BACKGROUND The aim of this retrospective study is to investigate the relevance of dividing oocytes and using some for traditional in vitro fertilization (IVF) and others for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) as of the first IVF cycle in patients with unexplained infertility who have undergone 4 intrauterine insemination (IUI) cycles which produced no pregnancies. METHODS This retrospect...

BACKGROUND Isolation of sperm suitable for ICSI from fresh or frozen-thawed testicular sperm extraction (TESE) can be facilitated by mechanical or enzymatic processing of the samples. METHODS A retrospective multicentre study was initiated to compare these two approaches. Eleven German centres provided data on their TESE cycles performed during the period 1996/1997. Quality of retrieved sperm...

BACKGROUND To determine whether matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their tissue inhibitors (TIMP-1 and TIMP-2) in human follicular fluid, have any relationships with oocyte maturation in vivo and subsequent fertilization during in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles. METHODS The follicular fluids were obtained from 150 female patients undergoing IVF/I...

BACKGROUND Several studies suggest a decrease in sperm quality in men in the last decades. Therefore, the aim of this work was to assess the influence of male factors (sperm quality and paternal age) on the outcomes of conventional in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). METHODS This retrospective study included all couples who underwent IVF or ICSI at Montpe...

OBJECTIVE To study the effect of freeze-thaw on embryos derived from intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) using surgically retrieved and ejaculated spermatozoa. DESIGN Retrospective study. SETTING Private IVF center. PATIENT(S) Three hundred eighty-three patients undergoing frozen-thawed ET cycles. INTERVENTION(S) Testicular sperm aspiration (TESA) or percutaneous epididymal sperm as...

OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship of early human embryonic development parameters to day 3 reactive oxygen species (D-3 ROS) levels in culture media. DESIGN Prospective study. SETTING Tertiary care hospital. PATIENT(S) Patients were undergoing IVF (n=92; 36 with intracytoplasmic sperm injection [ICSI]). INTERVENTION(S) The D-3 ROS levels in sample and control of each embryo culture ...

In this paper, a retrospective cohort study was conducted to the high ovarian responders in GnRH-antagonist protocols of IVF/ICSI cycles. The purpose of the study is to investigate whether dual triggering of final oocyte maturation with a combination of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) can improve the clinical outcome compared with traditional...

Background: There is increasing evidence that psychological factors like anxiety and depression can affect IVF/ICSI treatment results. Objective: This study aimed to clarify the role of women’s anxiety and depression on the outcome of ART cycles using Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI). Materials and Methods: This was a prospective pilot study. One hundred six (106) consecutive women unde...

OBJECTIVE To assess Body Mass Index (BMI) effects on the results obtained from ICSI cycles. METHODS We studied 266 ICSI cycles performed between January 2014 and December 2016. The patients were grouped according to their BMI in: Normal (18.5-24.9), Overweight (25.0-29.9) and Obese (>30). We compared the following variables between the groups: number of antral follicles, ovarian stimulation l...

Problem statement: The ability of a blast cyst to hatch, or escape, from the Zona Pellucida (ZP) that surrounds and protects the embryo during its first few days of development is one of many critical events that must occur for successful reproduction. Implantation of the embryo in the uterine lining is impossible unless hatching occurs. Hard or thick ZP will therefore impaire the implantation ...