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Intrauterine insemination is amongst the foremost recommended procedures to reinforce the probability of pregnancy in couples with infertility. The success rate of this system depends on numerous factors, one among which is that the quality of the luteal phase which could be due to insufficient production of progesterone. To study the impact of luteal phase GnRH agonist versus HCG supplementation on pregnancy rates in females undergoing intrauterine insemination. This study was performed on random 40 infertile couples. Basal hormones measurement of FSH, LH, E2 and progesterone was done before undergoing ovarian stimulation by letrozole or clomiphene citrate. In the mid cycle transvaginal ultrasound was done to measure the dominate follicle/s and endometrial thickness (ET). Assessment of progesterone and E2 was done on the trigger day. Triggering of ovulation was done by the HCG injection (5000IU). IUI for all females included in the study then they were divided into two groups of 20. Group A were supplemented with GnRH agonist injections (0.1 mg) on day 9,10,11,12 post IUI plus progesterone suppositories 400 mg for 14 days while group B were supplemented with HCG injections 1500IU on day 1, 4, 7 post IUI plus progesterone suppositories 400 mg for 14 days. Then Progesterone level was re measured at day 21 of the cycle. Chemical pregnancy rate was done and recorded. The hormonal levels showed no significant difference in baseline serum FSH, LH and estradiol (E2) (P > 0.05); however, there was significant difference in mean serum baseline progesterone between protocol groups (p= 0.024); additionally, there was no significant difference in mean serum estradiol (E2) and progesterone at day 12 (p> 0.05), but the difference in mean serum progesterone at day 21 was highly significant (p < 0.001); its level was highest in group B than A. The pregnancy rate of infertile women in groupA (who used GnRH as supportive to luteal phase) was higher (40.0 %). Conclusions: Luteal phase support by GnRH injection (Decapeptyl 0.1mg) significantly increased pregnancy rate in infertile females undergoing intrauterine insemination compared to HCG injection (1500IU) in spite of significant elevation in progesterone hormone at 21the day in HCG group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Undergraduate college students in the southern U.S. were presented with vignettes about a fictional woman seeking to become pregnant via intrauterine insemination (IUI). Participants were randomly assigned to conditions in which the woman described was 26 or 41 years old, and single, married to a man, or married to a woman. After reading the vignettes, participants rated their expectations of the prospective mother's preparedness for parenting, ability to provide quality of life for a child, risk for pregnancy complications and achieving a healthy pregnancy. Results yielded marginally significantly (p = .05) lower expectations of achieving a healthy pregnancy when the mother was over 40, and significantly (p < .05) lower anticipation of preparedness for parenting and ability to provide quality of life when she was designated as single or married to a woman. We discuss findings in terms of bias favoring traditional families with a mother and father begun when the parents were in their twenties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global rise in male infertility necessitates a constant search for underlying causes, diagnostics and corrective treatments. Sperm cells are irreplaceable cells for the process of reproduction. Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is a simple and non-invasive technique, most commonly used to overcome both unexplained and mild male-factor infertility. Even though spermatozoa may be classified as "normal" in terms of morphology, motility and concentration, they could be defective at the subcellular level. Protein lysine acetylation within human sperm, a major post-translational modification of tubulin, is suspected to be a cause of sperm abnormality but is not fully understood. An examination of α-tubulin and acetylated α-tubulin immunopresence, spatial distribution and co-localisation in normozoospermic and asthenozoospermic semen samples was conducted to determine if acetylated α-tubulin could be a biomarker of sperm heterogeneity to better predict sperm fertility potential for IUI outcome. Acetylated α-tubulin was present in both sperm subcompartments, tail and nucleus of normozoospermic samples. We found more immunopositivity for acetylated α-tubulin in the sperm tail and less in nucleus of asthenozoospermic compared to normozoospermic samples. Hence, the acetylated α-tubulin in sperm may contribute to sperm nuclei heterogeneity and serve as a novel molecular biomarker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of African Journal of Reproductive Health is the property of Women's Health & Action Research Centre and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract: Misoprostol, a prostaglandin E1 derivative, has been widely used in nonpregnant women because of its cervical ripening and uterotonic effects. A large number of studies have demonstrated its effectiveness in enhancing ease of cervical dilation. This review article describes its pharmacokinetic profile and the relationship between prostaglandins and cervical ripening and uterine contraction and provides a review of the clinical use of misoprostol in nonpregnant women including cervical priming before hysteroscopy, before insertion of an intrauterine device, in endometrium biopsy, preoperatively in myomectomy, and before intrauterine insemination to improve pregnancy rates. Adverse effects are also described. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Revista Médica Clínica Las Condes is the property of Editorial Sanchez y Barcelo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The field of infertility is complex due to the personal and emotional nature of the desire for parenthood and pressure of society. In the past three decades tremendous advancement in the field of infertility has been made. The development of better methods of diagnosis due to better understanding of physiology of ovulation, advent of ultrasound, endoscopy and other modern equipments have changed the whole approach to this problem. The new and effective treatment strategies and emergence of advanced reproductive technologies (ART) has brought hope to those couples who would not have previously thought of getting pregnant. This new field of reproductive medicine has come up as a subspecialty of obstetrics and gynaecology and team work and counseling have become an integral part of it. Time and cost sensitive evaluation of infertility is required before embarking on any therapeutic intervention. ART remains the only option for some patients and the ‘final’ option for couples who fail simpler modalities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Aim: To assess the effect of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM, acupuncture and medicinal herbs) as a therapeutic adjuvant to ovulation induction with intrauterine insemination (IUI) procedures and evaluate its contribution to pregnancy and “take-home baby” rates. Materials and methods: A comparative retrospective study was carried out in a university – affiliated municipal hospital. All women undergoing artificial insemination by donor spermatozoa (AID) and concomitantly treated with TCM were invited to participate. The enrolled women underwent weekly TCM in parallel with medical therapy. The treatment lasted between 2 and 36 cycles (equivalent to a time period ranging from one month to one year). The control group was comprised of women who underwent AID without TCM and whose data were retrospectively retrieved from hospital files. Pregnancy was assessed by human chorionic gonadotropin findings in blood 12–14 days after IUI. The birth rate was calculated during follow-up. Results: A total of 29 women aged 30–45 years were enrolled in the study. The historical control group included 94 women aged 28–46 years. Women who combined TCM with the procedures for undergoing IUI had significantly higher pregnancy (OR=4.403, 95% CI 1.51–12.835, p =0.007) and birth rates (OR=3.905, 95% CI 1.321–11.549, p =0.014) than the control group. Conclusions: TCM appears to be beneficial as an adjunctive treatment in IUI procedures. Randomized controlled trials are needed to further assess the role of acupuncture and herbs in this setting. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]