Search

Background: The goal for the present study was to investigate whether women seeking fertility care have different perception concerning the impact of Covid-19 on the motherhood plan than a target population. Material and Methods: For this prospective study, a survey through onlineplatforms was conducted. Participants were randomized by age, in a 1:4 ratio, into: ART-GROUP (n=368), including patients seeking for Assisted Reproduction Treatment (ART), but still didn’t start their cycles or INTERESTED-GROUP (n=92), including participants interested in the subject, who accessed the website of a university-affiliated IVF-center. Information on their perceptions in face of the COVID-19 pandemics and the motherhood plan was collected. Results: When asked about the possibility of becoming pregnant, after the beginning of the pandemic, 47.8% of the ART-GROUP stated to believe the pandemic could affect their plans, while only 28.2% of the INTERESTEDGROUP stated the same. The plan to become pregnant was postponed by 41.3% of the ART-GROUP and by 60.8% of the INTERESTED-GROUP. The main reasons that led people to this decision were fear of getting sick, economic reasons and a pessimist view of the future. Conclusion: In conclusion, besides the fear of becoming sick, the economic burdens are the main reason for the delay in the motherhood plain.

Objective: This study aimed to look into the use of serum metabolites as potential biomarkers of response to controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) in patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles. Methods: This case-control study analyzed serum samples from 30 patients aged 25 retrieved oocytes (HR, n=10). The metabolic profiles of the serum samples were compared between the groups through Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were built to assess the power of the model at predicting response to COS. Results: PCA clearly distinguished between PR, NR and HR, and 10 ions were chosen as potential biomarkers of response to COS. These ions were more specific for PR than for NR. The ROC curve considering PR and NR had an area under the curve of 99.6% (95% CI: 88.9 - 100%). Conclusion: The preliminary evidence discussed in this study suggests that serum metabolites may be used as predictive molecular markers of ovarian response to controlled stimulation. The integration of clinical and “omics” findings may allow the migration toward an era of personalized treatment in reproductive medicine.