Background: The efficiency of in vitro maturation (IVM) has remained low despite extensive effort to understand the culture conditions. This study investigated the effect of cumulus cells and meiotic inhibitors on oocyte developmental competence in the presence of Alpha Lipoic acid (ALA) Materials and Methods: Mouse germinal vesicle oocytes were considered in cumulus-denuded oocytes (CDOs) and ...

BACKGROUND The clinical efficacy of the current methods used for cryopreservation of metaphase II human oocytes is low. Meiotic spindle disorders are thought to be largely responsible for this situation. METHODS Supernumerary fresh metaphase II human oocytes were cryopreserved in 1,2-propanediol with 0.1 M sucrose using a slow freezing/rapid thawing programme. Meiotic spindles were analysed i...

This paper describes our experience with four ovarian stimulation in-vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles in which we failed to retrieve oocytes despite normal bioavailability of beta-human chorionic gonadotrophin (beta-HCG) in patients' blood 35 h after HCG administration. In three cases, the oocyte recovery procedure was interrupted, a second dose of HCG was administered and 24 h later mature ooc...

The use of In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) has become an accepted treatment for couples with male factor infertility!. However, there must be adequate number of motile spermatozoa it there is to be a favourable outcome. The introduction of Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICS!) technique by Palermo et aP has encouraged an increase in the clinical use of the procedure in men with very poor semen ...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES The major cause of fertilisation failure after ICSI is failure of the oocyte to initiate the biochemical processes necessary for activation. This inability could be ascribed to cytoplasmic immaturity of those gametes even if they had reached nuclear maturity. The activation of a mature oocyte is characterised by release from metaphase II (MII) arrest and extrusion of the...

Previous studies have demonstrated that the use of recombinant human follicle stimulating hormone (rhFSH) for ovarian stimulation may be associated with a better outcome than human menopausal gonadotrophin (HMG), probably due to the absence of LH, higher FSH bioactivity and better quality of oocytes and embryos when rhFSH is used. Very few studies have examined the effects of different gonadotr...

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether or not body mass index (BMI) is associated with oocyte dysmorphisms. STUDY DESIGN This retrospective study enrolled 1105 patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). The correlation between BMI and the response to controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) and ICSI outcomes was analysed. Oocyte morphology was determined in metaphase II (MII) oocytes ...

OBJECTIVE To determine the clinical potential of donor-oocyte cryopreservation and thaw techniques for recipient patients. DESIGN Institutional review board-approved prospective study of donor oocyte cryopreservation. SETTING A large, private infertility center. PATIENT(S) Four anonymous oocyte donors underwent ovarian hyperstimulation for the purpose of oocyte retrieval and cryopreservat...

We investigated the ability of reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), hydroxyl radical (OH), and hypochlorous acid (HOCl) to overcome the defensive capacity of cumulus cells, and elucidate the mechanism through which ROS differentially deteriorate oocyte quality. Metaphase II mouse oocytes with (n=1634) and without cumulus cells (n=1633) were treated with increasing co...

Various stages of immature human oocytes were imaged for microtubule, microfilament and chromatin organization. After germinal vesicle breakdown, a small microtubule aster was observed near the condensed chromatin. The asters appeared to elongate and encompass the condensed chromatin. At metaphase I stage, microtubules were detected in the meiotic spindle. The meiotic spindle in metaphase II wa...