Quantifying the association of sperm DNA fragmentation with assisted reproductive technology outcomes: An umbrella review.

Background: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are instrumental in shaping clinical practice. However, their findings can sometimes be marred by discrepancies and potential biases, thereby diluting the strength of the evidence presented. Umbrella reviews serve to comprehensively assess and synthesise these reviews, offering a clearer insight into the quality of the evidence presented.

Epididymal contribution to male infertility: An overlooked problem.

The diagnosis and treatment of male infertility, excluding assisted conception, are limited because of, but not limited to, poor understanding of sperm post-testicular development and storage. Many may think that sperm dysfunction is only self-contained in the sperm cell itself as a result of defective spermatogenesis. However, it can also be a consequence of inadequate epididymal maturation following disorders of the epididymis.

Dizygotic twin from conjoined oocytes: a case report.

Purpose: Binovular follicles including a pair of conjoined oocytes within a common zona pellucida or their fusion in the zonal region gained some attentions due to its possible role in dizygotic twins. Although some cases in the literature been reported in which two conjoined oocytes arising from binovular follicles were mature, and injected with two separated sperm, no available evidence reported for dizygotic twin pregnancies.

Methods: A case report of a 37-year-old female patient underwent embryo transfer cycle whereby a pair of conjoined blastocysts after ICSI of a pair of conjoined oocytes was transferred.

Effect of embryo selection based morphokinetics on IVF/ICSI outcomes: evidence from a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Purpose: Debate exists for the optimal tool to select embryos for transfer in assisted reproductive technology (ART). Time-lapse monitoring (TLM) is a noninvasive tool suggested where each embryo can be captured every 5-20 min. Given the inconsistency in the existing studies, we conducted this meta-analysis of RCTs to summarize the evidence available concerning the predictive ability of morphokinetics compared with the routine assessment of embryo development in ART.

Revisiting the management of recurrent implantation failure through freeze-all policy.

Objective: To determine whether a freeze-all policy for in vitro human blastocysts improves the ongoing pregnancy rate in patients with recurrent implantation failure (RIF).

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Single private center.

Integrating insulin into single-step culture medium regulates human embryo development in vitro.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of supplementing single-step embryo culture medium with insulin on human embryo development.

Design: Comparative study.

Setting: Two private centers.

Artificial shrinkage of blastocoel using a laser pulse prior to vitrification improves clinical outcome.

Purpose: Blastocysts contain a large amount of fluid in the blastocoel, which may pose a risk for ice crystal formation during vitrification. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of laser-induced artificial shrinkage of blastocoel before vitrification on clinical outcome.

Methods: Patients were divided into two groups: a control group with untreated, expanded blastocysts (n = 115) and a study group with blastocoel artificially eliminated by a laser pulse prior to vitrification (n = 309).

A preliminary report of successful cleavage after calcium ionophore activation at ICSI in cases with previous arrest at the pronuclear stage.

Artificial oocyte activation (AOA) has been previously suggested as a means to overcome the problem of total fertilization failure, which affects about 1-3% of the intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles. A preliminary study on the application of chemical AOA was conducted using A23187 Ca(2+) ionophore to improve embryonic development in four women with a history of complete fertilization arrest and inability to transit to cleavage stage during previous ICSI trials. Data indicated that activated oocytes resulted in better fertilization, embryonic development and clinical pregnancy in one of the four couples.