[Sperm donation in Switzerland].

The acceptance of "marriage for all" in Switzerland has enabled married couples to have access to medically assisted reproduction (MAR) through sperm donation from July 2022. We present the Swiss legal context of sperm donation, the different techniques, the selection of donors and the method of attribution to recipient couples. This article also describes the complexities of managing a sperm bank in Switzerland, presents some of the figures associated and address the fundamental question of access to origins and the secrecy that may be linked to sperm donation.

Core data for assisted reproductive technology registers: results of a consensus meeting.

In Europe, assisted reproductive technology (ART) is monitored in national registers but the definitions used and the recorded data vary from one register to another. In order to provide the stakeholders in this field with the most useful information and avoid an intolerable administrative burden for individual clinics, it is important to agree what constitutes core data for national registers. To do this, experts from 24 European countries met in March 2007 in Lausanne under the auspices of the Fondation pour l'Andrologie, la Biologie et l'Endocrinologie de la Reproduction (FABER) to discuss what constitutes core data for national assisted reproductive technology (ART) registers.

Insulin modulation of luteinizing hormone secretion in normal female volunteers and lean polycystic ovary syndrome patients.

Background/aims: Endocrine features of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) include altered ovarian steroidogenesis, hyperinsulinemia and abnormal luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion. This study was undertaken to further evaluate the role of insulin to modulate LH secretion in lean PCOS patients with normal insulin sensitivity and normal volunteers.

Methods: The study was performed in five nonobese patients diagnosed with PCOS on the basis of amenorrhea and a polycystic morphology at ovarian ultrasound, and 5 normal controls in early to mid-follicular phase and matched for weight and age.

Immune responses induced by lower airway mucosal immunisation with a human papillomavirus type 16 virus-like particle vaccine.

Cervical cancer results from cervical infection by human papillomaviruses (HPV), especially HPV16. Previous studies have shown that intramuscular vaccination of women with an HPV16 virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine induced a strong IgG response and protected against genital HPV16 infection. However, an alternative route of administration that avoids parenteral injection while inducing mucosal immunity might facilitate vaccine implementation in some settings, and partially overcome the substantial variation in HPV16 antibodies at the cervix seen in ovulating women.

Number of transferred embryos: how to reduce multiple pregnancies.

Because the diagnostic tools for predicting whether an early cleavage stage embryo can lead to a viable pregnancy are still elusive, transfer of more than one embryo remains quite common. However, the only way to reduce multiple pregnancies, considered as the main adverse effect of assisted reproductive technology, is to transfer a single embryo. In countries such as Switzerland and Germany, the law allows cryopreservation only at the 2-pronuclear stage.

[Hormone replacement therapy: thoroughness in method and interpretation of results. Regarding the Women's Health Initiative--WHI].

The randomised clinical trial of the Women's Health Initiative, conducted in women who had a natural menopause, has confirmed the absence of benefit of a regime of equine conjugated estrogens and medroxy-progesterone acetate on the occurrence of coronary heart disease. In addition, the treatment induced an increase in the incidence of invasive breast cancer that lead to its premature stop. However, as over 15'000 women have been followed for an average of 5.

[Preventing of postmenopausal osteoporosis by hormone replacement therapy? Is the risk acceptable?].

Over the past two decades, multiple observational studies have suggested that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) reduced the risk of fracture, increased the quality of life and protected against the cardiovascular disease. HRT was often recommended, on the basis of this evidence, for that indications. But these recommendations were based entirely on observational evidence, which can sometimes be misleading.

Specific antibody levels at the cervix during the menstrual cycle of women vaccinated with human papillomavirus 16 virus-like particles.

Background: In early-phase trials, a human papillomavirus 16 (HPV16) virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine has been shown to be well tolerated, immunogenic, and protective against HPV16 in women, most of whom were taking oral contraceptives. Previous studies have not determined whether HPV immunization results in specific antibody levels in the human genital tract or whether these levels might vary during contraceptive or ovulatory cycles. Therefore, we determined the levels of total and specific antibodies in the cervical secretions of women who had been immunized with HPV16 VLPs and examined the influence of the menstrual cycle and oral contraceptive use on these levels.

[Perinatal hemolytic disease. Part 2: Prevention and management].

There has been a dramatic reduction in the incidence of neonatal mortality due to fetal hemolytic disease since the introduction of Rhesus prophylaxis. Although routinely used since 1968, the exact mode of action of anti-D IgGs is still not fully understood. Notable advances have taken place in the screening and the management of fetal hemolytic disease.

[Perinatal hemolytic disease. Part 1: physiopathology].

Perinatal hemolytic disease is characterized by the destruction of fetal red blood cells by maternal antibodies directed against membrane antigens and can lead to immune fetal hydrops. More than 250 blood group antigens have been described. After considering the particular situation of ABO incompatibility, this article describes the classification of red blood cells antigens, with particular reference to the Rhesus system.

Aorto-subclavian thromboembolism: a rare complication associated with moderate ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.

The case of an arterial aorto-subclavian thromboembolism associated with a moderate ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) and following ovulation induction for in-vitro fertilization in a young woman is reported. Because of the lack of response to systemic thrombolysis, a left postero-lateral thoracotomy was performed on day 8 after embryo transfer. A fibrinocruoric embolus situated at the junction of the left subclavian artery from the aorta was removed through a left subclavian arteriotomy.