The aim of the present study was to investigate changes of blood ghrelin, adiponectin and resistin levels in IVF/ICSI-ET cycles. Twenty women were stimulated with recombinant FSH in a GnRH agonist short protocol for IVF/ICSI. Blood samples were taken on cycle day 2 before the commencement of injections, on cycle day 6 and on the days of HCG injection, oocyte pick up (OPU), embryo transfer (ET) as well as 7 and 12 days post-ET. Serum E2 levels increased during the stimulation, peaking on the HCG day and declined thereafter (p<0.001). Serum progesterone levels started to increase on the OPU day, peaking on the ET day (p<0.001) and decreased on days 7 and 12 post-ET. Plasma ghrelin remained unchanged during the whole cycle. Serum adiponectin levels remained stable during the stimulation period until the ET day and decreased on days 7 and 12 post-ET (p<0.001). Serum resistin levels increased until the ET day (p<0.05), remained unchanged on day 7 post-ET and decreased on day 12 post-ET (p<0.05). The present study shows for the first time that ghrelin levels did not change significantly during IVF/ICSI-ET cycles. Resistin levels increased during the stimulation period while adiponectin levels remained stable decreasing during the luteal phase.
Comparison of follicular fluid IGF-I, IGF-II, IGFBP-3, IGFBP-4 and PAPP-A concentrations and their ratios between GnRH agonist and GnRH antagonist protocols for controlled ovarian stimulation in IVF-embryo transfer patients
