Effects of yoga on utero-fetal-placental circulation in high-risk pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial.

Introduction. Impaired placentation and inadequate trophoblast invasion have been associated with the etiology of many pregnancy complications and have been correlated with the first trimester uterine artery resistance. Previous studies have shown the benefits of yoga in improving pregnancy outcomes and those of yogic visualization in revitalizing the human tissues.

Strategies for fertility preservation in young patients with cancer: a comprehensive approach.

As a result of treatment innovations, the survival rates of young people with cancer have increased substantially. The cancers most frequently diagnosed in adults aged 25-49 years include breast, colorectal and cervical cancer and malignant melanoma (Cancer Research UK, 2009). The 5-year survival rates of over 90 % for many malignancies are now reported in young people.

Efficacy of yoga in pregnant women with abnormal Doppler study of umbilical and uterine arteries.

To study the efficacy of yoga on the outcome of complicated pregnancy, 121 women attending antenatal clinic at Gunasheela Surgical and Maternity Hospital (GSMH) in Bangalore, India, were enrolled between 18-20 weeks of pregnancy in a prospective, matched, observational study. Sixty-eight women were in the yoga group and 53 women in the control group. Women were matched for age, gravida and Doppler velocimetry scores of umbilical and uterine arteries.

Efficacy of yoga on pregnancy outcome.

Objective: To study the efficacy of yoga on pregnancy outcomes.

Design And Setting: Three hundred thirty five (335) women attending the antenatal clinic at Gunasheela Surgical and Maternity Hospital in Bangalore, India, were enrolled between 18 and 20 weeks of pregnancy in a prospective, matched, observational study; 169 women in the yoga group and 166 women in the control group.

Methods: Women were matched for age, parity, body weight, and Doppler velocimetry scores of umbilical and uterine arteries.

Mechanics of human blastocyst hatching in vitro.

Critical examination of 30 blastocysts by transmission electron microscopy at various stages of blastulation and hatching, has revealed the presence of specialized, plump, trophoblastic cells at the points of hatching, which seem to aid in initial breaking of the zona pellucida (ZP) and then widen its opening to permit the progressive emergence of the embryo in amoeboid fashion, when it acquires a characteristic dumb-bell shape. These cells are named 'zona-breaker' cells and their characteristics are described. Normally, trophoblast cells in expanding blastocysts are flattened (squamous), forming a continuous robust epithelium with specialized cell junctions.

Critical evaluation of human blastocysts for assisted reproduction techniques and embryonic stem cell biotechnology.

Critical examination of 30 blastocysts by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveals cellular features not usually evident, including abnormalities of cell structure and aberrations such as multinucleation, internal fragmentation, phagocytic or degenerating cells. Invariably, such blastocysts are inactive and delay or fail to expand and hatch in vitro. Hatching seems to be a major problem in ageing blastocysts due to inactivity of the surface epithelium of trophoblast cells that do not stretch and expand.