Search

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between thick endometrium and both implantation and pregnancy rates in ART treatments. Methods: The study group was composed of consecutive women undergoing ultrasonographic evaluation on the day of hCG administration in our ART unit. Endometrial thickness was measured at the thickest part of the midsagittal plane. On the basis of the findings, patients were divided into two groups: A-endometrial thickness >14 mm (above the 95th percentile) and B-endometrial thickness 7-14 mm (between the 5th and 95th percentiles). Patients with a thickness of less than 7 mm were excluded from the study. Results: In all, 1218 cycles were included in the study (50 in Group A and 1168 in Group B). There was no significant difference between the groups in mean patient or mean number of embryos transferred. Similar pregnancy and implantation rates were noted in Group A (24 and 11.3%, respectively) and Group B (27.7 and 14.7%, respectively). Endometrial thickness was found to have a significant positive correlation with the duration of follicular stimulation, and an inverse correlation with woman's age. Conclusions: Increased endometrial thickness (>14 mm) is not associated with decreased implantation or pregnancy rates in assisted reproduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem: To determine whether human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) modulates the in vitro release of interleukin (IL-2) from human peripheral lymphocytes and monocytes derived from patients undergoing controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH). Method of Study: A large university-based IVF unit was used for the study. Blood was drawn thrice from 12 women undergoing our routine IVF long gonadotropin-releasing-hormone-analog protocol during the COH cycle: (1) day on which adequate suppression was obtained (Day-S); (2) day of or prior to hCG administration (Day-hCG); and (3) day of ovum pick-up (Day-OPU). At each point of time, blood was tested for sex-steroid levels and then cultured for 72 hr either without (control-culture) or with hCG (hCG-culture) or with mitogenic stimulation by phytohemagglutinin (PHA-culture). The culture-medium supernatants were tested for IL-2 levels with a commercial sandwich enzyme-linked immunoassay. Results: Whole blood culture IL-2 levels increased significantly during COH until peak E2, and then decreased significantly after hCG administration. IL-2 levels were decreased in the control- and PHA-culture media on Day-OPU compared with Day-hCG. There were no significant correlations between IL-2 levels in the culture media and serum estradiol, progesterone or human chorionic gonadotropin levels. Conclusion: Apparently, hCG attenuates IL-2 production by mononuclear cells with and without mitogenic stimulation, irrespective of the estradiol level. This suggests that hCG may indirectly modulate the inflammatory response, resulting in the ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background . In daily practice, assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycles are often cancelled under the assumption that a prolonged stimulation period lowers the likelihood of an appropriate ovarian response. The aim of the present study was to determine whether a prolonged cycle has an adverse effect on achievement of pregnancy. Methods . The study sample included consecutive women enrolled in our ART unit between 1999 and 2001 who were treated with the mid-luteal long suppressive gonadotropin-releasing hormone protocol. Data were collected prospectively on a computerized database and evaluated at the end of the study. Prolonged stimulation was defined as a stimulation period of more than two standard deviations (SD) above the mean. Outcome was compared between patients who required prolonged stimulation and those who did not. Results . A total of 1015 consecutive in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles were performed with the mid-luteal long suppressive protocol during the study period. Thirty-four women required prolonged stimulation. No difference in clinical pregnancy rate was detected between women who received prolonged stimulation and those who did not (9/34, 26.5% vs. 291/981, 29.7%), despite the significantly fewer oocytes retrieved in the prolonged-stimulation group (7.1 ± 5.2 and 11.6 ± 6.7 (mean ± SD), respectively, p < 0.001).Conclusion . The likelihood of achieving pregnancy is not influenced by the length of stimulation. We recommend that IVF cycles should not be discontinued on the grounds of prolonged stimulation alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]