients. However, in poor-responder patients, where only very few follicles can be recruited and very few oocytes, if any, can be retrieved after controlled ovarian hyperstimulation, natural IVF cycles may offer a comparable number of follicles, reduced costs, and less discomfort for the patients. In this group of patients, natural IVF cycle is a cost-effective approach.

Efficient treatment of infertility due to sperm DNA damage by ICSI with testicular spermatozoa.

Background: Sperm DNA damage (fragmentation) is a recently discovered cause of male infertility for which no efficient treatment has yet been found. Previous findings have suggested that clinically relevant sperm DNA damage may occur at the post-testicular level. This study was undertaken to assess the clinical usefulness of ICSI with testicular spermatozoa in this indication.

Caspase-dependent and -independent DNA fragmentation in Sertoli and germ cells from men with primary testicular failure: relationship with histological diagnosis.

Background: Germ cell elimination and sperm DNA fragmentation in men with primary testiculopathies involve apoptosis-related processes whose mechanisms are poorly understood. This study examines the participation of typical (caspase-dependent) and atypical (caspase-independent) pathways in these processes.

Methods: Caspase activity and DNA fragmentation were evaluated in Sertoli and germ cells from 63 men with non-obstructive azoospermia and with different histological diagnoses who were undergoing testicular biopsy for an assisted reproduction attempt.

Blastomere cytoplasmic granularity is unrelated to developmental potential of day 3 human embryos.

Purpose: To examine whether the increase in cytoplasmic granularity observed in some human embryos on day 3 of development is of any predictive value as to embryo developmental potential.

Methods: Retrospective study comparing outcomes of treatment attempts in three groups of patients after day 3 embryo transfer. Attempts in which only embryos with clear cytoplasm were transferred form Group I, those in which only embryos with granulated cytoplasm were transferred constitute Group II, and Group III consists of cases with mixed transfer combining both types of embryos.

Microfilament disruption is required for enucleation and nuclear transfer in germinal vesicle but not metaphase II human oocytes.

Objective: To evaluate the usefulness of microfilament disruption before enucleation and nuclear transfer in human oocytes at different stages of maturation.

Design: Prospective experimental study.

Setting: Private clinics.

Day 3 embryo transfer with combined evaluation at the pronuclear and cleavage stages compares favourably with day 5 blastocyst transfer.

Background: The respective advantages of day 3 and day 5 embryo transfer are a matter of debate. Previous comparisons did not include pronuclear stage zygote scoring and cumulative success rates (fresh and cryopreserved embryos).

Methods: Patients were randomized prospectively for day 3 or day 5 embryo transfer.

In-vitro effects of FSH and testosterone withdrawal on caspase activation and DNA fragmentation in different cell types of human seminiferous epithelium.

Background: Caspases are downstream elements of apoptosis-mediating pathways initiated by the Fas ligand/Fas receptor system which is supposed to play a central role in the regulation of apoptosis in the human seminiferous epithelium. However, caspase activity in different cell types of this epithelium has never been addressed.

Methods And Results: We evaluated caspase activity and DNA integrity in Sertoli and germ cells within in-vitro cultured segments of human seminiferous tubules after induction of apoptosis by FSH or testosterone withdrawal.

Laser-assisted removal of necrotic blastomeres from cryopreserved embryos that were partially damaged.

Objective: To examine whether the developmental potential of embryos that were partially damaged after freezing and thawing can be improved by removal of necrotic blastomeres before embryo transfer.

Design: Prospective pilot study and observational clinical series.

Setting: Private hospital.

Caspase activity in preimplantation human embryos is not associated with apoptosis.

Background: Previous studies on mammalian preimplantation embryos have suggested an association between caspase activation, blastomere fragmentation and apoptosis. However, some reports on human embryos questioned the causal relationship between blastomere fragmentation and apoptosis, and information about the presence and activity of caspases in human embryos is lacking.

Methods: A fluorochrome-labelled universal caspase inhibitor was used to visualize active caspases in blastomeres and fragments of preimplantation human embryos.