Seven Years of Vitrified Blastocyst Transfers: Comparison of 3 Preparation Protocols at a Single ART Center.

Frozen-thawed embryo transfers (FET) have become a standard practice to increase cumulative pregnancy rates, however, the choice of the best preparation protocol remains a matter of debate. Retrospective analysis of clinical pregnancy (CPR) and live birth rate (LBR) of FET in natural cycles (NC-FET), modified natural cycles with hCG-triggered ovulation (mNC-FET), and hormonal artificial replacement (AR-FET). For natural cycles, patients were monitored by ultrasound to evaluate the dominant follicle and by urinary LH kits (NC-FET).

Preimplantation Genetic Testing for Aneuploidy Improves Clinical, Gestational, and Neonatal Outcomes in Advanced Maternal Age Patients Without Compromising Cumulative Live-Birth Rate.

Purpose: To report the effects of blastocyst stage aneuploidy testing on clinical, gestational, and neonatal outcomes for patients of advanced maternal age undergoing IVF.

Methods: This is a single-center observational-cohort study with 2 years follow-up. The study includes a total of 2538 couples undergoing 2905 egg collections (control group), 308 (PGT-A), and 106 (drop-out group, consenting for PGT-A but withdrawing due to poor embryological outcome) RESULTS: Compared with control group, PGT-A showed improved clinical outcomes (live-birth rate per transferred embryo, LBR 40.

Oocyte Cryopreservation in Oncological Patients: Eighteen Years Experience of a Tertiary Care Referral Center.

The aim of the present study is to report our experience on elective women fertility preservation before cancer treatment. This is a single-center retrospective observational study, including all patients who underwent elective fertility preservation before oncological treatment between January 2001 and March 2019 at our Institute. Of a total of 568 women who received fertility counseling, 244 (42.

An Observational Retrospective Cohort Trial on 4,828 IVF Cycles Evaluating Different Low Prognosis Patients Following the POSEIDON Criteria.

To study the actual controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) management in women with suboptimal response, comparing clinical outcomes to the gonadotropins consume, considering potential role of luteinizing hormone (LH) addition to follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). Monocentric, observational, retrospective, real-world, clinical trial on fresh intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles retrieving from 1 to 9 oocytes, performed at Humanitas Fertility Center from January 1st, 2012 to December 31st, 2015. COS protocols provided gonadotropin releasing-hormone (GnRH) agonist long, flare-up, short and antagonist.

Inconclusive chromosomal assessment after blastocyst biopsy: prevalence, causative factors and outcomes after re-biopsy and re-vitrification. A multicenter experience.

Study Question: Can a second round of biopsy, vitrification and chromosomal testing provide a valid diagnosis where the first attempt fails?

Summary Answer: The risk of inconclusive chromosomal-assessment after trophectoderm biopsy was 2.5% but a further biopsy and vitrification-warming appeared not to impair the competence of euploid blastocysts.

What Is Known Already: The increasing implementation of multicell trophectoderm biopsy has significantly reduced the risk of inconclusive diagnosis after preimplantation-genetic-testing (PGT).

Delayed childbearing and female ageing impair assisted reproductive technology outcome in survivors of male haematological cancers.

Purpose: To analyse the impact of female characteristics on assisted reproductive technology outcome among male haematological cancer survivors.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 93 haematological cancer survivors attending our tertiary referral fertility centre between June 1998 and June 2017 for achieving fatherhood with assisted reproductive technology treatments.

Results: A progressive increase in the median female age was observed during the study period (32.

No advantage of fresh blastocyst versus cleavage stage embryo transfer in women under the age of 39: a randomized controlled study.

Purpose: Is there a difference in implantation and pregnancy rates between embryos transferred electively at cleavage or blastocyst stage in infertile women ≤ 38 years with at least four zygotes on day 1 post retrieval?

Methods: A randomized clinical trial was conducted in a single tertiary care hospital with a sample size of 194 patients in each arm for a total population of 388 women. Patients less than 39 years of age with more than three fertilized oocytes and less than four previous assisted reproductive technology (ART) attempts were inclusion criteria.

Results: The two groups were similar for age, years of infertility, indication to treatment, basal antimüllerian hormone and FSH, number of previous ART cycles, primary or secondary infertility, type of induction protocol, days of stimulation, total gonadotrophin dose, and estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P) levels at trigger.

Obstetric outcome and incidence of congenital anomalies in 2351 IVF/ICSI babies.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive follow-up of fetal and perinatal outcome and the incidence of congenital anomalies in babies born after fresh embryo transfers compared to those conceived spontaneously in infertile couples.

Methods: Retrospective comparative analysis of all clinical pregnancies from fresh cleavage-stage embryo transfer cycles (IVF and ICSI) compared with infertile patients who conceived spontaneously in the same time period (control). Congenital anomalies were classified following the European Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies (EUROCAT) classification.

Artificial shrinkage of blastocysts prior to vitrification improves pregnancy outcome: analysis of 1028 consecutive warming cycles.

Purpose: This study aims to compare implantation, pregnancy, and delivery rates in frozen transfer cycles with blastocysts that were vitrified either with artificial shrinking (AS group) or without (NAS group).

Methods: Retrospective comparative study of artificial shrinking of blastocysts prior to vitrification and frozen embryo transfer cycles in infertile patients undergoing frozen embryo transfer (FET) was done at the Humanitas Fertility Center between October 2009 and December 2013. Main outcome measure(s) were implantation (IR), pregnancy (PR), and delivery rates (DR) between the two groups.

Effect of sex and estrogens on neuronal activation in an animal model of migraine.

Objective: In this study, we evaluated the influence of sex and estrogen treatment on nitroglycerin (NTG)-induced neuronal activation in the rat brain.

Background: Systemic NTG activates cerebral nuclei of rat involved in nociceptive transmission, as well as in neuroendocrine and autonomic functions. These changes are considered relevant for migraine, since NTG consistently induces spontaneous-like attacks in migraineurs.

Human oocyte ultravitrification with a low concentration of cryoprotectants by ultrafast cooling: a new protocol.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a new ultravitrification technique with a low concentration of cryoprotectants.

Design: Ultravitrification research.

Setting: Private assisted reproduction center.

Subclinical cardiac dysfunction and exercise performance in childhood cancer survivors.

Background: Although anthracycline cardiotoxicity is clearly related to the cumulative dose administered, subclinical cardiac dysfunction has been reported across a wide range of treatment regimens, and its clinical significance is still unclear. Purpose of this study is to investigate by exercise echocardiography for subclinical cardiac dysfunction in survivors of pediatric cancer treated with low-moderate anthracycline doses, and to evaluate whether it may alter the response of the cardiovascular system to dynamic exercise.

Procedure: Post-exercise left ventricular end-systolic wall stress (ESS), left ventricular posterior wall dimension and percent thickening at end systole, and cardiopulmonary exercise test-derived indexes of cardiac function were examined in 55 apparently healthy patients (mean age 13.

Oocyte cryopreservation.

Over the last few years, there has been renewed interest and scientific debate concerning human oocyte cryopreservation. The aim of this study was to analyse the clinical data coming from our long experience of slow-freezing oocytes. Between 2001 and 2007, 1280 thawing cycles were carried out using oocytes previously frozen by means of a slow 1,2 propaniedol+sucrose protocol.

Aortic arch geometry and exercise-induced hypertension in aortic coarctation.

Hypertension at rest or during effort is not uncommon in patients with aortic coarctation (CoA), even those with a successful repair or mild degree of obstruction. Anatomic factors and functional abnormalities have been proposed as causes of this finding. Recently, aortic arch geometry was reported in association with hypertension at rest in patients with successful CoA repair.

Exercise capacity in apparently healthy survivors of cancer.

Aims: To evaluate cardiopulmonary exercise tolerance in a large cohort of apparently healthy paediatric cancer survivors in order to determine their participation in sporting activities.

Methods: A total of 84 young (<21 years) asymptomatic childhood cancer survivors, who had been exposed to anthracyclines (mean dose 212 mg/m2) and/or chest irradiation (median dose 2000 cGy), with normal left ventricular systolic function at rest (fractional shortening >29%), and 79 healthy controls were studied. Exercise testing was performed on a treadmill ergometer.

Effects of acute and chronic restraint stress on nitroglycerin-induced hyperalgesia in rats.

Nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role in initiation and maintenance of pain, and NO precursor nitroglycerin is able to activate spinal and brain structures involved in nociception. It is also known that acute and chronic stress induce biochemical changes affecting both pain threshold and behaviour, and that the biological pattern of depression can be mimicked in the laboratory using chronic unavoidable stress paradigms (learned helplessness). We, therefore, evaluated the effects of acute and chronic immobilization stress on pain response to nitroglycerin administration in the rat.

Exercise-induced bronchodilation in natural and induced asthma: effects on ventilatory response and performance.

We studied whether bronchodilatation occurs with exercise during the late asthmatic reaction (LAR) to allergen (group 1, n = 13) or natural asthma (NA; group 2, n = 8) and whether this is sufficient to preserve maximum ventilation (VE(max)), oxygen consumption (VO(2 max)), and exercise performance (W(max)). In group 1, partial forced expiratory flow at 30% of resting forced vital capacity increased during exercise, both at control and LAR. W(max) was slightly reduced at LAR, whereas VE(max), tidal volume, breathing frequency, and VO(2 max) were preserved.

Magnetic resonance imaging of athlete's heart: myocardial mass, left ventricular function, and cross-sectional area of the coronary arteries.

To evaluate left ventricular myocardial mass and function as well as ostial coronary artery cross-sectional area in endurance athletes, an athlete group of 12 highly trained rowers and a control group of 12 sedentary healthy subjects underwent MR examination. An ECG-gated breath-hold cine gradient-echo sequence was used to calculate myocardial mass, end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes, stroke volume, and cardiac output, all related to body surface area, as well as ejection fraction. A 3D fat-saturated ECG- and respiratory-triggered navigator echo sequence was used to evaluate coronary arteries: left main (LM), left anterior descending (LAD), left circumflex (LCx), and right coronary artery (RCA).