Mindfulness interventions and quality of life in anxiety-related disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) effectively treat anxiety symptoms across different anxiety and related disorders (ARDs), including panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we investigate whether MBIs also lead to improvements in the quality of life (QoL) of patients with ARDs. A systematic review was performed through electronic search in PUBMED, PsycINFO, Embase, Web of Science, and Clinical Trials databases.

Oocyte yield and live birth rate after follitropin delta dosing and fresh embryo transfer: an individual patient data meta-analysis.

Research Question: What number of retrieved oocytes is associated with the optimum chance of achieving a live birth for women undergoing ovarian stimulation with individualized follitropin delta?

Design: An individual patient data meta-analysis was performed on 1772 patients from five randomized controlled trials using individualized follitropin delta for ovarian stimulation with fixed daily dosing based on serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) level and body weight. Live birth rate (LBR) and ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) were evaluated in relation to the number of oocytes retrieved. Predicted LBR was obtained using a logistic regression analysis with fractional polynomials.

A comprehensive study of common and rare genetic variants in spermatogenesis-related loci identifies new risk factors for idiopathic severe spermatogenic failure.

Study Question: Can genome-wide genotyping data be analysed using a hypothesis-driven approach to enhance the understanding of the genetic basis of severe spermatogenic failure (SPGF) in male infertility?

Summary Answer: Our findings revealed a significant association between SPGF and the gene and identified three novel genes (, , and ) along with 32 potentially pathogenic rare variants in 30 genes that contribute to this condition.

What Is Known Already: SPGF is a major cause of male infertility, often with an unknown aetiology. SPGF can be due to either multifactorial causes, including both common genetic variants in multiple genes and environmental factors, or highly damaging rare variants.

Towards the correlates of stressful life events as precipitants of obsessive-compulsive disorder: a systematic review and metanalysis.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a prevalent condition with multifactorial etiology involving genetic and environmental factors. The present study aims to summarize the correlates of stressful life events (SLEs) in OCD by reviewing studies comparing OCD associated or not with SLEs before its onset. To do so, a systematic review was performed by searching PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and PsycINFO databases for studies published between the database's inception and November 27, 2023.

Impact of dydrogesterone use in cycles with low progesterone levels on the day of frozen embryo transfer.

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate whether the clinical outcomes of cycles with frozen embryo transfer (FET) in hormonal replacement treatment supplemented with dydrogesterone (DYD) following detection of low circulating levels of progesterone (P4) were comparable to the results of cycles with otherwise normal serum P4 values.

Methods: Extended analyses of a retrospective cohort that included FET cycles performed between July 2019 and March 2022 after a cycle of artificial endometrial preparation using valerate-estradiol and micronized vaginal P4 (400 mg twice daily). Whenever the serum P4 value was considered low on the morning of the planned transfer, 10 mg of DYD three times a day was added as a supplement.

ESHRE guideline: number of embryos to transfer during IVF/ICSI†.

Study Question: Which clinical and embryological factors should be considered to apply double embryo transfer (DET) instead of elective single embryo transfer (eSET)?

Summary Answer: No clinical or embryological factor per se justifies a recommendation of DET instead of eSET in IVF/ICSI.

What Is Known Already: DET is correlated with a higher rate of multiple pregnancy, leading to a subsequent increase in complications for both mother and babies. These complications include preterm birth, low birthweight, and other perinatal adverse outcomes.

Online group therapies for anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, and trauma-related disorders: a systematic review.

Background: This systematic review examined the existing literature to determine the evidence supporting the efficacy of online group treatments for anxiety-, obsessive-compulsive- and trauma-related disorders (AOTDs).

Methods: A systematic review using the PUBMED, PsycInfo, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials databases with no language, date, or study design filters was performed. The inclusion criteria comprised studies that examined individuals who had received a formal diagnosis of AOTDs, were aged 18 years or older, and had baseline and endpoint assessments of symptom severity using formal tools.

Aneuploidy in oocytes from women of advanced maternal age: analysis of the causal meiotic errors and impact on embryo development.

Study Question: In oocytes of advanced maternal age (AMA) women, what are the mechanisms leading to aneuploidy and what is the association of aneuploidy with embryo development?

Summary Answer: Known chromosome segregation errors such as precocious separation of sister chromatids explained 90.4% of abnormal chromosome copy numbers in polar bodies (PBs), underlying impaired embryo development.

What Is Known Already: Meiotic chromosomal aneuploidies in oocytes correlate with AMA (>35 years) and can affect over half of oocytes in this age group.

Nature (almost) always prevails - challenging the status quo of artificial cycle frozen embryo transfers.

Frozen embryo transfers (FET) have become increasingly popular in assisted reproductive technology (ART) due to advancements in cryopreservation techniques and the implementation of the 'freeze-all' strategy. The choice between artificial or natural cycles for FET preparation has been a subject of debate, considering factors such as endometrial receptivity, flexibility of scheduling and pregnancy outcomes. While artificial cycle protocols offer convenience and flexibility, studies have suggested potential drawbacks, including higher miscarriage rates and a greater risk of hypertensive disorders during pregnancy.

The HERA (Hyper-response Risk Assessment) Delphi consensus for the management of hyper-responders in in vitro fertilization.

Purpose: To provide agreed-upon guidelines on the management of a hyper-responsive patient undergoing ovarian stimulation (OS) METHODS: A literature search was performed regarding the management of hyper-response to OS for assisted reproductive technology. A scientific committee consisting of 4 experts discussed, amended, and selected the final statements. A priori, it was decided that consensus would be reached when ≥66% of the participants agreed, and ≤3 rounds would be used to obtain this consensus.

Evidence-based guideline: unexplained infertility†.

Study Question: What is the recommended management for couples presenting with unexplained infertility (UI), based on the best available evidence in the literature?

Summary Answer: The evidence-based guideline on UI makes 52 recommendations on the definition, diagnosis, and treatment of UI.

What Is Known Already: UI is diagnosed in the absence of any abnormalities of the female and male reproductive systems after 'standard' investigations. However, a consensual standardization of the diagnostic work-up is still lacking.

Clinical pregnancy rate for frozen embryo transfer with HRT: a randomized controlled pilot study comparing 1 week versus 2 weeks of oestradiol priming.

Research Question: Does a frozen-embryo transfer in an artificially-prepared endometrium (FET-HRT) cycle yield similar clinical pregnancy rate with 7 days of oestrogen priming compared to 14 days?

Design: This is a single-centre, randomized, controlled, open-label pilot study. All FET-HRT cycles were performed in a tertiary centre between October 2018 and January 2021. Overall, 160 patients were randomized, with a 1:1 allocation, into two groups of 80 patients each: group A (7 days of E2 prior to P4 supplementation) and group B (14 days of E2 prior to P4 supplementation).

The HERA (Hyper-response Risk Assessment) Delphi consensus definition of hyper-responders for in-vitro fertilization.

Purpose: To provide an agreed upon definition of hyper-response for women undergoing ovarian stimulation (OS)?

Methods: A literature search was performed regarding hyper-response to ovarian stimulation for assisted reproductive technology. A scientific committee consisting of 5 experts discussed, amended, and selected the final statements in the questionnaire for the first round of the Delphi consensus. The questionnaire was distributed to 31 experts, 22 of whom responded (with representation selected for global coverage), each anonymous to the others.

The combined effect of BMI and age on ART outcomes.

Study Question: For a woman with infertility and overweight/obesity, can infertility treatment be postponed to first promote weight loss?

Summary Answer: Advice regarding a delay in IVF treatment to optimize female weight should consider female age, particularly in women over 38 years for whom only substantial weight loss in a short period of time (3 months) seems to provide any benefit.

What Is Known Already: Body weight excess and advanced age are both common findings in infertile patients, creating the dilemma of whether to promote weight loss first or proceed to fertility treatment immediately. Despite their known impact on fertility, studies assessing the combined effect of female age and BMI on cumulative live birth rates (CLBRs) are still scarce and conflicting.

Usability, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness of a medical software for early pregnancies: a retrospective study.

Study Question: Can early pregnancies be accurately and cost-effectively diagnosed and managed using a new medical computerized tool?

Summary Answer: Compared to the standard clinical approach, retrospective implementation of the new medical software in a gynaecological emergency unit was correlated with more accurate diagnosis and more cost-effective management.

What Is Known Already: Early pregnancy complications are responsible for a large percentage of consultations, mostly in emergency units, with guidelines becoming complex and poorly known/misunderstood by practitioners.

Study Design, Size, Duration: A total of 780 gynaecological emergency consultations (446 patients), recorded between November 2018 and June 2019 in a tertiary university hospital, were retrospectively encoded in a new medical computerized tool.

The Addition of Dydrogesterone after Frozen Embryo Transfer in Hormonal Substituted Cycles with Low Progesterone Levels.

Objective:  To determine whether a rescue strategy using dydrogesterone (DYD) could improve the outcomes of frozen embryo transfer cycles (FET) with low progesterone (P4) levels on the day of a blastocyst transfer.

Methods:  Retrospective cohort study including FET cycles performed between July 2019 and October 2020 following an artificial endometrial preparation cycle using estradiol valerate and micronized vaginal P4 (400 mg twice daily). Whenever the serum P4 value was below 10 ng/mL on the morning of the planned transfer, DYD 10 mg three times a day was added as supplementation.

Immune and spermatogenesis-related loci are involved in the development of extreme patterns of male infertility.

We conducted a genome-wide association study in a large population of infertile men due to unexplained spermatogenic failure (SPGF). More than seven million genetic variants were analysed in 1,274 SPGF cases and 1,951 unaffected controls from two independent European cohorts. Two genomic regions were associated with the most severe histological pattern of SPGF, defined by Sertoli cell-only (SCO) phenotype, namely the MHC class II gene HLA-DRB1 (rs1136759, P = 1.

A longitudinal evaluation of free will related cognitions in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Background: Individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) often feel compelled to perform (compulsive) behaviors, thus raising questions regarding their free will beliefs and experiences. In the present study, we investigated if free will related cognitions (free will beliefs or experiences) differed between OCD patients and healthy subjects and whether these cognitions predicted symptom changes after a one-year follow up.

Methods: Sixty OCD outpatients were assessed for their beliefs in and experiences of free will at baseline and after one year of treatment.

Common genetic variation in KATNAL1 non-coding regions is involved in the susceptibility to severe phenotypes of male infertility.

Background: Previous studies in animal models evidenced that genetic mutations of KATNAL1, resulting in dysfunction of its encoded protein, lead to male infertility through disruption of microtubule remodelling and premature germ cell exfoliation. Subsequent studies in humans also suggested a possible role of KATNAL1 single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the development of male infertility as a consequence of severe spermatogenic failure.

Objectives: The main objective of the present study is to evaluate the effect of the common genetic variation of KATNAL1 in a large and phenotypically well-characterised cohort of infertile men because of severe spermatogenic failure.

Common Variation in the PIN1 Locus Increases the Genetic Risk to Suffer from Sertoli Cell-Only Syndrome.

We aimed to analyze the role of the common genetic variants located in the locus, a relevant prolyl isomerase required to control the proliferation of spermatogonial stem cells and the integrity of the blood-testis barrier, in the genetic risk of developing male infertility due to a severe spermatogenic failure (SPGF). Genotyping was performed using TaqMan genotyping assays for three taggers (rs2287839, rs2233678 and rs62105751). The study cohort included 715 males diagnosed with SPGF and classified as suffering from non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA, = 505) or severe oligospermia (SO, = 210), and 1058 controls from the Iberian Peninsula.