Reproductive medicine and biology

AIM: To investigate which risk factors contribute to a lower oocyte retrieval ratio in women who are receiving controlled ovarian hyperstimulation. METHODS: The authors retrospectively analyzed 329 in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles under…

Ovarian reserve reflects the quality and quantity of available oocytes. This reserve has become indispensable for the better understanding of reproductive potential. Measurement of the serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) level allows quantit…

Endometriosis is a common chronic benign disease that affects reproductive age women and causes chronic pelvic pain and infertility. Despite its prevalence, the exact mechanisms of the pathogenesis of endometriosis-associated infertility ar…

It has been widely accepted that the age of women plays a fundamental role in fecundity, and age-related fertility decline has one of the most significant and detrimental effects on the success rate of infertility treatment. Therefore, trea…

PURPOSE: Hypothyroidism is known to have a negative impact on female reproduction even in subclinical form, subclinical hypothyroidism (SH). This study aimed to investigate the association between elevated TSH level and reproductive outcome…

The female reproductive organ undergoes dynamic morphological changes under the influence of hormonal stimuli, and particularly those mediated by estrogen and progesterone. The uterus changes both its morphological appearance and its functi…

PurposeTo evaluate the pregnancy rate (PR) of unstimulated intrauterine insemination (IUI).MethodsThis was a retrospective study in a private fertility clinic. Between 2004 and 2013, a total of 4,045 women underwent 17,830 cycles of unstimu…

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine the prophylactic effects of cabergoline on ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) after oocyte retrieval. METHODS: A total of 187 women underwent controlled ovarian stimulation using gonado…

PURPOSE: To investigate whether clomiphene citrate (CC) affects uterine receptivity or not, we evaluated pregnancy rates (PR) during the hormone replacement cycle (HRC) according to the period between the last day of CC administration and t…

The regulation of uterine and peripheral blood natural killer (NK) cells has been associated with problems related to reproductive immunology such as recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL), implantation failure or preeclampsia. NKp46, one of the na…

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of moderate to severe endometriosis on mRNA expression of growth differentiation factor-9 (GDF-9) in the granulosa cells of mature follicles. METHODS: Follicular fluid (FF) was obtained from 13 patients w…

Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPls) are generally characterized as heterogeneous and non-specific autoantibodies directed against various phospholipids such as cardiolipin, ph-serine, ph-inositol, ph-acid, ph-glycerol, ph-sphyngomyelin, ph-c…

PURPOSE: We evaluated the role of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) in rat ovulation and granulosa cell death of ovarian follicles during the periovulatory stage. METHODS: Immature rats primed with pregnant mare serum gonadotropin were in…

PURPOSE: A systematic review was conducted to (1) collate and synthesise the available evidence for the role of cortisol in relation to IVF treatment outcomes; (2) to establish the strength of an association between cortisol and IVF; and (3…

Empty follicle syndrome (EFS) has been defined as a condition where no oocytes can be retrieved for in vitro fertilization (IVF) even though ultrasound findings and estradiol (E2) levels suggest the presence of potential follicles. The EFS …

PURPOSE: Examination of the mitochondrial mRNA expression in granulosa cells from an unspecified population of infertile patients to evaluate whether recombinant follicle stimulating hormone (recFSH) is more effective in producing higher qu…

PURPOSE: Most patients with Asherman's syndrome present with infertility and menstrual problems. In this retrospective clinical study, we analyzed patients with Asherman's syndrome who underwent hysteroscopic adhesiolysis to examine their a…

We present the case of a liver transplant patient who conceived following assisted reproduction and experienced a normal pregnancy with a good outcome. This case illustrates that, in select cases and with multidisciplinary effort, women may…

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate how many oocytes are needed to achieve an adequate pregnancy rate per 1 oocyte retrieval cycle in mild ovarian stimulation. METHODS: This protocol consisted of clomiphene citrate and re…

PURPOSE: This study aimed to maximize the chance of pregnancy and provide an optimal protocol for infertile female patients of advanced reproductive age as an alternative to in vitro fertilization (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICS…

PURPOSE: The purpose was to establish a mild ovarian stimulation protocol that would help assisted reproductive technology (ART) units to avoid scheduling on weekends. METHODS: This protocol directed patients to take 50 mg/day of clomiphen…

PURPOSE: Cervical mucus plays an important role in host defense mechanisms and is involved in the ascendance of sperm. To determine the change of neutrophil mediators contained in cervical mucus, we measured total neutrophil elastase (NE) l…

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the changes in psychological stress during in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) and the relationship of such stress to the patients' background and gender. METHODS: Sixty couples undergoing IVF-…

PURPOSE: To evaluate preoperative magnetic resonance (MR) imaging features of bleeding and non-bleeding ectopic pregnancy (EP) by comparison with surgical findings. METHODS: Eighteen suspected EP cases underwent preoperative MR imaging. We…