scholarly journals The Impact of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals on Female Fertility

2020 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 286-294
Author(s):  
Aida Petca ◽  
Nicoleta Maru ◽  
Mihai Cristian Dumitrascu ◽  
Madalina Sighencea ◽  
Florica Sandru ◽  
...  

Nowadays, infertility is a prevalent problem among couples. Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may influence the female reproductive outcomes through multiple mechanisms, being one of the important causes of infertility. These compounds may interfere with some fertility and fecundity markers, leading to increased time to pregnancy, increased risk of spontaneous abortion, shorter menstrual cycles, early age at menopause, anovulation or delayed ovulation, smaller preovulatory follicles, increased serum FSH, decreased synthesis of estradiol and progesterone, low plasma levels of anti-Mullerian hormone and decreased antral follicle count. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals may also impair in vitro fertilization outcomes, being responsible for: a lower probability of implantation, reduced fertilization rates, diminished probability of clinical pregnancy, and near term pregnancies after in vitro fertilization. Another mechanism of altering the female reproductive function is through the disorders induced by EDCs, such as polycystic ovary syndrome, uterine fibroids, and endometriosis. Those conditions may finally lead to infertility.

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 1138-1147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya Chen ◽  
Bilv Ye ◽  
Xiaojing Yang ◽  
Jiujia Zheng ◽  
Jinju Lin ◽  
...  

Objective This study evaluated associations of basal serum and follicular fluid (FF) anti-Muüllerian hormone (AMH) levels with in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients. Methods This prospective study included 179 consecutive women undergoing IVF, including 59 with PCOS and non-PCOS controls. Thirty PCOS cases had long gona-dotrophin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) and 29 had antagonist (GnRH-ant) protocols. Controls underwent conventional GnRH-a. Associations of basal serum and FF AMH levels with IVF outcomes were assessed. Results Median serum and FF AMH levels, antral follicle count (AFC), oestradiol human chorionic gonadotropin injection day (peak E2), and retrieved oocyte numbers were higher in PCOS patients than in controls (all P < 0.01). Oocyte maturation and high-quality embryo rates were lower in PCOS patients than in controls (P < 0.01), but both groups had similar fertilization, implantation, clinical pregnancy, and newborn rates. Peak E2 was higher in GnRH-ant than in GnRH-a protocols (16.5 nmol/L vs. 12.1 nmol/L, P < 0.05). AMH levels were correlated with AFC in PCOS patients ( P < 0.01). Peak E2 and FF AMH levels were independent predictors of oocyte number. Peak E2 predicted the fertilization rate. Conclusion Serum basal AMH levels are predictive of oocyte quantity, but not oocyte quality or IVF outcomes. Serum AMH, FF AMH, and outcomes are similar among protocols.


Author(s):  
Yousef Nasiri Bari ◽  
Vahab Babapour ◽  
Abbas Ahmadi ◽  
Morteza Zendehdel Kheybari ◽  
Ghasem Akbari

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common disease in women. Some plant compounds which have antioxidant properties, such as curcumin, may be useful for these patients when delivered orally or in vitro. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of PCOS on oocyte quality and the effect of curcumin on in vitro fertilization of oocytes. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, Naval Medical Research Institute mice aged six to eight wk were used. Mice were divided into five experimental groups (control, experimental PCOS, curcumin 6, 12 and 24 μM). To induce experimental PCOS, estradiol valerate (100 mg/kg, IP) was injected. The total antioxidant capacity and production of malondialdehyde in ovarian tissue and blood serum were evaluated in all groups. Finally, 6, 12 and 24 μM of curcumin were added to the culture medium of the PCOS group oocytes and development in the different groups was evaluated. Results: A high percentage of oocytes for fertilization were not in good condition in terms of number and quality in the group of PCOS. The addition of curcumin to the embryo culture medium was associated with a higher percentage of fertilized oocytes, two-cells and blastocysts. This increase was significant at a concentration of 24 μM (p ≤ 0.01). Conclusion: Given that adding curcumin seemed to improve fetal growth and prevent the harmful effects of oxygen free radicals on the culture medium, it is recommended to add a certain concentration of curcumin under normal conditions without oxidative stress. Key words: Polycystic ovary syndrome, In vitro fertilization, Curcumin, Mice


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Monfort ◽  
Carmen Orellana ◽  
Silvestre Oltra ◽  
Mónica Rosello ◽  
Alfonso Caro-Llopis ◽  
...  

AbstractDevelopment of assisted reproductive technologies to address infertility has favored the birth of many children in the last years. The majority of children born with these treatments are healthy, but some concerns remain on the safety of these medical procedures. We have retrospectively analyzed both the fertilization method and the microarray results in all those children born between 2010 and 2019 with multiple congenital anomalies, developmental delay and/or autistic spectrum disorder (n = 486) referred for array study in our center. This analysis showed a significant excess of pathogenic copy number variants among those patients conceived after in vitro fertilization with donor oocyte with respect to those patients conceived by natural fertilization (p = 0.0001). On the other hand, no significant excess of pathogenic copy number variants was observed among patients born by autologous oocyte in vitro fertilization. Further studies are necessary to confirm these results and in order to identify the factors that may contribute to an increased risk of genomic rearrangements, as well as consider the screening for genomic alterations after oocyte donation in prenatal diagnosis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingsong Xi ◽  
Qiyu Yang ◽  
Meng Wang ◽  
Bo Huang ◽  
Bo Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background To minimize the rate of in vitro fertilization (IVF)- associated multiple-embryo gestation, significant efforts have been made. Previous studies related to machine learning in IVF mainly focused on selecting the top-quality embryos to improve outcomes, however, in patients with sub-optimal prognosis or with medium- or inferior-quality embryos, the selection between SET and DET could be perplexing. Methods This was an application study including 9211 patients with 10,076 embryos treated during 2016 to 2018, in Tongji Hospital, Wuhan, China. A hierarchical model was established using the machine learning system XGBoost, to learn embryo implantation potential and the impact of double embryos transfer (DET) simultaneously. The performance of the model was evaluated with the AUC of the ROC curve. Multiple regression analyses were also conducted on the 19 selected features to demonstrate the differences between feature importance for prediction and statistical relationship with outcomes. Results For a single embryo transfer (SET) pregnancy, the following variables remained significant: age, attempts at IVF, estradiol level on hCG day, and endometrial thickness. For DET pregnancy, age, attempts at IVF, endometrial thickness, and the newly added P1 + P2 remained significant. For DET twin risk, age, attempts at IVF, 2PN/ MII, and P1 × P2 remained significant. The algorithm was repeated 30 times, and averaged AUC of 0.7945, 0.8385, and 0.7229 were achieved for SET pregnancy, DET pregnancy, and DET twin risk, respectively. The trend of predictive and observed rates both in pregnancy and twin risk was basically identical. XGBoost outperformed the other two algorithms: logistic regression and classification and regression tree. Conclusion Artificial intelligence based on determinant-weighting analysis could offer an individualized embryo selection strategy for any given patient, and predict clinical pregnancy rate and twin risk, therefore optimizing clinical outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 937
Author(s):  
Gauri Bapayeva ◽  
Gulzhanat Aimagambetova ◽  
Alpamys Issanov ◽  
Sanja Terzic ◽  
Talshyn Ukybassova ◽  
...  

Although it is clear that infertility leads to heightened stress for patients, the impact of depressed mood and anxiety on treatment outcome is inconsistently reported. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of stress, depression and anxiety on in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes in Kazakhstani public assisted reproductive technology (ART) clinics. The prospective cohort study was performed between June 2019 and September 2020 using questionnaires to assess psychological stress, depressed mood and anxiety in women referred to IVF clinics in two public clinical centers in Kazakhstan, Nur-Sultan and Aktobe. Our study sample comprised 142 women with the average age of 33.9 ± 4.9 years, and infertility duration 6.0 ± 3.5 years. More than half of respondents had Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) scores higher than 16, indicating their risk of developing clinical depression. Ninety-one percent of women from Aktobe city were at risk for clinical depression (p < 0.001). Aktobe city respondents had higher stress subscale scores and anxiety scale scores (p < 0.001) than Nur-Sultan respondents. Statistical analysis showed that IVF outcome was not significantly associated with depression and stress, while the higher anxiety scale scores were negatively associated with clinical pregnancy after IVF.


Author(s):  
Antonio Palagiano ◽  
Mauro Cozzolino ◽  
Filippo Maria Ubaldi ◽  
Chiara Palagiano ◽  
Maria Elisabetta Coccia

AbstractHydrosalpinx is a disease characterized by the obstruction of the salpinx, with progressive accumulation in the shape of a fluid-filled sac at the distal part of the tuba uterina, and closed to the ovary. Women with hydrosalpinges have lower implantation and pregnancy rates due to a combination of mechanical and chemical factors thought to disrupt the endometrial environment. Evidence suggests that the presence of hydrosalpinx reduces the rate of pregnancy with assisted reproductive technology. The main aim of the present is review to make an overview of the possible effects of hydrosalpinx on in vitro fertilization (IVF). We conducted a literature search on the PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, and Google Scholar data bases regarding hydrosalpinx and IVF outcomes. Hydrosalpinx probably has a direct toxic effect on sperm motility and on the embryos. In addition, the increasing liquid inside the salpinges could alter the mechanisms of endometrial receptivity. The window of endometrial receptivity is essential in the implantation of blastocysts, and it triggers multiple reactions arising from the endometrium as well as the blastocysts. Hydrosalpinx could influence the expression of homeobox A10 (HOXA10) gene, which plays an essential role in directing embryonic development and implantation. Salpingectomy restores the endometrial expression of HOXA10; therefore, it may be one mechanism by which tubal removal could result in improved implantation rates in IVF. In addition, salpingectomy does not affect the ovarian response, nor reduces the antral follicle count. Further studies are needed to establish the therapeutic value of fluid aspiration under ultrasonographic guidance, during or after oocyte retrieval, in terms of pregnancy rate and ongoing pregnancy.


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