Human Reproduction

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…

STUDY QUESTION: What is the effect of the minimally invasive surgical treatment of endometriosis on health and on quality of work life (e.g. working performance) of affected women? SUMMARY ANSWER: Absence from work, performance loss and th…

STUDY QUESTION: What are the pain characteristics among women, with no prior endometriosis diagnosis, undergoing laparoscopy or laparotomy regardless of clinical indication? SUMMARY ANSWER: Women with surgically visualized endometriosis re…

STUDY QUESTION: Could peritoneal fluid (PF) from patients with endometriosis alter the microRNA (miRNA) expression profile in endometrial and endometriotic cells from patients? SUMMARY ANSWER: PF from patients with endometriosis modifies t…

STUDY QUESTION: Do platelets play any role in the development of endometriosis? SUMMARY ANSWER: Activated platelets aggregate in endometriotic lesions and play important roles in the development of endometriosis. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: Pl…

STUDY QUESTION: To what extent are outcome measures in endometriosis-related quality of life studies influenced by the setting in which patient recruitment is performed? SUMMARY ANSWER: Quality of life outcomes in women with endometriosis …

STUDY QUESTION: What are the recurrence and pregnancy rates in women managed for ovarian endometrioma by ablation using plasma energy with and without associated surgery for colorectal endometriosis? SUMMARY ANSWER: Concomitant management …

Quantification of benefits and harms of medical interventions should be based on high-quality evidence, which is not always the case in the endometriosis field. In many clinical circumstances, healthcare decisions in women with endometriosi…

STUDY QUESTION: Is it possible to replicate the genetic association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs13394619, rs4141819, rs7739264, rs17694933 and rs10859871 in five genetic loci previously identified as associated with endometr…

STUDY QUESTION: Is endometrial combined thickness (ECT) measured prior to embryo transfer (ET) associated with ectopic pregnancy (EP)? SUMMARY ANSWER: Following IVF, the risk of EP is 4-fold increased in women with an ECT of 12 mm. WHAT I…

STUDY QUESTION: Is there any benefit to including the routine examination by ultrasound of the bladder, ureters and kidneys of women with endometriosis? SUMMARY ANSWER: The benefit of examination of the complete urinary tract of women with…

STUDY QUESTION: Does the live birth rate after IVF depend on the etiology of diminished ovarian reserve (DOR)? SUMMARY ANSWER: IVF outcome and live birth rate are significantly impaired in women with DOR caused by a previous cystectomy for…

STUDY QUESTION: What is the role of microRNA-451 (miR-451) in human endometriotic tissue? SUMMARY ANSWER: miR451 expression was elevated in endometriotic lesion tissue. MiR451 modulated the expression of macrophage migration inhibitory fac…

STUDY QUESTION: What is the measured prevalence and phenotype of spontaneous premature ovarian failure (POF) in the general population? SUMMARY ANSWER: Spontaneous POF occurs in ∼1% of the general population with unique phenotype of post-m…

STUDY QUESTION: Do platelets have any role in the development of adenomyosis? SUMMARY ANSWER: Activated platelets coincide with the release of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 and induction of the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway as well as…

Caesarean section (CS) results in the occurrence of the phenomenon 'niche'. A 'niche' describes the presence of a hypoechoic area within the myometrium of the lower uterine segment, reflecting a discontinuation of the myometrium at the site…

STUDY QUESTION: Is it possible to detect associated deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) before surgery for patients operated on for endometriomas using a preoperative clinical symptoms questionnaire? SUMMARY ANSWER: A diagnostic score of…

STUDY QUESTION: Is hemostasis by hemostatic sealant superior to that achieved by bipolar coagulation in preserving ovarian reserve in patients undergoing laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy? SUMMARY ANSWER: Post-operative ovarian reserve, dete…

STUDY QUESTION: Could adoptive transfer of pregnancy-induced CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) reverse the increase in abortion rate caused by interleukin 17 (IL-17) in the CBA/J × BALB/c mouse model? SUMMARY ANSWER: The effects of exog…

STUDY QUESTION: What is the safe and pharmacodynamically active dose range for PDC31 (prostaglandin F2α receptor inhibitor) in patients with primary dysmenorrhea (PD)? SUMMARY ANSWER: The 1 mg/kg/h dose of PDC31 appears to be safe and pote…

STUDY QUESTION: How does the smooth muscle content and differentiation stage of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in endometrial blood vessels change according to the different phases of the menstrual cycle and is this altered in women w…

STUDY QUESTION: Is the decreased natural killer (NK) cell cytolytic activity in the peritoneal fluid (PF) of endometriosis patients due to primary cytokine activity? SUMMARY ANSWER: An increased level of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the PF of p…

STUDY QUESTION: Is epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) treatment effective in the treatment of fibrosis in endometriosis? SUMMARY ANSWER: EGCG appears to have antifibrotic properties in endometriosis. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: Histologically, …

STUDY QUESTION: Is bisphenol A (BPA) exposure associated with the risk of endometriosis, an estrogen-driven disease of women of reproductive age? SUMMARY ANSWER: Our study suggests that increased urinary BPA is associated with an increased…