OBJECTIVE To assess the value of routine screening of nuclear status of day-2 four-cell preembryos for single embryo transfer (SET) in predicting implantation. DESIGN Retrospective analysis. SETTING Private IVF unit. PATIENT(S) A total of 1,985 fresh embryo transfers on day 2 or day 3 were performed from January 2002 to November 2004. In 1,295 (65.2%) of these transfers, SET was performed...

Tumors of rats and especially of mice have been grown in chicken eggs for a number of years. Tu mors of sufficient size and uniformity as to be used in chemotherapy have been produced by the yolk sac technic, whereby the maccrated tumor is in jected into the yolk sac. The advantages of such a technic for screening chemicals for any tumor inhibiting effects have already been pointed out by Taylo...

BACKGROUND The Fifth Evian Annual Reproduction (EVAR) Workshop Meeting discussed knowledge regarding contemporary genetics in female reproduction. METHODS Specialist reproductive medicine clinicians and geneticists delivered presentations based on published literature and current research. The content of this report is based on the expert presentations and subsequent group discussions that to...

Embryo implantation depends on both embryo quality and the endometrial environment. Implantation failure has a complex, variable pathophysiology and is detrimental to the outcome of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Thus, patients with multiple implantation failure require an individualized approach to diagnosing and managing treatment options for future IVF cycles. These options should be based on...

Assisted reproduction and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) involve various complicated techniques, each of them with its own problems. However, the greatest problem with PGD for chromosome abnormalities is not of a technical nature but is a biological phenomenon: chromosomal mosaicism in the cleavage stage embryo. Here, we present a hypothetical, quantitative model for the development of...

The capacity to image a growing embryo while simultaneously studying the developmental function of specific molecules provides invaluable information on embryogenesis. However, until recently, this approach was accomplished with difficulty both because of the advanced technology needed and because an easy method of minimizing damage to the embryo was unavailable. Here, we present a novel way of...

Single-cell genome analyses of human oocytes are important for meiosis research and preimplantation genomic screening. However, the nonuniformity of single-cell whole-genome amplification hindered its use. Here, we demonstrate genome analyses of single human oocytes using multiple annealing and looping-based amplification cycle (MALBAC)-based sequencing technology. By sequencing the triads of t...