Caesarean section rates in teaching hospitals of Tehran: 1999-2003.

To determine the trends of caesarean section in teaching hospitals of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, a retrospective analysis was performed on the obstetric data from 3 hospitals in a 5-year period. The caesarean section rate increased from 35.4% of deliveries in 1999 to 42.

Efficacy of a human embryo transfer medium: a prospective, randomized clinical trial study.

Purpose: The aim of this prospective, randomized trial was to evaluate the efficacy of Embryo-Glue as a human embryo transfer medium in IVF/ICSI cycles.

Method: A total of 815 nonselected patients undergoing IVF/ICSI treatment between September 2003 and February 2004 were randomly allocated into the test (417 patients) and the control (398 patients) groups. In both groups, embryos were cultured in G-1ver 3, supplemented with 10% recombinant human albumin.

Effect of sperm DNA damage and sperm protamine deficiency on fertilization and embryo development post-ICSI.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of sperm DNA damage and protamine deficiency on fertilization and embryo development post-intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), and also to assess the effect of protamine deficiency on DNA damage. Semen samples were collected from 28 patients participating in the ICSI programme. Following sperm preparation and ICSI, the remaining processed semen samples were used to assess protamine deficiency and DNA damage employing chromomycin A3 (CMA3) staining and comet assay, respectively.

Follicle stimulating hormone as a predictor of ovarian response in women undergoing controlled ovarian hyperstimulation for IVF.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of basal follicle stimulating hormone (FHS) level on ovarian response in women undergoing controlled ovarian hyperstimulation for in vitro fertilization.

Methods: A descriptive and analytic study of 212 cycles of IVF chosen from about 2200 files of women treated at Royan Institute, Tehran, Iran, from 1991 to 1999. Treatment was started with intranasal or subcutaneous buserlin (0.

Developmental potential and ultrastructural injuries of metaphase II (MII) mouse oocytes after slow freezing or vitrification.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the developmental ability and ultrastructure of MII mouse oocytes after cryopreservation by slow freezing or vitrification.

Methods: Ovulated MII mouse oocytes were allocated to slow frozen, vitrified and control groups. Oocytes in the slow frozen and vitrified groups were cryopreserved using 1,2 propandiol (PROH) and ethylene glycol (EG) respectively as cryoprotectants.

Evaluation of ovulation induction protocols for poor responders undergoing assisted reproduction techniques.

Objective: To compare 3 stimulation protocols in poor ovulation responders undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF).

Methods: The study was a randomized, prospective clinical trial from June 2003 to July 2004, in Royan Institute, Tehran, Iran. One hundred and fifty-four patients, who had poor responses to ovulation induction in at least one previous IVF attempt, were randomly divided into 3 groups.

Effect of protamine-2 deficiency on ICSI outcome.

During spermiogenesis, histones are replaced by protamines (P1 and P2), resulting in sperm chromatin condensation followed by a halt to gene expression in haploid spermatids and spermatozoa. As a consequence, protamine deficiency and aberrant P1/P2 ratio have a profound effect on both fertilization and embryo development. However, reports on the effect of the P1/P2 ratio on fertilization and embryo development after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) are contradictory between human and animal studies.