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Follicular granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) is a documented marker of embryo implantation potential. The primary objective was to determine whether follicular G-CSF levels correlate with follicular fluid volume. The secondary objectives were to assess whether follicular G-CSF is associated with oocyte maturity at the time of harvest and with delivery rate after fresh or frozen embryo transfer. Thirty-two patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles were recruited (Centre de Procreation Medicalement Assistee (CPMA), University of Liege, Belgium). A total of 211 follicular fluid (FF) samples were individually collected at the time of oocyte harvest. FF volume was recorded, and G-CSF concentration was assessed by ELISA. The embryos were individually cultured in vitro. Their implantation and live birth rates were recorded after fresh and frozen embryo transfers. The follicular fluid volume did not correlate with the follicular G-CSF concentration. There were no differences in follicular G-CSF levels between mature and immature oocytes. The probability of successful implantation and delivery was increased for embryos with FF containing a high G-CSF concentration. There was a trend toward lower follicular G-CSF levels in cases of miscarriage. Therefore, follicular fluid volume cannot be a substitute for follicular G-CSF as a marker of embryo implantation ability.

BACKGROUND Preservation of female fertility is a relatively new field in medicine that has grown very rapidly in recent decades. At the beginning, embryo freezing remained the most effective technique. Thereafter, cryopreservation of oocytes and ovarian tissue was considered a secure tool in human fertility preservation. Storage of cortical ovarian tissue is moreover relevant for children, prepubertal girls, and adult patients who cannot benefit from cryopreservation of oocytes. OBJECTIVE To analyze and review recent and relevant scientific literature on medical and social reasons for preservation of fertility. METHODS The review was conducted based on articles identified from PubMed databases using keywords. MAIN RESULTS Oocyte vitrification allows women to preserve their fertility without the need for fertilization. Nowadays, thousands of healthy children have been born from this procedure. Occurrence of pregnancy depends on two main factors: the number of mature oocytes in storage and the age of the patient at the time of vitrification. Numerous adaptations have been developed to suit the ovarian stimulation regiments to patients with cancer. In young prepubertal girls, freezing of ovarian tissue remains the best and only option. CONCLUSION Oocyte vitrification therefore appears to be the gold standard technique of preserving fertility in young women.

The oil overlay in microdrop culture systems prevents medium evaporation, helps to maintain appropriate pH and osmotic conditions and protects from microbial contamination. In the present study, we prospectively compared covering by Ovoil™, a paraffin oil, and LiteOil®, a mineral oil, on the in vitro development of human embryos and their suitability for transfer/freezing at day 3 and live birth rate. One hundred and one patients undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) were enrolled in our study. After ICSI, 1237 oocytes were 1:1 randomly allocated into 2 groups according to the type of overlaying oil: Ovoil™ (616 oocytes) or LiteOil® (621 oocytes). Fertilization rate was assessed around 18 hours post-insemination (hpi) and embryos were checked for early cleavage at 25 hpi. Embryo morphology was recorded on days 2 and 3. A total of 437 (Ovoil™) and 438 day 3 embryos (LiteOil®) were analyzed. There were no differences between the two groups in terms of fertilization rate and occurrence of early cleavage. The proportion of top quality embryos (41.7% vs. 41.2%) and the final utilization rates (92.2% vs. 92.0%) were similar in Ovoil and LiteOil groups, respectively, at day 3. Live birth rate per transfer was essentially the same with Ovoil™ overlay (26.9%) when compared to LiteOil® (26.2%). Live birth rate in patients who simultaneously received embryos from both overlay types was 17.2%. Despite the different characteristics of these two oils regarding hydrocarbon saturation, packing and temperature storage, Ovoil™ and LiteOil® can be used in parallel in the same IVF protocol. Abbreviations: ART: assisted reproductive technologies; hpi: hours post-insemination; hSA: human serum albumin; HTF: human tubal fluid; ICSI: intracytoplasmic sperm injection; IVF: in vitro fertilization; MII: metaphase II; MEA: mouse embryo assay; RT: room temperature.

The optimal method to prepare endometrium before frozen embryo transfer (FET) is not yet established. We retrospectively studied 4496 FET and detailed pregnancy and miscarriage rates in three groups of patients according to the endometrium preparation they have followed before their successive FET: clomifene citrate (CC, group 1), artificial cycle (AC, group 2) or switch between CC and AC (group 3). The overall pregnancy rates per transfer were 24.3, 20.8 and 17.3% while the miscarriage rates reached 23.2, 29.8 and 42.5%, respectively. Group 1 experienced the highest ongoing pregnancy rate (18.6%), the lowest being observed in group 3 (10.0%, p

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare the effect of the deselection of spermatozoa presenting vacuole-like structures using IMSI (intracytoplasmic morphologically selected sperm injection) with ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) by means of neonatal outcomes. METHODS: In a retrospective two-center analysis, a total of 848 successful IMSI or ICSI cycles ending with a live birth, induced abortion, or intrauterine fetal death (IUFD) were included. RESULTS: The IMSI and ICSI groups included 332 and 655 babies or fetuses, respectively. The parents were older in the IMSI group than in the ICSI group (mothers were 35.1 vs 32.9 years, and fathers were 39.1 vs 36.2 years). The multiple pregnancy rate was higher in the IMSI group. The mean pregnancy duration and mean birth weight were almost identical in both groups. There was no significant difference in major congenital malformations between the two groups. However, this rate was decreased in the IMSI group compared to that in the ICSI group (1.8 vs 3.2%), the difference being mainly found in singletons (1.4 vs 3.3%). Boys were more often affected than girls in both groups. The percentages of chromosomal abnormalities did not differ between the IMSI and ICSI groups (0.6 and 0.8%). The reported congenital malformations mainly affected the heart, urogenital, and musculoskeletal systems. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, the malformation rates observed in the IMSI and ICSI groups were not significantly different, even if slightly lower after IMSI. However, the observed difference followed the same trends observed in previous reports, indicating the possible impact of IMSI on decreasing congenital malformation occurrences. This highlights the necessity to prospectively evaluate the impact of IMSI on neonatal outcome after IVF treatment.

background: Previous experiments have shown that granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), quantified in the follicular fluid (FF) of individual oocytes, correlates with the potential for an ongoing pregnancy of the corresponding fertilized oocytes among selected transferred embryos. Here we present a proof of concept study aimed at evaluating the impact of including FF G-CSF quantification in the embryo transfer decisions. methods: FF G-CSF was quantified with the Luminex XMap technology in 523 individual FF samples corresponding to 116 fresh transferred embryos, 275 frozen embryos and 131 destroyed embryos from 78 patients undergoing ICSI. results: Follicular G-CSF was highly predictive of subsequent implantation. The receiving operator characteristics curve methodology showed its higher discriminatory power to predict ongoing pregnancy in multivariate logistic regression analysis for FF G-CSF compared with embryo morphology [0.77 (0.69–0.83), P , 0.001 versus 0.66 (0.58–0.73), P ¼ 0.01)]. Embryos were classified by their FF G-CSF concentration: Class I over 30 pg/ml (a highest positive predictive value for implantation), Class II from 30 to 18.4 pg/ml and Class III ,18.4 pg/ml (a highest negative predictive value). Embryos derived from Class I follicles had a significantly higher implantation rate (IR) than those from Class II and III follicles (36 versus 16.6 and 6%, P , 0.001). Embryos derived from Class I follicles with an optimal morphology reached an IR of 54%. Frozen-thawed embryos transfer derived from Class I follicles had an IR of 37% significantly higher than those from Class II and III follicles, respectively, of 8 and 5% (P , 0.001). Thirty-five per cent of the frozen embryos but also 10% of the destroyed embryos were derived from G-CSF Class I follicles. Non-optimal embryos appear to have been transferred in 28% (22/78) of the women, and their pregnancy rate was significantly lower than that of women who received at least one optimal embryo (18 versus 36%, P ¼ 0.04). conclusions: Monitoring FF G-CSF for the selection of embryos with a better potential for pregnancy might improve the effectiveness of IVF by reducing the time and cost required for obtaining a pregnancy.

After in-vitro fertilization, 2161 supernumerary embryos were frozen with 1,2-propanediol and sucrose as cryoprotectants at either pronucleate or multicellular (2-6 blastomeres) stages. By the end of March 1990, 494 pronucleate stage embryos and 492 multicellular stage embryos had been thawed and 54 and 47% of them, respectively were considered suitable for transfer. Ongoing pregnancy and implantation rates were 17.9 and 10.7%, respectively for embryos frozen at the pronucleate stage and 5.5 and 4.7% for embryos frozen at the multicellular stage. Ovarian stimulation with human menopausal gonadotrophin (HMG) after pharmacological hypophysectomy with a gonadotrophin releasing hormone agonistic analogue (GnRHa) using a long protocol permitted us to freeze significantly more embryos per cycle (7.2 +/- 4.1) than stimulation with HMG and GnRHa in a short protocol (4.7 +/- 3.4) or stimulation with clomiphene citrate (CC) and HMG (2.7 +/- 1.9). Ongoing pregnancy rates after transfer during the stimulated cycles were similar for the three types of treatment (27.1, 27.3 and 32.1%, respectively). However, ongoing pregnancy rates after frozen-thawed embryo transfers were significantly higher when originating from GnRHa + HMG treatments (14.3 and 14.8%, respectively for long and short protocols) than when originating from CC + HMG treatment (5.6%). Embryo cryopreservation has permitted the ongoing pregnancy rate to increase from 28.4 to 36.9% (P less than 0.01) even though more than half of the embryos have not been thawed. We conclude that embryos obtained after stimulation with GnRHa + HMG and frozen at the pronucleate stage are more likely to result in a pregnancy.