OBJECTIVES To determine the diagnostic performance of transrectal ultrasound in virgin patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, compared with conventional transvaginal ultrasound assessment. METHODS Ultrasound examinations were performed in 963 Korean women, with transvaginal transducers in 677 women and transrectal transducers ...

The Wt1 gene encodes a nuclear transcription factor that is specifically expressed in ovarian granulosa cells. However, the physiological significance of Wt1 in ovarian follicle development remains elusive. In this study, we found that Wt1(+/R394W) mice were grossly normal, however, the females displayed severe reproductive defects. Only ∼15% of the Wt1(+/R394W) females became pregnant after ma...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the safety of our follicle isolation procedure in a model of ovarian tissue artificially contaminated with cancer cells, then to improve the procedure to effectively eliminate malignant cells from follicle suspensions without altering viability. DESIGN Prospective experimental study. SETTING Gynecology research unit in a university hospital. PATIENT(S) Ten women unde...

The early decline and loss of female fertility in humans and other species represents an evolutionary paradox. Despite being born with a vast stock of oocytes, females encounter an exhaustion of ovarian reserve and sterility half way through their natural lives. Female reproductive ageing has been proposed to proceed as an ongoing decline in ovarian reserve, determined by remaining ovarian foll...

AIM To evaluate the effect of laparoscopic treatment of unilateral ovarian endometrioma on ovarian reserve using ultrasonographic markers, ovarian volume and antral follicle count (AFC), and two biochemical markers, serum levels of Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and Estradiol (E2). MATERIAL AND METHODS This prospective study included 40 patients in their reproductive age, between 18 and 4...

BACKGROUND Ovarian response to gonadotrophin stimulation is monitored with serial ultrasound (US) examinations. Sonography-based Automated Volume Count (SonoAVC) is a relatively new three-dimensional (3D) US technology, which automatically generates a set of measurements including the mean follicular diameter (MFD) and a volume-based diameter (d(V)) for each follicle in the ovaries. The present...

Cigarette smoking among reproductive-aged women is increasing worldwide. Cigarette smoking is a lifestyle behavior associated with important adverse health effects including subfertility and premature ovarian failure. We previously demonstrated that cigarette smoke (CS) exposure in mice decreases the primordial follicle pool; however, the mechanism of action is largely unknown. Therefore, the p...

.......................................................................................... xiv Research Publications ................................................................... xviii Conference abstracts ..................................................................... xix Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................... 2 1.1 Folliculoge...

OBJECTIVE To compare the long term impact on ovarian reserve between laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy with bipolar electrocoagulation and laparotomic cystectomy with suturing for ovarian endometrotic cyst. PATIENT AND METHOD(S) 121 patients with benign ovarian endometroitic cysts were randomised to either laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy using bipolar electrocoagulation (61 patients) or laparot...

BACKGROUND In vitro follicle growth is a promising fertility preservation strategy in which ovarian follicles are cultured to produce mature and fertilization-competent oocytes. However, in primates, there has been limited success with in vitro follicle growth starting from primordial and primary follicles because adequate isolation methods and culture strategies have not been established. Unde...