Mine Kanat Pektas

Plasma L-carnitine levels of obese and non-obese polycystic ovary syndrome patients

Abstract It is well-known that plasma L-carnitine concentrations are significantly decreased in obese individuals. A study showed that L-carnitine concentrations are significantly lower in lean PCOS patients than in lean healthy women. Thus, it has been suggested that lowered L-carnitine is associated with PCOS. This study also showed that the women with PCOS had significantly lower L-carnitine levels than those of the healthy controls. In addition, this study hypothesised that low L-carnitine levels in PCOS patients were associated with obesity and/or insulin resistance. Moreover, plasma L-carnitine concentrations were found to be statistically similar in PCOS patients and healthy controls, when controlled for obesity. This study implied that L-carnitine could be used as an adjunctive therapy in the management of insulin resistance or obesity in women who have PCOS. Further research might be planned to clarify the clinical effects of L-carnitine administration in PCOS patients with insulin resistance and/or obesity.

Two-Year Follow-Up Results of Transobturator Tape Procedure with and without Concomitant Vaginal Surgery

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the subjective and objective outcomes of the transobturator tape (TOT) procedure performed to treat stress urinary incontinence and to determine the efficacy and safety of the TOT procedure when used along with vaginal surgery. Methods: This is a prospective review of 24 women who had the TOT procedure done only due to stress incontinence; 22 women who underwent concomitant TOT and pelvic floor repair; and 20 women who received concurrent TOT, transvaginal hysterectomy, and sacrospinous ligament fixation. Results: When compared to the patients who had TOT with pelvic floor repair, the patients who underwent TOT with hysterectomy declared to have more dyspareunia (p = 0.008) and they were found to have significantly higher post-void residual volume (p = 0.014). When compared to the patients who had only TOT, the patients who underwent TOT with hysterectomy claimed to have more pelvic pain (p = 0.012) and significantly higher post-void residual volume (p = 0.020). Conclusion: The TOT procedure results in moderately high objective cure rates, and concurrent application of pelvic floor repair or transvaginal hysterectomy does not affect these rates. The relatively higher incidences for voiding problems and pelvic pain in women who underwent TOT, hysterectomy, and sacropinous fixation simultaneously suggest that the extent of surgery directly correlates with the severity of postoperative complications.

Day 3 embryo transfer versus day 5 blastocyst transfers: A prospective randomized controlled trial

Objective: This study aimed to show whether transferring day 5 embryos resulted in higher implantation and pregnancy rates than transferring day 3 embryos in Turkish women undergoing an intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycle. Materials and Methods: A total of 190 women who had ICSI after retrieval of more than four oocytes on the day of fertilization check were randomly assigned to undergo embryo transfer either on day 3 or day 5. Results: Day 3 and day 5 transfers were statistically similar with respect to the age of woman (p=0.107), duration of infertility (p=0.528), cause of infertility (p=0.850), number of collected oocytes (p=0.119), number of metaphase II oocytes (p=0.178), number of fertilized oocytes (p=0.092), and number of transferred embryos (p=0.556). The number of grade 1 embryos was significantly higher in day 5 transfers than in day 3 transfers (p=0.001). Day 3 and day 5 embryo transfers had statistically similar implantation, clinical pregnancy, twinning, and live birth rates (p=0.779, p=0.771, p=0.183, and p=0.649, respectively). The live birth rates in singleton pregnancies conceived after day 3 and day 5 embryo transfers were statistically similar (p=0.594). Conclusion: The efficacy of blastocyst transfer is not inferior to that of embryo transfer on cleavage stage. Performing blastocyst transfer may have benefits because it is associated with acceptable pregnancy rates and morphologic assessment on day 3 has limited predictive value for subsequent embryonic development.

Fresh Versus Frozen Testicular Sperm Samples in Microdissection Testicular Sperm Extraction Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection Treatment

Objective: The present study aims to compare the clinical outcomes of fresh versus frozen testicular samples in patients with non-obstructive azoospermia who would undergo intracytoplasmic sperm injection procedure. Study Design: This is a retrospective review of 541 patients with non-obstructive azoospermia who consecutively underwent microdissection testicular sperm injection and intracytoplasmic sperm injection between January 2010 and October 2014. Results: A total of 4896 mature oocytes were collected from the partners of azoospermic men and 1894 sperms were retrieved by microdissection testicular sperm procedures. About 1036 fresh sperms were used to perform intracytoplasmic sperm injection in 296 men with non-obstructive azoospermia whereas 858 in 245 azoospermic men. Approximately 1228 embryos were obtained after intracytoplasmic sperm injection and 1080 embryos were transferred. After embryo transfer, 146 clinical pregnancies occurred and 125 pregnancies ended up with live birth. The fertilization, implantation, clinical pregnancy and live birth rates were respectively 44.6%, 33.4%, 28.0% and 24.7% for 296 fresh microdissection testicular sperm cycles. On the other hand, the fertilization, implantation, clinical pregnancy and live birth rates were respectively 46.5%, 32.7%, 25.7% and 21.2% for 245 frozen microdissection testicular sperm cycles. There was no statistically significant difference between the fresh and frozen microdissection testicular sperm injection cycles in aspect of fertilization, implantation, clinical pregnancy and liver birth rates (p=0.125, p=0.194, p=0.196 and p=0.182). Conclusion: The utilization of fresh and frozen sperms in microdissection testicular sperm - intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles has similar clinical outcomes. The use of frozen sperms obtained by testicular sperm can be considered as an efficient and safe approach for avoiding unnecessary ovarian hyperstimulation and repetitious interventions on testicular tissues.