CORRELATION BETWEEN SERUM LEVELS OF FOLLICLE STIMULATING HORMONE AND GRAAFIAN FOLLICLE VASCULARITY ON DOPPLER IN INFERTILE FEMALES OF LAHORE

Objective: To determine correlation between serum levels of Follicle Stimulating Hormone and Graafian Follicle vascularity on Doppler ultrasound in infertile females of Lahore, Pakistan. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Prime Ultrasound center, 2-Shalamrar Link Road, Mughalpura, Lahore, Pakistan From Mar 2018 to Sep 2019. Methodology: A total of 100 infertile females using simple random sampling were taken. All the married women of reproductive age and married for >12 months who have not conceived despite regular unprotected intercourse, having no other uterine and endometrial or ovarian pathology were taken. The patients who fail to provide serum hormone laboratory reports were excluded. Transvaginal ultrasonography was done for all females and graafian follicle vascularity on Doppler was measured on day 12 of the cycle. Results: The Median age of females was 28 (30-25) years range from 19 and 46 years. The median Follicle Stimulating Hormone levels at day 12 was 6 (8.25-5.22) mlU/ml with minimum and maximum FSH values as 3.20 and 40 mlU/ml. The median follicle size was 13.65 (16.04-10.84) (mm) with minimum and maximum size as 10 mm and 26 mm. There were 61% females who had Grade–1 perifollicular vascularity, 24% females had grade-2 and 15% females had grade-3 of perifollicular vascularity. There was significant positive correlation between perifollicular vascularity grades and Follicle-stimulating hormone levels day 12 (mm) i.e., r=0.309, p-value <0.001. Conclusion: It is concluded that perifollicular vascularity was found to correlate with serum Follicle-stimulating hormone levels, so graafian follicle vascularity on.......

Effect of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells transplantation on BMP-15 expression and Graafian follicle count in mice model of endometriosis

Objectives: To determine the effect of bone marrow mesenchy-mal stem cells (BMSCs) on BMP-15 expression and Graafian follicle count in endometriosis mice.Material and Methods: This study was a laboratory randomized clinical trial on Mus musculus. The object of the study was 42 mice which were divided into 3 groups, the control, endome-triosis, and endometriosis + BMSCs groups. Comparison of BMP-15 expression and Graafian follicle count between groups was evaluated.Results: Immunohistochemical analysis showed that BMP-15 expression in control, endometriosis, and endometriosis + BMSCs groups had p=0.551, p=0.446 and p=0.917 with ANOVA test p=0.273, indicating no statistically significant differences between groups . Graafian follicular count in the three groups had p=0.31, p=0.001, and p=0.006, with the Kruskal-Wallis test p=0.001. Graafian follicles in the endometriosis + BMSCs group were higher than those in control and endometriosis groups.Conclusion:In the endometriosis mouse model with bone mar-row stem cell transplantation the BMP-15 expression in each group did not show a difference, but a significant difference was found in the number of Graafian follicles.

Histomorphometric study of the follicles of the ovary in Bangladeshi women

Background: The accurate assessment of size and number of ovarian follicles are paramount to understanding the physiology of female reproduction. Objective: To observe the variation in size of the Graafian follicle and follicular number with age in Bangladeshi women. Methods: This descriptive type of study was done in the Department of Anatomy, Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka, from January to December 2009, on 140 post mortem human ovaries collected from 70 unclaimed female dead bodies from the morgue of Forensic Medicine, Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka. The samples were divided into three age-groups including group A (10-13 years), group B (14-45 years) and group C (46-52 years). 10 best prepared histological slides from 14-45 years age group were examined to determine the average size of Graafian follicle and 20 slides from each group were taken to determine the number of follicles. Results: The average diameter of the Graafian follicles of the right is slightly higher than that of the left ovary but not statistically significant (p>0.05). No difference was found in follicular number in between the right and the left ovaries at any age group. However, the difference in number of the follicles of the ovary were statistically significant in between age groups A & C and B & C (p<0.001). Conclusion: The average diameter of Graafian follicle was found greater in the right ovary than the left ovary. However, the number of ovarian follicles was found to decrease in old age. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbsp.v7i2.14458 J Bangladesh Soc Physiol. 2012, December; 7(2): 89-93

Sperm whales of the Southeast Pacific. Part VII. Reproduction and growth in the female

This report on the reproduction and growth of the female sperm whale Physeter catodon is Part VII of our work on this whale in the Southeast Pacific. There were 1105 female sperm whales in our sample collected from two whaling stations in Chile and two in Peru. Since Clarke and Paliza (1972) have shown that they belonged to a single stock, we have worked them together. A second Graafian follicle develops more than the others in each ovary so to improve the possibility of fertilization in case the first ovum fails to be impregnated. We consider the size of the Graafian follicle at, or near, ovulation to be around 100mm, larger than what has been found in sperm whales from other seas. The corpus luteum of pregnancy is significantly larger than the corpus luteum of ovulation. The corpus albicans reduces in size throughout the life of the whale and probably does not disappear. There is a highly significant correlation between the total number of corpora and age: therefore we use the number of corpora as an indication of age. The corpora atretica are more frequent in older female sperm whales reflecting less fertility in this group. The sexual cycle in sperm whales of the Southeast Pacific has been revised to last 4yrs. Sexual maturity in female sperm whales is attained at 8.2m long and 6.5yrs of age, being both values lower than in sperm whales from other seas. The female sperm whale is born at 3.90m. The incidence of twins, 0.91%, is higher than in other seas. Fertility is low in very young whales (1-2 ovarian corpora) and it is at its lowest in the older group (over 12 corpora). The highest fertility is when females have 3-10 ovarian corpora and they are 15 to 35yrs old. The proportion of active females in pre oestrus during the months of pairing is significantly higher than during the other months. Accessory ovulations during oestrus are represented by the small groups of lactating-and-recently ovulated and lactating-and-pregnant whales. Unsuccessful ovulations are more frequent in late lactation and late resting periods, being post-partum ovulation rare. Female sperm whales in the Southeast Pacific may ovulate up to four and possibly five times during an oestrus. Physical maturity is attained at 11.2m long and 33.5yrs old. Fusion of the vertebrae begins at both ends of the vertebral column and finishes between the posterior thoracic and the lumbar vertebrae. Female sperm whales of the Southeast Pacific may live, at least, up to 50yrs of age. The age at recruitment between 1959 and 1962 was 20-21yrs of age when they had accumulated 4–5 corpora in their ovaries.