Andrology laboratory technique for analysis of semen in men with azoospermia.

Discovery of spermatozoa during the 17th century led to developing technologies for semen analysis in the early 1900s, and then, standard techniques were implemented during the 20th century. Semen analysis has a pivotal role in the male infertility evaluation, and azoospermia is an important finding. Azoospermia is identified in 15% of infertile men.

Progesterone concentrations on blastocyst transfer day in modified natural cycle frozen embryo transfer cycles.

Research Question: Are serum progesterone concentrations on the day of modified natural cycle (mNC) frozen blastocyst transfer (FET) without luteal phase support (LPS) associated with clinical pregnancy rate (CPR)?

Design: Data were collected between January 2019 and October 2022 as a sub-study of an ongoing randomized controlled trial assessing pregnancy outcomes in mNC-FET. The sub-study included all women (n = 209) randomized to mNC-FET without LPS at the time of data extraction. Participants were aged 18-41 years, had regular menstrual cycles and underwent mNC-FET treatment with single-blastocyst transfer.

Association between the length of in vitro embryo culture, mode of ART, and the initial endogenous hCG rise in ongoing singleton pregnancies.

Study Question: Is there an association between the length of in vitro culture, mode of ART and the initial endogenous hCG rise, in cycles with a foetal heartbeat after single embryo transfer (ET) and implantation?

Summary Answer: Both the length of in vitro culture and the mode of ART have an impact on the initial endogenous rise in hCG in singleton pregnancies.

What Is Known Already: Different factors have been identified to alter the kinetics of hCG in pregnancies. Current studies show conflicting results regarding the kinetics of hCG after different types of ART (fresh vs frozen ET (FET)), the inclusion or not of preimplantation genetic testing (PGT), and the length of time in in vitro culture.

In vivo effect of vaginal seminal plasma application on the human endometrial transcriptome: a randomized controlled trial.

Studies in humans and animals suggest that seminal plasma, the acellular seminal fluid component, stimulates the endometrium to promote immune tolerance and facilitate implantation. We designed a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial to investigate changes in the endometrial transcriptomic profile after vaginal application of seminal plasma. The study participants were randomized into two groups.

Morphokinetic features in human embryos: Analysis by our original high-resolution time-lapse cinematography-Summary of the past two decades.

Background: The pioneering work by Dr. Payne et al. in time-lapse cinematography for observation of the morphokinetic features of human embryos inspired us to develop a new in vitro culture system with high-resolution time-lapse cinematography (hR-TLC) back in 2001.

The microbiome in recurrent pregnancy loss - A scoping review.

Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is a troubling condition that affects couples worldwide. Despite extensive research efforts, many RPL cases remain unexplained, highlighting the need for novel approaches to unravel its underlying mechanisms. Recent advances in microbiome research have shed light on the potential role of the microbiome in reproductive health and outcomes.

The risk of Type 1 diabetes in children born after ART: a Nordic cohort study from the CoNARTaS group.

Study Question: Do children born after ART have a higher risk of developing Type 1 diabetes (DM1) than children conceived without ART?

Summary Answer: The risk of DM1 was similar for children conceived with and without ART, and there were no clear differences in risk according to method of fertility treatment.

What Is Known Already: ART is associated with a higher risk of adverse perinatal outcomes, and the risk depends on the method of ART. The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease theory proposes that prenatal stress can provoke changes in endocrine processes which impact health later in life.

Enhancing surgical performance: the role of robotic surgery in myomectomies, a systematic review and metanalysis.

Examine the role, benefits, and limitations of robotic surgery in myomectomies compared to laparoscopic and open surgical approaches. This review sourced data from CENTRAL, Pubmed, Medline, and Embase up until May 1, 2023. Full articles comparing clinical outcomes of robotic myomectomy with open or laparoscopic procedures were included without language restriction.

Factors defining developmental competence of bovine oocytes collected for in vitro embryo production†.

Despite the currently relatively low effectiveness of producing bovine embryos in vitro, there is a growing interest in applying this laboratory method in the field of reproduction. Many aspects of the procedure need to be improved. One of the main problems is the inferior developmental competence of in vitro matured oocytes that are collected using the ovum pick-up method.

The prevalence of late-follicular phase progesterone elevation and impact on the ongoing pregnancy rate after fresh and frozen blastocyst transfer. Sub-study of an RCT.

The effect of late-follicular phase progesterone elevation (LFPE) during ovarian stimulation on reproductive outcomes in ART treatment remains controversial, but recent studies indicate lower pregnancy rates with rising progesterone levels. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of late-follicular phase progesterone elevation (LFPE) and possible impact on ongoing pregnancy rate after fresh or frozen blastocyst transfer in a sub-study setting of a randomised controlled trial. A total of 288 women were included (n=137 and n=151 in the fresh transfer and freeze-all group, respectively).

Perinatal outcomes of pregnancies following autologous cryopreserved ovarian tissue transplantation: a systematic review with pooled analysis.

Objective: This study aimed to synthesize the existing evidence on perinatal outcomes after autologous cryopreserved ovarian tissue transplantation, concurrently identifying key factors influencing these outcomes.

Data Sources: A comprehensive search was performed on MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases to identify relevant studies on the effect of autologous cryopreserved ovarian tissue transplantation on perinatal outcomes from inception to October 22, 2023. Where there was missing information, the authors were contacted for updated data.

Midluteal serum estradiol levels are associated with live birth rates in hormone replacement therapy frozen embryo transfer cycles: a cohort study.

Objective: To study whether midluteal serum estradiol (E2) levels are associated with the live birth rate in hormone replacement therapy frozen embryo transfer (HRT-FET) cycles in patients with optimal midluteal serum progesterone (P4) levels.

Design: Observational prospective cohort study.

Setting: Public fertility clinic.

Blood pressure and lipid profiles in children born after ART with frozen embryo transfer.

Study Question: Are blood pressure (BP) and lipid profiles different between children conceived after ART with frozen embryo transfer (FET), fresh embryo transfer (fresh-ET), and natural conception (NC)?

Summary Answer: Girls conceived after FET had significantly higher systolic BP and heart rate compared with girls born after fresh-ET; boys conceived after FET had a slightly more favourable lipid profile compared with boys born after fresh-ET and NC.

What Is Known Already: Children conceived after ART with FET are more often born large for gestational age (LGA). LGA in general increases the risk of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease later in life.

Vaginal dysbiosis - the association with reproductive outcomes in IVF patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose Of Review: To examine impact of vaginal dysbiosis (VD), including bacterial vaginosis (BV) and aerobic vaginitis (AV) on reproductive outcomes of in vitro fertilization (IVF) patients.

Recent Findings: BV-bacteria (e.g.

Embryos from vitrified vs. fresh oocytes in an oocyte donation program: a comparative morphokinetic analysis.

Objective: To compare the morphokinetic patterns of human embryos originating from vitrified oocytes (VITRI group) with those derived from freshly collected oocytes (CONTROL group) in oocyte donation cycles.

Design: This is a retrospective observational study.

Setting: Embryolab Fertility Clinic, Embryology Lab, Thessaloniki, Greece.

Double vitrification of embryos adversely affects clinical outcomes.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of double embryo vitrification on clinical outcomes.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included data from January 2013 to March 2021. The study group included women aged 33.

Culture media affect sex after IVF treatment-a detailed analysis of explanatory variables.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to provide a detailed analysis of clinical and laboratory factors associated with skewed secondary sex ratio (SSR) after ART.

Method: Retrospective cohort study of embryos resulting in live births, from frozen and fresh single blastocyst transfers. Embryos were cultured in either G-TL (n = 686) or Sage media (n = 685).