Berlin/Chicago – Despite the financial crisis, the German biotechnology sector grew in the last year. According to a brand-new biotech-report commissioned by the German Research...

Objective: To determine the clinical relevance of obtaining antral follicle counts (AFC) before ovarian stimulation in an IVF program.Design: Retrospective cohort study.Setting: An IVF program in a large academic teaching hospital.Patient(s): A total of 1,049 stimulated IVF cycles in 734 subjects between September 2003 and December 2007 selected from our program's database.Intervention(s): Basal antral follicles (AFCs) (3 mm–10 mm) were counted via ultrasound scan on cycle day 3 in luteal leuprolide acetate stimulations, or after at least 2 weeks of oral contraceptives in microdose leuprolide acetate stimulations. Patients were grouped according to basal AFC, and outcome parameters compared for AFC groups within each stimulation protocol.Main Outcome Measure(s): Oocytes retrieved, ovarian response, implantation rate, cancellations, pregnancy, pregnancy loss, and live births per cycle start.Result(s): Antral follicle count grouping is predictive of threefold change in ovarian response to gonadotropins and oocytes retrieved. Low AFC did predict a higher cancellation rate. Antral follicle count did not predict implantation rate, pregnancy rate, or live birth rate per cycle start.Conclusion(s): Antral follicle count may be helpful in determining stimulation protocol, as it is the most reliable determinant of oocytes retrieved per starting FSH dose. Antral follicle count predicts ovarian response, not embryo quality or pregnancy.

This study compares the quality, developmental capacity and global gene expression profile of embryos generated from superovulated and natural cycles. We found that ovarian stimulation impaired quality of blastocysts (cell number: 68.9 ± 6.9 vs. 76.8 ± 7.9; diameter of blastocysts: 145.3 ± 76.9 μm vs. 152.6 ± 65.5 μm), fetus development (rate of development to term: 45.5% vs. 69.1%; weight of 18.5-dpc fetuses: 1.23 ± 0.03 g vs. 1.34 ± 0.03 g) and caused 92 genes differentially expressed.

Objective: To determine whether maternal infertility treatment is associated with adverse outcomes.Design: Population-based cohort study using linked birth certificate-hospital discharge data.Setting: Washington State.Patient(s): Live-born singleton infants conceived with infertility treatment between 2003 and 2006 (n = 2,182) and a random sample of live-born singleton infants conceived spontaneously, frequency matched by birth year (n = 10,989).Intervention(s): None.Main Outcome Measure(s): Mantel-Haenszel adjusted relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed for low birth weight, delivery at

Lelystad/s'Hertogenbosch - Dutch immune therapeutics specialist Pepscan, has spun out its therapeutic vaccine portfolio to the firm Immunovo BV. Under the terms of the...

This retrospective study of women undergoing IVF (29 with colorectal endometriosis, 157 with tubal factor infertility, and 340 with male factor infertility) found similar fertility outcomes between the groups.

Objective: To determine the precise degree of variability that is represented by the reproducibility and reliability of semen analysis. The general assumption is that semen analyses need to be repeated because of a high degree of within-individual variability. However, the precise degree of variability is not well established in male partners of subfertile couples.Design: Retrospective cohort study.Setting: Two university hospitals in the Netherlands, which routinely perform two semen analyses in the male partner of subfertile couples.Patient(s): Male partners of subfertile couples.Interventions: None.Main Outcome Measure(s): We assessed the test-retest reproducibility, by calculating the coefficient of variation (CVw) for five semen parameters. The CVw expresses, on a relative scale, the degree of closeness of repeated measurements taken in the same subject. We also estimated the reliability of these semen parameters, in terms of the intraclass correlation coefficient, which expresses the ratio of the between-subject variability over the total variability.Result(s): We analyzed the data of 5,240 men and found that the CVw of all semen parameters ranged from 28% to 34%. The intraclass correlation coefficients of these semen parameters were moderate to high: volume: 0.70; concentration: 0.89; motility: 0.58; morphology: 0.60; total motile count: 0.73.Conclusion(s): This study affirmed the presumed large within-subject variability and the limited reproducibility of semen analyses in subfertile men. Whether this degree of variability within men justifies one or more repetitions of the semen analysis in view of consequences for clinical management should be the topic of future studies. Until then it seems reasonable to perform two semen analyses.

Arcavacata di Rende (Italy) – Researchers from the University of Calabria have established that activation of the nuclear farnesoid X receptor (FXR) can slow the growth of...

Objective: To investigate oxidative stress and angiogenetic factors in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).Design: Prospective cohort study.Setting: University outpatient clinic.Subjects: Fifty women with PCOS were divided into two groups: body mass index (BMI) >27 kg/m2 (n = 25) and BMI

To the Editor: In the era of assisted reproductive technique (ART), it is very important to assess DNA fragmentation index and establish threshold levels beyond which there is poor ART outcome, preimplantation or postimplantation failure, or recurrent spontaneous abortions. The study by Smit et al. is very informative and of immense clinical significance.