Baris Baykal

Opinions of infertile Turkish women on gamete donation and gestational surrogacy

OBJECTIVE To determine the approval levels of infertile Turkish women concerning gamete donation and gestational surrogacy. DESIGN Opinion survey. SETTING Assisted reproductive treatment center at Gulhane Military Medical Academy. PATIENT(S) 368 women who had applied for infertility treatment. INTERVENTION(S) The patients were asked to answer a questionnaire that included questions about the patients sociodemographic status, previous medical history with infertility treatment, and opinions on gamete donation and gestational surrogacy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) Opinions of patients concerning gamete donation and gestational surrogacy. RESULT(S) Our data in this first study on infertile Turkish women show that some patients approve of gamete donation (23.3% for accepting oocytes and 3.4% for accepting sperm) and gestational surrogacy (15.1%). CONCLUSION(S) Donation and surrogacy are alternate treatments for the serious condition called infertility. As there are patients who would like to use these treatments, each of these patients should have the right to try any of them.

Giant Oocytes with Two Meiotic Spindles and Two Polar Bodies: Report of Two Cases

With the advent of IVF technology, the terms normal and abnormal oocytes have been defined and one type of abnormal oocyte is the “giant oocyte”. Giant oocytes are defined to have a 30% larger diameter and twice the volume of normal oocytes[1,2]. Giant oocyte is a rarery observed phenomenon among humans and embryos may develop from these oocytes [2,3].The first hypothesis for the mechanism of their formation is cytoplasmic fusion of two oogonia and the second one is the lack of cytokinesis during mitotic divisions in an oogonium [4]. Fertilization and progression of a giant oocyte is suspected to be the cause of digynic triploidy, which is defined as triploidy with two maternal and one paternal complements [5]. In this case report, we present two giant oocytes, each shown to have two meiotic spindles via visualization by polarization microscope. Because giant oocytes can develop into embryos that are morphologically normal, but genetically abnormal, an embryologist has to be aware of this phenomenon. For this reason, the scientific aim of this report is to present the polarization microscopic properties of giant oocytes and increase the awareness of such oocytes among embryologists.

Development of the Musculoskeletal System

Development of the musculoskeletal system is a complex series of events during the intrauterine life. In this section, we discuss the development of the musculoskeletal system, give brief information on the molecules affecting the development, and give some information on anomalies regarding the musculoskeletal system.

Fertilization and progression of MI ocytes, submitted to ICSI after visualizing the meiotic spindle using polscope

The objective of this study was to evaluate the fertilization and progression capabilities of MI oocytes that were submitted to ICSI after visualization of meiotic spindle using Polscope. A total of 358 oocytes were analyzed. 266 of these MI oocytes had a visible meiotic spindle and 92 had no spindle. 76 of 358 oocytes were degenerated or abnormally fertilized (1PN, multiple PNs or parthenogenesis) and were excluded from statistical analysis. Fertilization rates of the MI oocytes with or without a meiotic spindle was 46.8% and 27.4% respectively and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.006). Grade I embryo formation rate of MI oocytes with or without a meiotic spindle was 23.2% and 23.5% respectively and the difference was not significant. MI oocytes with visible meiotic spindle yield moderate fertilization expectation, but this feature does not seem to be adequate to obtain high rate of high quality embryos. Thus, it may be beneficial to delay ICSI until MI oocytes reach MII stage.

Is There a Pool of Neuroblasts

To the Editor: I read with interest the article by Schabitz et al1 which examines the poststroke effects of brain derived neurotrophic factor on sensorymotor recovery and neurogenesis. However, I have several concerns. The authors have studied new neuron production after injection of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and labeling newly produced cells by bromodeuxyuridine (BrdU) injection in experimental …