T.-H. Lee

The influence of female age on the cumulative live-birth rate of fresh cycles and subsequent frozen cycles using vitrified blastocysts in hyper-responders.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this research was to study the influence of female age on the cumulative live-birth rate of fresh and subsequent frozen cycles using vitrified blastocysts of the same cohort in hyper-responders. MATERIALS AND METHODS This was a retrospective study of 1137 infertile women undergoing their first in vitro fertilization treatment between 2006 and 2013. The main outcome measure was cumulative live births among the fresh and all vitrified blastocyst transfers combined after the same stimulation cycle. The results were also analyzed according to age (i.e., <35 years, 35-39 years, and ≥ 40 years). RESULTS The mean number of retrieved oocytes was 19.9 ± 8.5 oocytes. The cumulative pregnancy rate was 89.2% and the cumulative live-birth rate was 73.3%. The cumulative live-birth rate declined from 73.9% for women younger than 35 years old to 67.3% for women 35-39 years old to 57.9% for women 40 years or older. CONCLUSION Combined fresh and vitrified blastocyst transfer cycles can result in a high cumulative live-birth rate. The cumulative live-birth rates among older women are lower than the rates among younger women when autologous oocytes are used.

Recipient age and pulsatility index affect uterine receptivity in oocyte donation programmes

Successful embryo implantation depends on interactions between the embryo and the uterus. Investigating factors related to the recipients in an oocyte donation programme could therefore improve the overall pregnancy outcome. In this study, the factors that affect outcomes following IVF after oocyte donation were evaluated in a retrospective cohort study. A total of 143 cycles were evaluated. All oocyte donors were younger than 30 years of age. In the youngest recipients (< 34 years old) the implantation rate was higher (P = 0.042) and the abortion rate was apparently lower than in the recipients of more advanced age (> or =40 years old). The implantation and pregnancy rates were higher when the pulsatility index was > or = 3.0. The pulsatility index on the day of embryo transfer in oocyte donation IVF cycles was an important determinant of successful pregnancy outcomes.

Nitric oxide regualte mitochondrial activity and apoptosis through protein s-nitrosylation for preimplantation embryo development

Purpose Previous studies reported that patients with endometriosis had excess nitric oxide (NO) in the reproductive tract and poor embryo development in IVF cycles. This study aims to elucidate the effects of NO on early embryo development.