Search

Fertility preservation in prepubertal boys facing gonadotoxic treatment is still at the experimental stage. Nevertheless cryopreservation of immature testicular tissue (ITT) obtained by small testicular biopsy is being increasingly proposed in reproductive care clinics for this purpose. Different approaches to in vivo or in vitro mature spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) contained in ITT have been studied: autografting of testicular tissue pieces, transplantation of one's own purified germ cell suspensions, and in vitro maturation (IVM) for subsequent use of sperm for intra cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). While complete spermatogenesis yielding fertile offspring has been achieved in a number of animal species after cell and tissue transplantation and IVM, no mature sperm has yet been obtained from human prepubertal SSCs. This review describes research conducted by our team and a number of others working on fertility restoration from SSCs, with special emphasis on debated concerns and progress made towards clinical application of different strategies.

Objective of the study: Anxiety can affect pregnancy rate following an in-vitro-fertilisation procedure. Hypnosis reduces emotional distress associated with medical procedures. Virtual reality (VR) is an immersive 3D experience, created using a visual headset and headphones. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of VR session with and without hypnosis before sedation for oocyte retrieval (OR) on anxiety levels and on pregnancy rate. Methods: After written informed consent, 342 women scheduled for OR under sedation were randomised in this double-blinded study (NCT03064061). A Visual Analogue Scale for anxiety (VAS) and a Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) questionnaire before (baseline) and after VR session, and at hospital discharge were administered. VRD Group (n = 178) received a VR session (goal of distraction) and VRH group (n = 164) received the same VR session with hypnosis focused on slowing respiratory rhythm and suggestions of reusing the technique later as needed (AQUA Oncomfort/HypnoVR ™). The primary endpoint was ongoing pregnancy at 12 weeks. Mann Whitney, Wilcoxon signed rank test and Chi-square tests were used; p value