Comparison between prolactin, gonadotrophins and steroid hormones in serum and follicular fluid after stimulation with gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonists and human menopausal gonadotrophin for an in-vitro fertilization programme.

The inter-relationship between serum and follicular fluid prolactin, oestradiol, progesterone, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH) in two groups of women was investigated. In group 1, 32 women were treated with gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) in a long term protocol and subsequently stimulated with human menopausal gonadotrophin (HMG). In group 2, 25 women were simultaneously stimulated with GnRH-a in a short protocol with HMG.

Influence of the developmental stage and the equilibration time on the outcome of ultrarapid cryopreservation of mouse embryos.

Mouse embryos of different developmental stages from 1- to 8-cell inclusive were ultrarapidly frozen in 0.25 ml French straws after various periods of equilibration (1, 3, 5 and 9 min) in freezing-buffer containing 3.5 M dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO), 0.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression in luteinized human granulosa cells in vitro.

Vascularization is a prerequisit for corpus luteum formation. Angiogenesis is supposed to be regulated by vascular growth factors. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) induces specifically endothelial cell proliferation as well as angiogenesis and increases capillary permeability.

Frozen storage of Ham's F10 medium for human in-vitro fertilization.

A method of frozen storage of Ham's F10 medium was investigated that provides 'ready-to-use' culture medium for human in-vitro fertilization, without the necessity of readjusting and testing the medium after thawing. Ham's F10 medium, without bicarbonate, was adjusted to 245 mOsm/kg and stored in aliquots of 33 ml at -20 degrees C. Aliquots of 1 ml of a 7.

Influence of the duration of the oestradiol rise on the success rate in GnRH analogue/HMG-stimulated IVF cycles.

The influence of the duration of the serum oestradiol (E2) rise before human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) injection on the outcome of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles was investigated. Two different stimulation protocols were compared. In 218 cycles, the Norfolk protocol for stimulation with human menopausal gonadotrophin (HMG) was used (protocol A).