Search

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most frequent cause of congenital viral infection,1with a prevalence of 0.5 to 1% of all live births, and the leading infectious cause of sensorineural deafness and mental retardation.1As other Herpesviridae, CMV fetal infection can develop following both primary and recurrent maternal infection. Vertical transmission rate is around 30% following primary infection and 2 to 3% following recurrent infection.2Effects on the unborn as well as on the newborn are widely variable. It is estimated that only 5 to 10% of infected newborns have symptoms at birth, whereas around 90% of congenitally infected infants are asymptomatic although 5?15% of these infants will develop some degree of sensorineural hearing loss.3 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Maternal ageing is the only aetiological factor unequivocally linked to aneuploidy. Two mechanisms seem to explain these abnormalities in oocytes: non-disjunction and premature unbalanced separation of sister chromatids (PSSC). Previous studies of unfertilized oocytes argue for a major role of PSSC in the aetiology of aneuploidy for women of advanced age, but in vitro ageing of the oocytes could influence the results. METHODS: Owing to the high prevalence of aneuploidy in women of advanced age, chromosomal screening of the first polar body just before ICSI was offered to women (from 38 years of age) included in an assisted reproduction programme. RESULTS: Among 141 oocytes from 29 women (mean age 40 years and 2 months), 43 (30.5%) were abnormal. Sixty-five abnormalities were found and PSSC was involved in 80% of cases. CONCLUSION: These results are in accordance with previous studies and confirm, in ‘fresh’ oocytes, the major role of PSSC in the aetiology of aneuploidy in women of advanced age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

: BACKGROUND The cytokine/chemokine levels of individual follicular fluids (FFs) were measured to determine whether a biomarker could be linked to the developmental potential of the derived embryo. : METHODS Fluid was collected from 132 individual FFs that were the source of oocytes subsequently fertilized and transferred. In each, a bead-based multiplex sandwich immunoassay (Luminex) was used to measure 28 cytokines and chemokines simultaneously. : RESULTS Significantly higher levels of interleukin (IL-2) and interferon (IFN-γ) were detected in FF for embryos that underwent early cleavage. IL-12 was significantly higher in FF corresponding to highly fragmented embryos and the chemokine CCL5 was significantly higher in FF related to the best quality (Top) embryos. The level of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in individual FF samples was correlated with the implantation potential of the corresponding embryo. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve, which distinguished the embryos that definitely led to delivery from those that did not, was 0.84 (0.75–0.90) (P = 0.0001) for FF G-CSF. FF G-CSF was significantly lower in patients older than 36 years compared with those <30-year old. When the FF G-CSF was 20 pg/ml or higher, the ratio between Top and non-Top embryos was significantly higher than for the group with FF G-CSF below 20 pg/ml (45 versus 20.45%, P = 0.007). : CONCLUSIONS Individual FF composition is related to the development of the corresponding in vitro generated embryo and its potential of implantation. Individual FF G-CSF may provide a non-invasive biomarker of implantation that needs to be evaluated together with in vitro observation to select the oocyte, and hence the embryo, to transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]