Karen Peeraer

STUDY QUESTION: Does a natural cycle result in higher clinical pregnancy rates (CPR) with foetal heartbeat compared to an artificial cycle for frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) preparation in ovulatory women? SUMMARY ANSWER: The CPR with…

RESEARCH QUESTION: What are the perspectives of preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) patients in Belgium on the ethics of PGT for polygenic risk scoring (PGT-P)? DESIGN: In-depth interviews (18 in total, 10 couples, 8 women, n = 28) were …

BACKGROUND: Early embryo implantation is a complex phenomenon characterized by the presence of an implantation-competent blastocyst and a receptive endometrium. Embryo development and endometrial receptivity must be synchronized and an adeq…

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence of chronic endometritis (CE) in infertile women, its impact on reproductive outcomes, and the accuracy of hysteroscopy as a screening tool for CE. DESIGN: This was a pro…

Study questionWhich success rates do female and male IVF patients expect, what determines their expectations and do patients reconsider their expectations after receiving a personal IVF prognosis at the expense of anxious reactions?Summary …

Study questionWhat are the experiences and the support and sexual advice needs of subfertile couples continuing to attempt natural conception after the diagnostic fertility work-up?Summary answerExploration of the experiences of couples sho…

(Abstracted from Hum Reprod 2021;36:2676–2686) Although the adverse effect of endometriosis on pregnancy rate is well established, the impact of endometriosis on pregnancy rate after treatment with assisted reproductive technology (ART) rem…

Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels play prominent roles in ion homeostasis by their ability to control cation influx. Mouse placentation is governed by the processes of trophoblast proliferation, invasion, differentiation, and fusi…

STUDY QUESTION: Does ultra-long downregulation with a GnRH agonist (triptorelin depot) in previously operated patients with endometriosis improve the rate of clinical pregnancy with positive fetal heart beat (CPHB) in the subsequent initiat…

Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels excel in cellular sensing as they allow rapid ion influx across the plasma membrane in response to a variety of extracellular cues. Recently, a distinct TRP mRNA expression signature was observed …

ObjectiveTo study the performance of the 'van Loendersloot' prognostic model for our clinic's in vitro fertilisation (IVF) in its original version, the refitted version and in an adapted version replacing previous by current cycle IVF labor…

Successful pregnancy requires the establishment of a complex dialogue between the implanting embryo and the endometrium. Knowledge regarding molecular candidates involved in this early communication process is inadequate due to limited acce…

Many disorders can lead to subfertility. The most common causes of subfertility are ovulatory disorders, tubal disease and semen abnormalities, each accounting for the source of subfertility in approximately 25% of the couples. The diagnosi…

Myeloperoxidase (MPO) is a proinflammatory enzyme and a marker for neutrophil activation and oxidative stress. Since oxidative stress and inflammation are linked to the pathogenesis of endometriosis, we hypothesized that the total, active, …

BackgroundHuman follicular fluid (FF) is a unique biological fluid in which the oocyte develops in vivo, and presents an optimal source for non-invasive biochemical predictors. Oocyte quality directly influences the embryo development and h…

BackgroundEmbryo selection has been based on developmental and morphological characteristics. However, the presence of an important intra-and inter-observer variability of standard scoring system (SSS) has been reported. A computer-assisted…

To reinforce Sampson's theory of retrograde menstruation in the pathogenesis of endometriosis, proof should be provided that during menstruation endometrial cells are present in peritoneal fluid (PF). We hypothesize that the prevalence of P…

OBJECTIVE: To study single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) involved in angiogenesis (VEGF, PLGF, VEGFR1, VEGFR2, HIF-1α) and plasma levels of the corresponding proteins (VEGF, PLGF, sVEGFR1, sVEGFR2) in women with and without endometriosis.…

Introduction: Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent disease that results in pelvic pain and infertility. Its treatment is often frustrating due to limited medical treatment options, complex surgical treatment and high recurrence rates. Des…

STUDY QUESTION: Are members of the transient receptor potential (TRP) channel superfamily functionally expressed in the human endometrial stroma? SUMMARY ANSWER: The Ca(2+)-permeable ion channels TRPV2, TRPV4, TRPC6 and TRPM7 are functional…

Endometriosis is associated with a range of pelvic-abdominal pain symptoms and infertility. It is a chronic disease that can have a significant impact on various aspects of women's lives, including their social and sexual relationships, wor…

IntroductionFetal microchimerism has been implicated in the etiology of autoimmune diseases. This study was done to test the hypothesis that male fetal microchimerism is present in eutopic and ectopic endometrium (EM) obtained from women wi…

STUDY QUESTION: Can controlled ovarian stimulation with low-dose human menopausal gonadotrophin (hMG) improve the clinical pregnancy rate when compared with ovarian stimulation with clomiphene citrate (CC) in an intrauterine insemination (I…