There is a growing global demand for human eggs for the treatment of sub-fertile women and for stem cell-related research. This demand provokes concerns for the women providing the eggs, including their possible exploitation, whether they should be paid, whether they can give properly informed consent and whether their eggs and bodies are becoming commodified. However, few of the debates have b...

Cross-linking of the collagen binding receptor leukocyte-associated Ig-like receptor-1 (LAIR-1) in vitro delivers an inhibitory signal that is able to downregulate activation-mediated signals. To study the in vivo function of LAIR-1, we generated LAIR-1(-/-) mice. They are healthy and fertile and have normal longevity; however, they show certain phenotypic characteristics distinct from wild-typ...

OBJECTIVE To consider the arguments for and against funding for in vitro fertilization (IVF) and to explore potential avenues for policy change. DESIGN Narrative literature review, policy analysis. SETTING University Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. PATIENT(S) Sub-fertile women and men. INTERVENTION(S) Fertility treatments, in particular IVF. RESULT(S) The two main arguments u...

The 3'-poly(A) tail, found on virtually all mRNAs, is enzymatically shortened by a process referred to as "deadenylation." Deadenylation is a widespread means of controlling mRNA stability and translation. The enzymes involved-so-called deadenylases-are surprisingly diverse. They are controlled by RNA sequences commonly found in 3'-untranslated regions (UTRs), which bind regulatory factors. Bot...

Accumulating evidence suggests that advanced (moderate/severe) endometriosis negatively affects female fecundity, whereas the influence of early (minimal/mild) endometriosis on human reproduction remains unclear. Recent studies showed that the presence of the early pelvic endometriosis lesions deteriorates the ovarian reserve, luteal function, and fertilization rate in infertile women undergoin...

We are in the age of genetic discovery. Now the human genome has been completely sequenced1, there will be increasing understanding and ability to manipulate biochemical pathways downstream of genes. At the same time, further development of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection(ICSI) will enable procreation in situations that were formerly impossible and when there m...

background: vitrification has proven to be more effective than slow freezing methods to cryopreserve mammalian oocytes. the objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of vitrification on immature and in vitro matured, denuded and cumulus compact goat oocytes and their subsequent fertilization. methods: oocytes were either cryopreserved as immature cumulus compact (imcc) (n=98 exp 1; ...

background: it is important to protect oocytes and embryos from oxidative stress in the culture medium. melatonin has been shown to be a direct free radical scavenger. objective: effect of melatonin during in vitro oocyte maturation, fertilization and embryo development of mouse oocytes was evaluated. materials and methods: oocytes from supper-ovulated mouse were divided to two groups: cumulus ...

results the results obtained for each drug were compared with other drugs and also with the results of the control groups. the results related to promastigote and amastigote assays showed that when the dose of both drugs increased, the parasite number is reduced in comparison with the control groups. moreover, the parasitic burden in the test cultures decreased significantly. macrophage assay r...

objective: to evaluate the efficacy of in vitro sperm activation (isa) using non-liquefied versus liquefied asthenozoospermic semen samples for improvement of sperm parameters. materials and methods: fifty six oligoasthenozoospermic (oa) patients (age range: 22-44 years; mean: 32.089 years) were enrolled in this study. oa patients were classified according to type of infertility. also, duration...