Human Reproduction

STUDY QUESTION: Can the Endometriosis Fertility Index (EFI) be estimated accurately before surgery? SUMMARY ANSWER: The EFI can be estimated accurately based on mere clinical/ultrasound information, with some improvement after adding data …

STUDY QUESTION: How does steroid receptor expression, proliferative activity and hormone responsiveness of the fallopian tube (FT) epithelium compare to that of the endometrial epithelium? SUMMARY ANSWER: Proliferative indices, hormone rec…

STUDY QUESTION: Does the cause of infertility affect the perinatal outcomes preterm birth (PTB) and low birth weight (LBW) following IVF treatment? SUMMARY ANSWER: The risk of PTB and LBW was higher with female causes of infertility-ovulat…

STUDY QUESTION: Does the method of fertilisation improve reproductive outcomes in poor ovarian response (POR) cycles when compared to all other ovarian response categories in the absence of male factor subfertility? SUMMARY ANSWER: ICSI do…

STUDY QUESTION: Do diet, physical activity and contraceptive use change after receiving a diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)? SUMMARY ANSWER: Using longitudinal data 12 months apart, young women newly diagnosed with PCOS were mo…

STUDY QUESTION: Is a low (<1.0 μg/L) or moderately low (1.0-1.9 μg/L) serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) level a risk factor for early pregnancy loss in IVF/ICSI with a fresh or frozen-thawed embryo transfer (ET)? SUMMARY ANSWER: A low or …

STUDY QUESTION: Is an MRI classification of deep pelvic endometriosis (DE) able to correctly predict the risk of DE surgery. SUMMARY ANSWER: A new radiological classification, that we have called the deep pelvic endometriosis index (dPEI) …

STUDY QUESTION: What is the prevalence of laparoscopically nonvisualized palpable satellite bowel nodules at or near the planned stapler site in women undergoing segmental bowel resection for endometriosis? SUMMARY ANSWER: Overall, 13 (25.…

STUDY QUESTION: Is recreational and residential sun exposure associated with risk of endometriosis? SUMMARY ANSWER: Tanning bed use in early adulthood, sunscreen use and history of sunburns were associated with a greater risk of endometrio…

STUDY QUESTION: Does a previous Caesarean section affect reproductive outcomes, including live birth, in women after IVF or ICSI? SUMMARY ANSWER: A previous Caesarean section impairs live birth rates after IVF or ICSI compared to a previou…

STUDY QUESTION: What are the risk factors and prevalence of bowel fistula following surgical management of deep endometriosis infiltrating the rectosigmoid and how can it be managed? SUMMARY ANSWER: In patients managed for deep endometrios…

STUDY QUESTION: Does interleukin-1β (IL-1β) play a role in promoting nerve growth factor expression, neurogenesis and deep dyspareunia in endometriosis? SUMMARY ANSWER: IL-1β directly stimulates nerve growth factor (NGF) expression in endo…

STUDY QUESTION: What self-management factors are associated with quality of life among women with endometriosis? SUMMARY ANSWER: Greater self-efficacy was associated with improved physical and mental quality of life. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY…

STUDY QUESTION: Do seminal plasma (SP) and its constituents affect the decidualization capacity and transcriptome of human primary endometrial stromal fibroblasts (eSFs)? SUMMARY ANSWER: SP promotes decidualization of eSFs from women with …

STUDY QUESTION: Do menstrual cycle-dependent changes occur in the histological appearance of superficial peritoneal endometriotic lesions, and are they equivalent to those observed in the eutopic endometrium? SUMMARY ANSWER: Only a small s…

STUDY QUESTION: What is the physiological role of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β1) and syndecans (SDC1, SDC4) in endometriotic cells in women with endometriosis? SUMMARY ANSWER: We observed an abnormal, pro-invasive phenotype in a …

STUDY QUESTION: Do changes in tumor necrosis factor-α-induced protein 8 (TNFAIP8)-like 2 (TIPE2) levels in endometrium of patients with adenomyosis alter the proliferation, migration and invasion ability of endometrial cells? SUMMARY ANSWE…

STUDY QUESTION: Can the priorities for future research in infertility be identified? SUMMARY ANSWER: The top 10 research priorities for the four areas of male infertility, female and unexplained infertility, medically assisted reproduction…

STUDY QUESTION: How does the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) vary with type and age of menopause? SUMMARY ANSWER: Earlier surgical menopause (e.g. <45 years) poses additional increased risk of incident CVD events, compared to women wi…

Endometriosis requires medical management during a woman's reproductive years. Most treatments aim to create a hypoestrogenic milieu, but for patients wishing to conceive, drugs that allow normal ovarian function are needed. Targeting angio…

STUDY QUESTION: Is it possible to establish a genetically engineered mouse model (GEMM) of endometriosis that mimics the natural spread of invasive endometrium? SUMMARY ANSWER: Endometriosis occurs in an ARID1A (AT-rich interactive domain-…

STUDY QUESTION: Does altering gut microbiota with antibiotic treatment have any impact on endometriosis progression? SUMMARY ANSWER: Antibiotic therapy reduces endometriosis progression in mice, possibly by reducing specific gut bacteria. …