Human Reproduction Update

BACKGROUND: Uterine adenomyosis was initially thought to be found only in parous women, and final diagnosis was made at histology after hysterectomy. With better imaging techniques and with women attending clinics at older ages, adenomyosis…

BACKGROUND Angiogenesis, i.e. the development of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones, represents an integral part in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. During the last decade, an increasing number of studies have therefore focused on t…

BACKGROUND: The subject of epigenetic risk of assisted reproduction treatment (ART), initiated by reports on an increase of children with the Beckwith-Wiedemann imprinting disorder, is very topical. Hence, there is a growing literature, inc…

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis has been associated with specific morphometric characteristics and pigmentary traits. The purpose of this study was to systematically review prior publications dealing with this aspect in order to revisit phenotypi…

BACKGROUND Chances of achieving parenthood are high for couples who undergo fertility treatment. However, many choose to discontinue before conceiving. A systematic review was conducted to investigate patients' stated reasons for and predic…

BACKGROUND: The Fifth Evian Annual Reproduction (EVAR) Workshop Meeting discussed knowledge regarding contemporary genetics in female reproduction. METHODS: Specialist reproductive medicine clinicians and geneticists delivered presentation…

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is usually diagnosed by an invasive procedure such as a laparoscopy. Great interest therefore lies in the potential to identify biomarkers which may be surrogates of disease presence or activity, especially relatin…

BACKGROUND: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common metabolic dysfunction and heterogeneous endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. Although patients with PCOS are typically characterized by increased numbers of oocytes retrie…

BACKGROUND: Treatment of colorectal endometriosis is difficult and challenging. We reviewed the clinical outcome of surgical treatment of deeply infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) with colorectal involvement. METHODS: Review was based upon a…

BACKGROUND: Mast cells (MCs) are the classical mediators of allergy, however, their importance in the development of innate and adaptive immune responses is increasingly being recognized. Herein, the present MC literature is summarized, wit…

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is a benign gynaecological condition that presents symptoms of chronic pelvic pain and the ectopic growth of endometrial lesions at sites on the peritoneum. Few new approaches to the management of the disease sympt…

BACKGROUND: Understanding the aetiology of subfertility and female reproductive tract disorders at a molecular level may improve success rates in fertility treatment. Such understanding may be gained by the application of metabonomics techn…

BACKGROUND; Endometriosis is a complex disease with a multifactorial pathogenesis, which is crucially dependent on the development of new blood vessels. Based on the current literature, the present review highlights the fact that the neovas…

BACKGROUND: Many clinicians and patients believe that endometriosis-associated pain is due to the lesions. Yet causality remains an enigma, because pain symptoms attributed to endometriosis occur in women without endometriosis and because p…

BACKGROUND: Implantation is a complex initial step in the establishment of a successful pregnancy. Although embryo quality is an important determinant of implantation, temporally coordinated differentiation of endometrial cells to attain ut…

BACKGROUND: There have been conflicting results in randomized trials of the effects of laparoscopic uterosacral nerve ablation (LUNA) in chronic pelvic pain. Our objective was to perform a meta-analysis using individual patient data (IPD) t…

BACKGROUND: Combined oral contraceptives (OCs) inhibit ovulation, substantially reduce the volume of menstrual flow and may hypothetically interfere with implantation of refluxed endometrial cells. The aim of this review is to establish if …

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is estimated to affect 1 in 10 women during the reproductive years. There is often delay in making the diagnosis, mainly due to the non-specific nature of the associated symptoms and the need to verify the disease …

BACKGROUND: Uterine contractile activity plays an important role in many and varied reproductive functions including sperm and embryo transport, implantation, menstruation, gestation and parturition. Abnormal contractility might underlie co…

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in developed countries, and 12% of breast cancer occurs in women 20-34 years. Survival from breast cancer has significantly improved, and the potential late effects of treatment a…

BACKGROUND Although surgery is currently the treatment of choice for managing endometriosis, recurrence poses a formidable challenge. To delay or to eliminate the recurrence is presently an unmet medical need in the management of endometrio…

BACKGROUND: Bilateral oophorectomy is commonly performed at the time of hysterectomy for benign disease. Indications for oophorectomy vary, but in most cases relatively little high-quality information is available to inform the surgeon or p…

BACKGROUND: Surgery is often considered the best treatment option in women with symptomatic endometriosis. However, extent and duration of the therapeutic benefit are still poorly defined. METHODS: The best available evidence on surgery fo…