Updates in Assisted Reproduction Treatment

A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Reproductive Medicine & Andrology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 May 2022) | Viewed by 7320

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology / Assisted Reproduction, Assisted Reproduction Unit, Second Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, "Aretaieion" Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
Interests: assisted reproduction; clinical pregnancy; live birth; miscarriage; ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome; infertility; endometrial receptivity; ovarian reserve

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

An estimated 8% to 12% of couples of reproductive age face challenges in achieving pregnancy within a year of regular, timed, and unprotected intercourse, with global surveys reporting as many as 186 million individuals suffering from infertility. For the past 40 years, assisted reproduction technologies (ARTs) utilize scientific knowledge and sophisticated technology for infertility management, even though compared with the degree of intervention, the success rates remain low, with only 30% of the embryos produced in vitro being ultimately transferred to the uterus, and only 10–30% of transferred embryos progressing to live birth. This realization calls for a fresh view on infertility management, along with the new perspectives on modern lifestyle and social structure that delays family planning. Practitioners are constantly seeking adjunct treatments to improve the outcomes, in the form of medical or non-medical co-therapies.

In this context, the utilization of some rapidly evolving fields, such as computer-based prediction models and artificial intelligence for the prognosis and diagnosis and molecular therapies for pharmaceutical management and other adjuncts, are to be investigated.

The focus of this Special Issue is to highlight these new advances in the diagnosis and management of infertility through updates in ART.

Prof. Dr. Charalampos Siristatidis
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Assisted reproduction
  • Clinical pregnancy
  • Live birth
  • Miscarriage
  • Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome
  • Infertility
  • Endometrial receptivity
  • Ovarian reserve

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Editorial

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4 pages, 198 KiB  
Editorial
Updates in Assisted Reproduction
by Charalampos Siristatidis, Kalliopi Syristatidi and Michail Papapanou
J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11(11), 3129; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11113129 - 31 May 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1149
Abstract
There are multiple reasons for which the “updates in assisted reproduction” topic is and will be in the center of scientific attention—both clinical and laboratory—during the next decades. In this editorial, we present and discuss some of them. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Updates in Assisted Reproduction Treatment)

Research

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7 pages, 234 KiB  
Article
Accumulated Vitrified Embryos Could Be a Method for Increasing Pregnancy Rates in Patients with Poor Ovarian Response
by Jieun Shin, Hwang Kwon, Dong Hee Choi, Chan Park, Ji Hyang Kim, Jeehyun Kim, Youn-Jung Kang and Hwa Seon Koo
J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11(17), 4940; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11174940 - 23 Aug 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1091
Abstract
We aimed to assess the efficacy of accumulated embryo transfer (ACC-ET) through several controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COS) cycles to increase the rates of pregnancy in patients with poor ovarian response (POR). We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 588 patients with POR under [...] Read more.
We aimed to assess the efficacy of accumulated embryo transfer (ACC-ET) through several controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COS) cycles to increase the rates of pregnancy in patients with poor ovarian response (POR). We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 588 patients with POR under 43-years old who underwent embryo transfer from January 2010 to December 2015. We compared the pregnancy rate (PR), clinical pregnancy rate (CPR), and live birth rate (LBR) between ACC-ET (frozen-thawed: 47; fresh + frozen-thawed: 24) group (n = 71) and fresh ET groups (n = 517). Characteristics of ACC-ET patients were similar to those of fresh ET groups (Age: 38.1 ± 3.5 vs. 38.2 ± 3.7, p = 0.88; Anti Müllerian Hormone (AMH; ng/mL): 0.5 ± 0.4 vs. 0.6 ± 0.6, p = 0.38; follicle stimulating hormone (FSH: mIU/mL): 11.9 ± 8.0 vs. 10.8 ± 9.0, p = 0.35). The total number of transferred embryos (3.1 ± 0.9 vs. 1.5 ± 0.7, p = 0.00), PR (29.6% (21/71) vs. 18.8% (97/517), p = 0.040), and CPR (23.5% (16/68) vs. 14.0% (71/508) p = 0.047) were significantly higher in the ACC-ET group than in the fresh ET group. In addition, PR, CPR, and LBR increased with the number of ET in the fresh ET group. However, there were no significant differences observed in LBR between ACC-ET and fresh ET groups (14.9% (10/67) vs. 9.8% (50/508), p = 0.203). From our knowledge, there is no clinical evidence reported to prove that transfer of multiple embryos of adequate quality obtained through multiple cycles can compensate for the limited number of retrieved oocytes from POR patients. We concluded that ACC-ET from several COS cycles could be an alternative method to increase PR and CPR in <43-year-old patients with POR. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Updates in Assisted Reproduction Treatment)
13 pages, 1506 KiB  
Article
Effects of Elevated Progesterone Levels on the Day of hCG on the Quality of Oocyte and Embryo
by Jeesoo Woo, Hwang Kwon, Donghee Choi, Chan Park, Jihyang Kim, Jieun Shin, Jeehyun Kim, Youn-Jung Kang and Hwaseon Koo
J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11(15), 4319; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11154319 - 25 Jul 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2022
Abstract
This study is designed to investigate the effects of increased progesterone (P4) levels on the quality of retrieved oocytes and embryos during IVF. This retrospective analysis included 982 all-freezing in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles (conducted between November 2019 and June 2020 at CHA [...] Read more.
This study is designed to investigate the effects of increased progesterone (P4) levels on the quality of retrieved oocytes and embryos during IVF. This retrospective analysis included 982 all-freezing in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles (conducted between November 2019 and June 2020 at CHA Fertility Center Bundang, South Korea) in which serum P4 levels were measured on the day of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) administration. Our study revealed that the serum P4 levels on the day of hCG administration are strongly associated with the rates of oocyte maturation, displaying a positive correlation in patients with serum P4 < 2.25 ng/mL (p = 0.025). Moreover, patients with serum P4 < 1.25 ng/mL showed relatively low fertilization rates (p = 0.037), and the rates of good embryo retrieval were significantly increased with the serum P4 level < 1.5 ng/mL (p = 0.001). Interestingly, serum P4 level on the day of hCG administration affects the rate of good-quality embryo development, especially at the cleavage stage, and is associated with the status of ovarian responses. Our current study suggests that serum P4 level on the day of hCG administration negatively affects the rates of oocyte maturation, fertilization, and the development of good embryos. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Updates in Assisted Reproduction Treatment)
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6 pages, 210 KiB  
Perspective
Is Hysteroscopy Prior to IVF Associated with an Increased Probability of Live Births in Patients with Normal Transvaginal Scan Findings after Their First Failed IVF Trial?
by Athanasios Zikopoulos, Apostolia Galani, Charalampos Siristatidis, Ioannis Georgiou, Eirini Mastora, Maria Paraskevaidi, Konstantinos Zikopoulos and Efstratios Kolibianakis
J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11(5), 1217; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11051217 - 24 Feb 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2087
Abstract
(1) Background: Nowadays, pregnancy can be achieved by in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) for many infertile couples. However, implantation failure still remains a significant problem and it can be stressful for both patients and doctors. One of the [...] Read more.
(1) Background: Nowadays, pregnancy can be achieved by in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) for many infertile couples. However, implantation failure still remains a significant problem and it can be stressful for both patients and doctors. One of the key players for pregnancy achievement is the uterine environment. Hysteroscopy is the most reliable method to evaluate the uterine cavity and to identify any intauterine pathology. The aim of this retrospective study was to compare live birth ranges in between women who after a first failed IVF/ICSI attempt underwent a hysteroscopy and those who were evaluated by a transvaginal scan. (2) The retrospective study took place at the Assisted Reproductive Unit of the University Hospital of Ioannina, Greece, from 2017 to 2020. It included 334 women with normal findings in a repeat ultrasound scan after a failed IVF/ICSI trial, 137 of whom underwent in turn diagnostic hysteroscopy before the next IVF/ICSI. (3) Results: Live birth rates were higher in the study group (58/137 vs. 52/197 p = 0.0025). Abnormal endometrial findings were identified in 30% of the patients of the study group. (4) Conclusions: The addition of hysteroscopy as an additional investigation to those patients with a first failed IVF/ICSI could improve the rates of live births. A properly conducted RCT could lead to a robust answer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Updates in Assisted Reproduction Treatment)
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