Conventional sperm recovery procedures are hypothesized to depend on the migration of motile sperms away from washed epithelial cells and immotile sperms, thus leading to the elimination of infected epithelial cells and enabling virus-free sperm preparations. Although this seems biologically plausible, a recent cross-sectional clinical study highlights that conventional sperm selection techniques may not entirely remove the risk of HPV infection. Continue Reading

A new retrospective case-control study has reported that oocyte retrieval via transabdominal ultrasound-guided follicular aspiration is safe and effective in IVF patients with substantial ovarian displacement, i.e. in cases where ovaries are inaccessible transvaginally. The study reported that the results were comparable to cycles where the oocytes were obtained by transvaginal aspiration in women with normally located ovaries. Continue Reading

Low chromatin packaging quality in morphologically normal spermatozoa is one of the important factors that lower the fertilization capability of the sperm. Therefore, evaluating DNA integrity is essential to determine actual sperm fertility potential. A recent prospective study published in Fertility and Sterility provides new evidence that DNA integrity analysis using alkaline comet assay may be beneficial in diagnosing male infertility and predicting IVF outcomes. Continue Reading

Conventionally used measures to determine embryo quality, such as morphology and cleavage rate, have limited ability to predict successful outcome. A recent prospective laboratory study suggests that the evaluation of the oxidative status of an early embryo in the culture media may serve as a novel technique for improving embryo selection in IVF-ET cycles. The results of the study are published in the journal, Fertility and Sterility. Continue Reading

Several trials have suggested a correlation between high concentrations of anti-ovarian antibodies (AOA) in women with low estradiol response to gonadotropin hormone stimulation, reduced pregnancy rate, and repeated IVF failure. A new study, reiterating this correlation, has suggested that including AOA evaluation in the array of tests used for diagnosing and treating infertility may be useful. The study findings are published in the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics. Continue Reading

Predicting embryo survival soon after fertilization is a major challenge for ART specialists. Now a group of researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine reports the potential of a non-invasive embryo imaging technique before embryonic genome activation (EGA) in predicting their development with >93% sensitivity and specificity. The study results are published in the recent issue of the journal, Nature Biotechnology. Continue Reading

A recent randomized study, published in the journal, Gynecological Endocrinology, has validated that ultrasound guided aspiration of hydrosalpingeal fluid (HSF) during oocyte retrieval is a simple and safe method in the management of patients with hydrosalpinx. The study also reported that the procedure is effective in improving the in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) outcomes, specifically in patients without uterine fluid collection or quick re-accruement of HSF following aspiration. Continue Reading

Follicular fluid vascular endothelial growth factor (FF-VEGF) has been proposed to play a critical role in embryo implantation, fertilization, and follicular maturation. A new study has reported the association of higher levels of FF-VEGF₁₆₅ with less favorable clinical outcomes in patients undergoing IVF, as well as with patient characteristics such as age of ≥40 years, body mass index ≥30, and polycystic ovarian syndrome. The findings of the prospective study have been published in the journal, Reproductive Sciences. Continue Reading

A recent retrospective analysis, the findings of which were published in the journal, Human Reproduction, reports that performing additional rounds of hybridization during fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) improves the accuracy of the technique in preimplantation genetic aneuploidy screening (PGS), thereby increasing the number of competent embryos available for transfer. Continue Reading

A new breakthrough study has reported the development of a simple, non-invasive, prenatal blood test based on the multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) technique, which could help in the accurate detection of chromosomal aberrations in the developing fetus, and thereby avoid the risk of miscarriage associated with conventional invasive techniques such as chorionic villus sampling and amniocentesis. The findings of the study were also presented recently at the 26^th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), held at Rome from 27^th-30^th June, 2010. Continue Reading