The follicular hormonal profile in low-responder patients undergoing unstimulated cycles: is it hypoandrogenic?

STUDY QUESTION What is the final hormonal milieu of pre-ovulatory follicles of low-responder (LR) patients undergoing unstimulated cycles? SUMMARY ANSWER Neither androgen secretion nor LH was impaired in pre-ovulatory follicles of LR women. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Therapies currently used to improve ovarian response in LR women have an impact on the final hormonal follicular milieu, and these changes are believed to be partially responsible for determining the success rate in these women. Surprisingly, as far as we know, there is no report of the final hormonal profile of LR women undergoing unstimulated cycles or evidence that follicular androgen secretion in LR women is impaired. STUDY DESI…

Comparison of two methodologies of oocyte enucleation

Comparison between storage of vitrified oocytes by cryotop method in liquid nitrogen vs. vapour phase of liquid nitrogen tanks

Have Day 3 Embryo Morphology a Predictive Value in Blastocyst Formation?

Effect of different cryopreservation protocols on the metaphase II spindle in human oocytes.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of different cryopreservation protocols on the repolymerization of metaphase (M)II spindles in human oocytes. Fresh aspirated donor oocytes were cryopreserved 3–4 h after retrieval using four different protocols: slow freezing using 1.5 mol/l 1,2-propanediol (PROH) + 0.2 mol/l sucrose (n = 36); 1.5 mol/l PROH + 0.3 mol/l sucrose (n = 34); 1.5 mol/l PROH + 0.3 mol/l sucrose with Na + depleted–choline replaced media (n = 27), and vitrification by the Cryotip method (n = 23). The control group comprised 34 fresh oocytes. Three hours after thawing, surviving and control oocytes were fixed for meiotic spindle/chromatin assessment. Survival rates w…

Oxygen consumption is a quality marker for human oocyte competence conditioned by ovarian stimulation regimens.

Objective To evaluate the effect of different ovarian stimulation protocols on oocyte respiration and to investigate the relationship between oocyte oxygen consumption and reproductive outcome. Design Prospective observational cohort study. Setting Infertility clinic in a university hospital. Patient(s) A total of 349 oocytes from 56 IVF treatment cycles in our oocyte donation program. Intervention(s) None. Main Outcome Measure(s) Average oocyte oxygen consumption rate in fmol/s. We correlated oxygen consumption values with ovarian stimulation features, fertilization, embryo quality on days 2 and 3, and implantation. Result(s) Differences in the measured oxygen consumption rates were found …