Effects of interactions between progesterone and prostaglandin on uterine contractility in a perfused swine uterus model.

Background/aim: Uterine quiescence at the time of embryo transfer is a prerequisite for successful in vitro fertilization (IVF). This study assessed whether prostaglandin-induced contractions in the perfused swine uterus can be reduced by progesterone.

Materials And Methods: Fifty-eight non-pregnant swine uteri were perfused using an established extracorporeal perfusion model.

Offspring after embryo-preserving biopsy of the embryoblast with standard ICSI equipment in mouse blastocysts.

Background/aim: Obtaining human embryonic stem cell lines has so far involved destroying the embryos. This has given rise to ethical concerns and is not permitted in most countries. This investigation tested whether removing multiple cells from blastocysts might allow continued embryonic development.

Uterus cryopreservation in the sheep: one step closer to uterus transplantation.

Background: Uterus transplantation is the only way for women with no functional uterus to become pregnant. However, the technique is limited by the fact that an aggressive immunosuppression is necessary in order to avoid rejection of the graft. For better chances of finding a matching organ, which would minimize the immunosuppressive therapy, the establishment of cryobanks with a large number of uteri would be helpful.

Review. Fertility preservation for young female cancer patients.

Young female cancer patients are still being poorly counseled with regard to the negative impact of treatment on their fertility and on their options for fertility preservation. Today, many possibilities exist for fertility preservation, such as ovarian suppression with GnRH analogues, ovarian tissue cryopreservation, in vitro maturation or IVF after ovulation induction with aromatase inhibitors. A pregnancy after cancer treatment does not seem to limit the prognosis.

Isolation of fibroblasts for coating of meshes for reconstructive surgery: differences between mesh types.

Aims: An extensive colonization of surgical meshes with autologous fibroblasts may reduce complications. Therefore, we aimed to establish a technique that allows isolation and propagation of fibroblasts from vaginal biopsies. Using these cells we tested the applicability of several clinically applied meshes for fibroblast coating.

Cancer and fertility preservation in females: where we stand and where we are heading.

It is estimated that, in 2010, one in every 250 adults will be a childhood cancer survivor. This review discusses the impact of current cancer treatment on fertility potential and the assisted-reproduction innovations available today for the most common cancers in young women. As the emerging discipline of fertility preservation is steadily attracting increasing interest, developments in the near future promise to be very exciting.

Differences in muscarinic-receptor agonist-, oxytocin-, and prostaglandin-induced uterine contractions.

Objective: To investigate the contractile response of the perfused swine uterus to various receptor pathways (oxytocin, prostaglandins, and muscarine).

Design: An extracorporeal perfusion model of the swine uterus was used that keeps the uterus in a functional condition and is appropriate for the study of physiologic questions.

Intervention(s): Oxytocin-, prostaglandin-, and carbachol-induced uterine contractility and peristalsis were assessed using an intrauterine double-chip microcatheter.

Hormonal and histologic findings in human cryopreserved ovarian autografts.

This is the first report showing a hormonal and histologic discrepancy in cryopreserved human ovarian tissue 11 months after orthotopic autotransplantation. The presence of antral follicles was observed although the hormonal values had returned to castrated levels.

Influence of resection volume on locoregional recurrence of breast cancer after breast-conserving surgery.

Background: The goals of breast-conserving surgery are to provide the survival equivalent of mastectomy, a cosmetically acceptable breast and a low rate of locoregional recurrence in the treated breast. This retrospective study investigated the impact of the resection volume on locoregional recurrence after breast-conserving therapy in patients with early-stage invasive breast cancer.

Patients And Methods: Retrospective data from 185 women who were treated for operable breast tumours by breast-conserving surgery between 1995-1999 at the Martin-Luther-University in Halle/Germany were included in our study.

Cancer and fertility preservation: fertility preservation in breast cancer patients.

Aggressive chemotherapy has improved the life expectancy for reproductive-age women with breast cancer, but it often causes infertility or premature ovarian failure due to destruction of the ovarian reserve. Many questions concerning fertility preservation in breast cancer patients remain unanswered--for example, whether fertility preservation methods interfere with chemotherapy, and whether subsequent pregnancy has negative effects on the prognosis. Fertility preservation is a critical factor in decision-making for younger breast cancer patients, however, and clinicians should address this.

Pretreatment with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonists to prevent the flare-up effect of long-acting GnRH agonists: results of a pilot study.

This study evaluated in vivo whether the flare-up effect of GnRH agonists can be suppressed through pretreatment with a GnRH antagonist. The classic flare-up effect caused by 3.8 mg goserelin acetate could not be suppressed through pretreatment using a single dosage of 3.

The extracorporeal perfusion of the female pig detrusor as an experimental model for the study of bladder contractility.

Aims: The objective of the study was to establish an experimental model for the extracorporeal perfusion of the pig detrusor. In order to validate this model we examined some biochemical parameters and determined the effect of carbachol on the contractility of perfused female pig bladders.

Methods: Twenty-six pig bladders were perfused with Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate-glucose buffer for a period up to 5 hr with the aim to preserve a viable organ, which would be responsive to contraction-inducing agents.

The effect of a GnRH agonist on cryopreserved human ovarian grafts in severe combined immunodeficient mice.

This prospective study compares the effect of a GnRH agonist on the number of follicles in different developmental stages in cryopreserved human ovarian grafts transplanted into gonadotropin-stimulated or not stimulated severe combined immunodeficient mice (SCID mice). Human ovarian tissue from seven patients was cryopreserved with an open-freezing system and xenotransplanted in SCID mice. The SCID mice were then treated according to different stimulation protocols.

Xenotransplantation of human ovarian tissue pieces in gonadotropin-stimulated SCID mice: the effect of ovariectomy.

The number of follicles were compared in different developmental stages after the cryopreservation of human ovarian tissue by open freezing system followed by xenotransplantation into severe combined immunodeficient (SCID)-mice under stimulation, with and without ovariectomy. Ovarian tissue, cryopreserved for fertility preservation was partly examined by LIVE/DEAD viability staining or was transplanted in the neck muscle of 32 SCID-mice. The development of follicles, estradiol production, vaginal cytology and uterus weight was assessed after 15 weeks under gonadotropin stimulation, with or without ovariectomy.

Significant loss of primordial follicles after prolonged gonadotropin stimulation in xenografts of cryopreserved human ovarian tissue in severe combined immunodeficient mice.

This study evaluated the effect of gonadotropin stimulation on the primordial follicle reserve of cryopreserved human ovarian tissue after transplantation in severe combined immunodeficient mice. We found that prolonged gonadotropin stimulation significantly reduces primordial follicles.

Reproduction beyond cancer: a message of hope for young women.

Objective: Aggressive chemotherapy and radiotherapy or radical oncological surgery in young women with cancer has greatly enhanced these patients' life expectancy, but these treatments often cause infertility or premature ovarian failure due to a massive destruction of the ovarian reserve. The objective of this review is to discuss the effect of the various cancer treatments on fertility and present the various fertility sparing operations and fertility preservation strategies.

Method: An extensive survey of the most up-to-date literature was performed.

The effect of cancer treatment on female fertility and strategies for preserving fertility.

Aggressive chemotherapy and radiotherapy in young patients with cancer has greatly enhanced the life expectancy of these patients, but these treatments often cause infertility because of the massive destruction of the ovarian reserve resulting in premature ovarian failure (POF). This review focuses on the effect of cancer treatments on fertility and on the various surgical and assisted-reproduction innovations that are available to provide the patient with the option of future pregnancies. As the emerging discipline of fertility preservation is steadily attracting increasing interest, developments in the near future promise to be very exciting.

Gonadal damage and options for fertility preservation in female and male cancer survivors.

It is estimated that in 2010, 1 in every 250 adults will be a childhood cancer survivor. Today, oncological surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy achieve relatively high rates of remission and long-term survival, yet are often detrimental to fertility. Quality of life is increasingly important to long-term survivors of cancer, and one of the major quality-of-life issues is the ability to produce and raise normal children.

Perfused non-pregnant swine uteri: a model for evaluating transport mechanisms to the side bearing the dominant follicle in humans.

Adequate uterine contractility and periovulatory peristalsis, interpreted as "rapid sperm transport" to the side bearing the dominant follicle, may be a precondition for successful reproduction in humans. Estrogen and progesterone fluctuate characteristically during the menstrual cycle, and their source is the dominant follicle and corpus luteum. The question is, how is the direction to the left or right side of transport mechanisms influenced? An extracorporeal perfusion model of the swine uterus was used that maintained the uterus in a functional condition and that was suitable for the study of physiological questions.

Simple prediction of the survival of follicles in cryopreserved human ovarian tissue.

This study examines the possible predictive value of the LIVE/DEAD fluorescence viability assay for evaluation of survival of cryopreserved human ovarian tissue. Ovarian tissue from ten patients was examined by LIVE/DEAD viability staining before and after cryopreservation and after freezing in a -20 C freezer (negative control). After cryopreservation with a slow freezing protocol and cryoprotectant the LIVE/DEAD assay showed 86% viable follicles (an intact oocyte and at least more than 50% of the granulosa cells alive), whereas after freezing at -20 C the survival rate was 67%.

Comparison of two freezing protocols in an open freezing system for cryopreservation of rat ovarian tissue.

Aim: To compare two freezing protocols in an automatic open-vessel freezing system for cryopreservation of rat ovarian tissue.

Methods: Ovarian tissue was transplanted heterotopically into the neck muscle, either without cryopreservation (group 1, n = 6) or with cryopreservation after equilibration with 1.5 mol/L dimethyl sulfoxide and propanediol (protocol A, group 2, n = 6) or 1.

Uterine contractility in response to different prostaglandins: results from extracorporeally perfused non-pregnant swine uteri.

Background: Prostaglandins (PGs) are important stimulators of uterine contractility. Limited data are available at present on the effects of different PGs on uterine contractility, measured using intraluminal pressure changes in the complete uterus. The goal of this study was to assess dynamic changes in uterine contractility and peristalsis in response to PGs in comparison with the effects of oxytocin administration.

Development of sex cord stromal tumors after heterotopic transplantation of cryopreserved ovarian tissue in rats.

Chemoradiotherapy has substantially improved life expectancy in young women with cancer, but these treatments often cause infertility. One method of preserving fertility is to cryopreserve ovarian tissue, with subsequent autotransplantation of the tissue after successful anticancer therapy. This study examined the long-term effect of heterotopic transplantation of cryopreserved ovarian tissue on the histology.