International Journal of Reproductive BioMedicine
Volume:19 Issue: 11, Nov 2021

Genetic evidence of asymptomatic Mycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma urealyticum infection associated with infertility among females is lacking because suitable high throughput molecular methods have not been applied.

This study aimed to explore the occurrence of M. hominis and U. urealyticum in the genital tract of females with asymptomatic infection and infertility as well as determine their genetic relatedness.

The study group included 100 asymptomatic females and 31 females diagnosed with infertility. Sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene following DNA extraction was performed directly from endo-cervical swabs. Phylogenetic analysis established the genetic linkage between the isolates from both groups.

In asymptomatic females, M. hominis and U. urealyticum were detected with a prevalence of 8% and 2% respectively. Among females with infertility, the prevalence was 6.45% and 3.23% for M. hominis and U. urealyticum respectively. In both groups, M. hominis occurred significantly more frequently. Phylogenetic analysis revealed three distinct clusters in both groups: two with already characterized M. hominis and Ureaplasma species (28.6% of the overall Mycoplasma spp.) and one distinct cluster matched with U. urealyticum. Furthermore, all M. hominis from asymptomatic females clustered significantly with infertility contrary to U. urealyticum. The M. hominis cluster was significantly linked to two strains from China.

The sequence analysis of Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma in the genital tract of asymptomatic and infertile females showed significant association; therefore, it is paramount to consider them as possible etiologic agents of infertility and genital infection especially when the etiology of infertility is unknown.

Preeclampsia is a type of pregnancy hypertension disorder that has adverse effects on both the mother and the fetus. Despite recent advances in the etiology of preeclampsia, no adequate clinical screening tests have been identified to diagnose the disorder.

We aimed to provide a model based on data mining approaches that can be used as a screening tool to identify patients with this syndrome and also to identify the risk factors associated with it.

The data used to perform this cross-sectional study were extracted from the clinical records of 726 mothers with preeclampsia and 726 mothers without preeclampsia who were referred to Fatemieh Hospital in Hamadan City during April 2005-March 2015. In this study, six data mining methods were adopted, including logistic regression, k-nearest neighborhood, C5.0 decision tree, discriminant analysis, random forest, and support vector machine, and their performance was compared using the criteria of accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity.

Underlying condition, age, pregnancy season and the number of pregnancies were the most important risk factors for diagnosing preeclampsia. The accuracy of the models were as follows: logistic regression (0.713), k-nearest neighborhood (0.742), C5.0 decision tree (0.788), discriminant analysis (0.687), random forest (0.758) and support vector machine (0.791).

Among the data mining methods employed in this study, support vector machine was the most accurate in predicting preeclampsia. Therefore, this model can be considered as a screening tool to diagnose this disorder.

Sexual dysfunctions are common in men with ischemic heart disease, especially in men undergoing therapeutic interventions.

This study intended to assess the effect of counseling on depression, anxiety, stress, sexual knowledge and sexual quality of life in men after invasive coronary interventions in the post catheterization department of Kashan Shahid Beheshti Hospital during 2018.

The study population consisted of 54 male participants who had undergone an invasive coronary intervention. The intervention group received counseling and the control group underwent the standard ward routine. Data were collected using the depression anxiety stress scales, abraham's sexual quality of life, and the Yi-Hung Sexual Knowledge questionnaires before discharge and also two months later.

Within two months, the intervention group’s mean score of sexual knowledge significantly increased, compared with the control group, from 12.37 to 14.81 (p ≤ 0.001). The intervention group’s mean score of sexual quality of life also significantly increased, compared with the control group, from 48.2 to 60.7 (p ≤ 0.001). Moreover, the mean anxiety score changed in the intervention group from 11.18 to 5.25, again a significant difference compared with the control group (p = 0.01). But, the differences in the depression and stress scores were not significant.

Our findings suggest that sexual counseling may improve sexual knowledge, sexual quality of life and anxiety in men following invasive coronary intervention, but might not reduce their stress or depression. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Research examining the role of vitamin D deficiency and the development of menstrual disorders in women is of widespread interest. Studies have been published showing that supplementation with high-dose vitamin D can lead to the restoration of the menstrual cycle. We lack adequate information regarding the effect of vitamin D levels on the physiology of menstruation and further on fertility in women of reproductive age due to the contradictory results reported by studies.

To study the association of 25-hydroxy vitamin D with menstrual cycle characteristics including long and short cycle length and cycle irregularity.

In this cross-sectional study, serum vitamin D level of 166 women attending an outpatient department with menstrual irregularities after excluding all obvious causes of menstrual disorders (n = 83) between April-June 2019 were measured and were compared with women of similar profiles with complaints other than menstrual irregularities (n = 83).

A decreased level of vitamin D was associated with a 13.3 times odds of an irregular cycle (OR (95% CI): 13.30 (5.79-30.60), p < 0.001). 25-hydroxy vitamin D was not associated with age or body mass index. We found a significant difference (p < 0.001) in mean vitamin D levels among the females with irregular cycles vs. regular cycles.

Vitamin D plays a role in the physiology of reproduction specific to the menstrual cycle and ovulation. Long-term prospective studies assessing the exact cutoff value and the exact dose of supplementation required are needed.

The dialogue between oocytes and their surrounding cells plays a major role in the progress of oocyte meiosis and their developmental potential.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of co-culture of normal granulosa-cumulus cells (GCCs) with oocytes from polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) mice.</span>

Normal GCCs were collected from 10 virgin adult Naval Medical Research Institute female mice (30-35 gr, 7-8 wk old), and were cultured in an alpha-minimum essential medium supplemented with 5% fetal calf serum for 24-48 hr (1×106 </sup>cells/well). Then, germinal-vesicle oocytes from PCOS mice were cultured in the presence of cultured normal GCCs (experimental group) and without GCCs (control group). The maturation rate and quality of the PCOS oocytes were examined by evaluating TFAM</em> and Cx43</em> gene expression (qReal Time-PCR) and the connection among PCOS oocytes and normal GCCs after 24 hr of culture.</span>

The co-culture of normal GCCs and PCOS oocytes in the experimental group led to the formation of a complex called a PCOS oocyte-normal GCCs complex. The maturation rate of these complexes was significantly increased compared to that of the control group (p ≤ 0.001). A significant difference was also found in the expression of Cx43</em> (p ≤ 0.001) and TFAM</em> (p < 0.05) genes in the experimental group compared with the control group. The connection between PCOS oocytes and normal GCCs was observed in the scanning electron microscope images.

Co-culture with normal GCCs improves the capacity of PCOS oocytes to enter meiosis, which may result in the promotion of assisted reproduction techniques.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common disease in women. Some plant compounds which have antioxidant properties, such as curcumin, may be useful for these patients when delivered orally or in vitro.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of PCOS on oocyte quality and the effect of curcumin on in vitro fertilization of oocytes.

In this experimental study, naval medical research institute (NMRI) mice aged six to eight wk were used. Mice were divided into five experimental groups (control, experimental PCOS, curcumin 6, 12 and 24 μM). To induce experimental PCOS, estradiol valerate (100 mg/kg, IP) was injected. The total antioxidant capacity and production of malondialdehyde in ovarian tissue and blood serum were evaluated in all groups. Finally, 6, 12 and 24 μM of curcumin were added to the culture medium of the PCOS group oocytes and development in the different groups was evaluated.

A high percentage of oocytes for fertilization were not in good condition in terms of number and quality in the group of PCOS. The addition of curcumin to the embryo culture medium was associated with a higher percentage of fertilized oocytes, two-cells and blastocysts. This increase was significant at a concentration of 24 μM (p ≤ 0.001).</span>

Adding curcumin to improve fetal growth and prevent the harmful effects of oxygen free radicals on the culture medium, it is recommended to add a certain concentration of curcumin under normal conditions without oxidative stress (OS).

Repeated teenage pregnancy is a major burden on the healthcare system worldwide.

We aimed to compare teenagers with their first and third pregnancies and to evaluate the likelihood of neonatal complications.

This cross-sectional study was performed on female teenagers (aged ≤ 19 yr) with singleton pregnancies. The subjects (n = 298) were screened over 12 months. Ninety-six women were excluded, based on the exclusion criteria. The remaining subjects (n = 202) were divided into two groups: teenagers with first pregnancy (n = 96) and teenagers with third pregnancy (n = 47). The subjects were observed throughout pregnancy and delivery. The final sample size of the first and third pregnancy groups was 96 and 47, respectively.

There was a significant risk of preeclampsia in the first pregnancy group (p = 0.01). Low birth weight, five-min Apgar score < 7, and neonatal intensive care unit admission were the most significant neonatal outcomes in the first pregnancy group. In the third pregnancy group, significant predictors of neonatal complications included very young age in the first pregnancy (≤ 15 yr), an inter-pregnancy interval < 2 yr, current anemia, and history of obstetric and/or neonatal complications in previous pregnancies.

Based on the results, teenagers with their first pregnancy had comparable obstetric outcomes (except for preeclampsia) as teenagers with their third pregnancy, whereas neonatal complications occurred more frequently in the first pregnancy group. Overall, we can predict high-risk neonates in the third pregnancy, based on the abovementioned parameters.

Advances in recombinant DNA technology led to the development of recombinant follitropin alfa. Recombinant human follicle-stimulating hormone products are used to stimulate follicular maturation.

To compare the efficacy and safety of a biosimilar-candidate recombinant human follicle-stimulating hormone (Cinnal-f®; CinnaGen, Iran) with the reference product (Gonal-f®; Merck Serono, Germany) in women undergoing ovarian stimulation for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

In this randomized controlled trial, a total sample size of 200 women (age < 35 yr, candidate for ICSI) was calculated. Participants began a pituitary downregulation protocol with buserelin. They received 150 IU daily of either Cinnal-f® or Gonal-f® from the second day of their cycle. The primary outcome of the study was the percentage of metaphase II (MII) oocytes. The secondary outcomes included the number and quality of oocytes retrieved, duration of stimulation, fertilization rate, embryo quality, the number of clinical and ongoing pregnancies, and the incidence of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (as an important safety marker).

A total of 208 women were enrolled, of whom, 200 completed the study period. Ovarian stimulation with Cinnal-f® resulted in a comparable percentage of MII oocytes as with Gonal-f® (78.64% vs 80.02%, respectively; p = 0.81). No statistically significant difference was seen in the secondary outcomes between the groups.

Cinnal-f® proved non-inferior to Gonal-f®, based on the percentage of MII oocytes in women aged < 35 yr undergoing ICSI. Our findings confirm that the efficacy and safety profiles of Cinnal-f® and Gonal-f® are similar.