International Journal Of Fertility and Sterility
Volume:5 Issue: 1, Apr-Jun 2011

The aim of this study was to evaluate fibroblast co-culture on in vitro maturation and fertilization of prepubertal mouse preantral follicles. The ovaries of 12-14 day old mice were dissected and 120-150 μm intact preantral follicles with one or two layers of granulosa cells, and round oocytes were cultured individually in α-minimal essential medium (α-MEM) supplemented with 5% fetal bovine serum (FBS), 100 mIU/ml recombinant follicle stimulating hormone, 1% insulin, transferrin, selenium mix, 100 μg/ml penicillin and 50 μg/ml streptomycin as base medium for 12 days. A total number of 226 follicules were cultured under two conditions: i) base medium as control group (n=113); ii) base medium co-cultured with mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) (n=113). Follicular diameters, alone, in addition to other factors were analyzed by student’s t-test and chi-square test, respectively. The co-culture group showed significant differences (p<0.05) in growth rate (days 4, 6 and 8 of the culture period) and survival rate. However, there was no significant difference in antrum formation, ovulation rate and embryonic development of released oocytes. There were significant differences (p<0.05) in the estradiol and progesterone secretion at all days between the co-culture and control groups. Fibroblast co-culture increased survival rate and steroid production of preantral follicles by promoting granulosa cell proliferation

A common cause of anovulation is polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Clomiphene citrate (CC) is the first line of treatment in PCOS patients however approximately 25% of patients may be CC-resistant. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of adding dexamethasone (dex) to CC in CC-resistant PCOS patients with the intent to improve ovulation. This randomized controlled trial study was performed on 60 infertile PCOS patients referred to our infertility research center from 2007 to 2009. Patients were randomly divided in two groups and stimulation performed with dex+CC or CC+placebo. Rates of ovulation, pregnancy and number of mature follicles were evaluated. Ovulation rate in the dex+CC group was 21 out of 30 (70%) and in the CC+placebo group it was 17 out of 30 (56.7%). The pregnancy rate was 5 (16.7%) in the dex+CC group and 3 (10%) in the CC+placebo group. There was no significant difference between rates of ovulation and pregnancy in both groups, but the number of follicles ≥18 mm were significant in the dex+CC group (p<0.05). Our results showed that addition of dex to CC significantly increased the number of matured follicles, however the ovulation and pregnancy rates were comparable between the two groups (Registeration Number: IRCT 138807041760 N2).

In the present study, the oral effect of lead acetate on the parameters related to sexual behavior as well as changes in the level of testosterone hormone in adult male rats have been investigated. Forty adult male Wistar rats were allocated into five equal groups. The control group received nothing, the sham group received distilled water and the experimental groups received 25, 50 and 100mg/kg lead acetate orally, respectively for 28 days. The changes in testosterone hormone level and following sexual behavior parameters were investigated: mount latency (ML), intromission latency (IL), post ejaculatory interval (PEI), mount frequency (MF), ejaculatory latency (EL), intromission frequency (IF), copulatory efficacy (CE) and intercopulatory interval (ICI). The levels of testosterone hormone in the groups that received 50 and 100 mg/kg lead acetate showed significant decreases in compared to the control group. Additionally, the same doses of lead acetate caused significant increases in ML, IL, PEI and EL compared to the control group. No significant change was observed in MF, but a significant decrease was detected in IF and CE in the experimental group that received 100 mg/kg lead acetate when compared with the control group. ICI showed significant decreases in the experimental groups that received 50 and 100 mg/kg lead acetate compared to the control group. It can be concluded that ingestion of lead acetate affects some behavioral activities and the testosterone level of male rats. These effects might be conducted via the alteration of leydig cells following lead acetate poisoning.

This study investigated the effect of two in vitro embryo culture systems (co-culture system versus cell-free sequential-media) on developmental competence, cryosurvival and DNA-fragmentation of in vitro developed bovine blastocysts. Bovine presumptive zygotes were cultured in Ménézo's B2 (B2) plus vero-cells or sequential synthetic oviductal fluid (SOF) for eight days. Subsequently, half of the expanded blastocysts developed in both groups were vitrified, warmed within 30 minutes and post-warming embryos along with their corresponding non-vitrified embryos were cultured for two additional days in the same medium used before vitrification. Embryo development, cryosurvival and apoptosis were compared between the groups. For non-vitrified embryos, culture in SOF significantly promoted the potency of embryos to develop into blastocysts compared with the co-culture system. The difference in post vitrification survival rate of SOF blastocysts (83.3%) was insignificant compared with co-culture (84.3%). However, while total cell number of warmed blastocysts in the co-culture system was significantly higher in the co-culture versus the sequential system (215.4 vs. 170.4), the quality of survived embryos in terms of hatching ability and apoptosis was adversely affected by co-culture compared with SOF (65.0% vs. 74.3%, and 13.5% vs. 10.0%, respectively; p<0.05). Although co-culture system may increase the viability of embryos following cryopreservation, the potency and dynamics of blastocyst formation significantly increased with sequential media compared to the co-culture system which can compensate for the lower efficiency of sequential media for vitrification/warming purposes.

Currently, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are considered most effective methods for cancer treatment, however these strategies often result in fertility problems. A favorable alternative to prevent fertility loss in cancer patients is the cryopreservation and transplantation of sexual tissues (ovaries and/or testes). There is a low rate of fertilization following cryopreservation of ovaries prior to implantation. Therefore, in our opinion, this low rate is caused by instable blood flow during organ transplantation. Thus, this study researches a canine ovarian model that focuses on direct exposure of ovaries with blood in an experimentally induced sinus-like cavity. We implanted this tissue on the muscular layer of the stomach, which is its most vascularized region. Ovarian transplantation was conducted on T1 animals (n=5), bilateral ovariectomy was performed on T2 animals (n=5), unilateral ovariectomy was conducted on T3 cases and animals in the control-sham group (n=5) did not undergo ovariectomy or transplantation. All isotransplanted ovaries survived. Ovaries resumed follicular growth and revascularization. Transplanted ovaries contained 75%-76% of survived small follicles (pre antral) after 60 days. The ovarian granulosa cells showed considerable resistance against ischemia. After day 30 no statistically significant differences in the level of estradiol and progesterone were observed between T1 animals and the T3 group. T1 animals showed considerably high levels of progesterone and estradiol in comparison to T2 cases. This study showed that using blood sinus method for ovarian isotransplantation helps ovarian tissue to survive from post implantation ischemia which confirms with normal follicles presentation and intact endocrine function of the implanted ovaries.

A significant number of pregnancies, particularly in women with previous histories of infertility, are associated with fetal abnormalities. Methods such as the nuchal translucency (NT) measurement enable us to identify more pregnancies with chromosomal abnormalities. This analytic cross-sectional study was performed in 446 pregnant women at 11-14 weeks gestation, from 2009 to 2010 in the Fetal Medicine Unit of Imam Khomeini Hospital, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences. All NT measurements were performed by a certified sonographer using the Fetal Medicine Foundation (FMF) recommended protocol. FMF first trimester software was used for primary and secondary (adjusted) risk calculation. The average maternal age was 28.5 years and 15% of mothers were ≥35 years of age. The average crown rump length (CRL), gestational age and NT thickness were 61.7, 12.4 weeks and 1.75 mm, respectively. There were 20 cases with increased adjusted risk (4.04%) and 4 cases of documented abnormal karyotype. In our study increased adjusted risk was 4.04%.Documented abnormal karyotype were 0.9% and 28% of total and high-risk groups who accepted amniocentesis, respectively. In this study, 50% of women with high-risk results and about half of those with abnormal karyotypes were seen in women under age 35. Knowing these risks is of utmost importance in pregnancy, particularly inpatients with infertility histories.

During the last decades, environmental contamination by lead generated from human activities has become an evident concern. The present study assessed the long-term effects of neonatal exposure to different doses of lead acetate on the ovaries of offspring rats. Pregnant female Wistar rats were randomly divided into a control and three experimental groups. The experimental groups received 20, 100 and 300 mg/L/day lead acetate via drinking water during lactation. Ovaries of the offspring were removed at 30, 60, 90 and 120 days of age, their weights recorded and fixed in Bouin’s solution. Following tissue processing, 5 µm serial sections were stained with hematoxylin-eosin, and then, the numbers and diameters of ovarian follicles and corpora lutea were estimated. Ovary weights decreased significantly (p<0.05) in the 300 mg/L/day dose groups at 30, 60 and 90 days postnatal development. Significant dose-related decreases were seen in the numbers of primary, secondary and antral follicles in 100 (p<0.05) and 300 mg/L/day doses groups at 30 and 60 days of age (p<0.01). There was significant decrease in mean number of corpora lutea in the 100 (p<0.05) and 300 (p<0.01) mg/L/day dose groups at 60 days of age. It seems that neonatal lead treatment has transient effects on follicular development in the ovary of offspring and ovarian parameters gradually improve until 90 days of age. The present study showed that maternal lead acetate exposure affects prepubertal ovarian follicle development in a dose dependent manner, but ovarian parameters gradually improve during the postpubertal period.

Pregnancy is associated with a hypercoagulable state, therefore the optimal anticoagulants for potential use in pregnant women with prosthetic heart valves are controversial. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of anticoagulants on pregnancy outcomes and their potential risks in pregnant women with mechanical heart valves. In this prospective cohort study, we followed 44 women with 49 pregnancies who had mechanical heart valves from September 2002 to September 2007. A total of 38 patients took warfarin throughout their pregnancies (group A). In 11 patients, warfarin was changed to heparin during the first trimester and then again to warfarin during 12th to 36th weeks of gestational age (group B). All women took warfarin from 36th weeks of gestational age until delivery. In group A, there were 22 live births (57.9%), 15 abortions (39.5%) and 1 maternal death (2.6%). In group B, there were seven live births (63.6%), three spontaneous abortions (27.3%) and one intra-uterine fetal death (9.1%). There was no significant difference in live birth rate between the two groups (p=0.24). Thirty-three pregnancies (86.8%) in group A and five pregnancies (45.4%) in group B had no maternal complications (p=0.004). The difference in pregnancy complications between both groups was significant (p<0.001) The present study shows that low dose warfarin (5 mg/day or less) may be safe during the first trimester of pregnancy. Maternal adverse events are low when pregnant women with mechanical heart valves remain on a warfarin regimen. The risk of embryopathy does not necessarily increase.