Iranian Journal of Reproductive Medicine最新文献

Background: Alpinia galanga (A. galanga) belongs to the Zingiberaceae family has anti-oxidant effects in animals and humans body and often is used as medicament or part of medicaments in Asian folk medicine for various applications.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the molecular and biochemical influence of alcoholic extract from the rhizomes of A. galangal on the spermatogenesis process in male rat.

Materials and methods: Forty five Wistar male rats were divided into three groups, control (n=15) and two tested groups (n=30). Alcoholic extract (5%) of plant was given by oral route at doses of 100 and 300 mg/day for 56 days and spermatogenesis parameters, hormone changes and expression level of the cAMP-responsive element modulator (CREM) gene were assessed.

Results: Methanol extract of A. galanga increased serum testosterones level significantly in both treated groups in comparison with control group (p<0.05). Besides, the percentage of sperm viability and motility in both tested groups were significantly increased. Follicle stimulating hormone FSH hormone, morphology and weight were affected in both treated groups. With 300 mg/day an increase in sperm count was observed. Sperm motility was increased in two treated groups whereas testis weight was decreased in treated groups. Real time analysis of treated cells of testis showed increase level of mRNA related to CREM gene involved in spermatogenesis process after 56 days induction.

Conclusion: It is concluded that application of ethanolic extract of A. galanga significantly increased sperm percentage, viability, motility and testosterone hormone. This suggested that this plant may be promising in enhancing sperm healthy parameters.

Background: Endometriosis, a common chronic inflammatory disorder, is defined by the atypical growth of endometrium- like tissue outside of the uterus. Secretory phospholipase A2 group IIa (sPLA2-IIa) and fatty acid binding protein4 (FABP4) play several important roles in the inflammatory diseases.

Objective: Due to reported potential anti-inflammatory effects of ω-3 and ω-6 fatty acids, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of ω-3 and ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on fatty acid binding protein 4 and extracellular secretory phospholipase A2IIa in cultured endometrial cells.

Materials and methods: Ectopic and eutopic endometrial tissues obtained from 15 women were snap frozen. After thawing and tissue digestion, primary mixed stromal and endometrial epithelial cell culture was performed for 8 days in culture mediums supplemented with normal and high ratios of ω-3 and ω-6 PUFA. sPLA2-IIa in the culture medium and FABP4 level was determined using enzyme immuno assay (EIA) technique.

Results: Within ectopic endometrial cells group, the level of cellular FABP4 and extracellular sPLA2-IIa were remarkably increased under high ω-3 PUFA exposure compared with control condition (p=0.014 and p=0.04 respectively).

Conclusion: ω-3 PUFAs may increase the level of cellular FABP4 and extracellular sPLA2-IIa in ectopic endometrial cells, since sPLAIIa and FABP4 may affect endometriosis via several mechanisms, more relevant studies are encouraged to know the potential effect of increased cellular FABP4 and extracellular sPLA2-IIa on endometriosis.

Background: Poor ovarian response to controlled ovarian stimulation is one of the most important interest points in assisted reproduction. Mild ovarian stimulation seems to be preferable to high dose of FSH regimens in women with a history of poor ovarian response in previous protocol. Clomiphene citrate and letrozole alone or in combination with FSH have been used in mild ovarian stimulation protocol.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of letrozole and clomiphene citrate for mild ovarian stimulation on assisted reproductive technology outcomes in poor responders.

Materials and methods: In a randomized control study, 184 women aged between 20 and 45 years with the history of poor response to ovarian stimulation who were candidate for ART were randomly subdivided into two groups: group I (n= 80), women who underwent the clomiphene/gonadotropin/antagonist protocol; and group II (n= 87), patients who underwent the letrozole/gonadotropin/antagonist protocol. Groups were compared regarding implantation, chemical and clinical pregnancy rates.

Results: There was a significant difference in the mean endometrial thickness between two groups (9.16±1.2 mm vs. 8.3±0.3 mm). The implantation rate was significantly higher in letrozole group compare to clomiphene group (7.2 vs. 6.6%, p=0.024 respectively). No significant differences were found in chemical and clinical pregnancy rate between two groups.

Conclusion: In mild ovarian stimulation protocol, letrozole and clomiphene have similar value for the poor responder. The optimal treatment strategy for these patients remains debated.

Background: Diazinon (DZN) is an organophosphate pesticide that widely used for agricultural pest control all over the world. DZN affects target organs including reproductive system by inhibiting the activity of acetylcholinesterase and inducing oxidative stress. Vitamin E (α-tocopherol) is a strong antioxidant which inhibits free radicals, and probably can reduce lipid perxidation effectively in biological systems.

Objective: The present study, aimed to evaluate the effects of DZN on malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) levels in testis of rats and protective effect of vitamin E.

Materials and methods: In this experimental study, thirty adult male Wistar rats (200-250 gr) were divided into 5 groups (n= 6): control group (did not receive any material), sham group (received only pure olive oil), experimental group 1 (DZN, 60 mg/kg), experimental group 2 (Vit E, 200 mg/kg) and experimental group 3 (DZN+Vit E, with the same dose). All groups were sacrificed after 6 weeks and right testis was used to measure the MDA and GSH levels. The amount of MDA was determined by the thiobarbituric acid assay and 5, 5-Dithio-bis (2nitrobenzoic acid) DTNB-recycling protocol was used for GSH assay.

Results: The results showed that DZN increased MDA level (p<0.001) and reduced GSH level (p<0.001). Administration of DZN plus vitamin E decreased the MDA level (p<0.001) and increased GSH level (p=0.001).

Conclusion: DZN induced lipid peroxidation in the testis of rats. Vitamin E by its antioxidant activity was able to improve the toxic effect of DZN.

Background: Possible roles of anti-inflammatory factors as well as total antioxidative capacity in reproductive processes of women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) are still being investigated and the contributions by some of them remain controversial.

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between anti-inflammatory parameters and total antioxidative capacity (TAC) of the body during IVF. In this respect, adiponectin, interleukin-10 (IL-10), interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA), fetuin A and TAC analyses have been performed.

Materials and methods: In this prospective, non-randomized, controlled clinical study, sera obtained from 26 fertile (Group-1), and 26 infertile women before (Group-2) and after (Group-3) IVF treatment were analyzed. IL-1RA, IL-10, fetuin A, adiponectin and insulin were determined by ELISA. TAC was determined spectrophotometrically. Mann-Whitney U test, paired sample t-test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test as well as Pearson correlation analysis by SPSS were performed for statistical analysis.

Results: Clinical pregnancy and live birth rates were determined as 30.8% and 23.1%, respectively, in pregnant group. For the pregnant, significant indirect correlations were detected between fetuin A and adiponectin (r=-0.843; p=0.035) as well as IL-10 (r=-0.846; p=0.034) in Group 2. The correlation between adiponectin and IL-10 doubled in pregnant compared to non-pregnant (r=0.929; p=0.007 vs. r=0.478; p=0.033). The correlations between fetuin A and TAC in pregnant were noted both in Group 2 (r=0.892; p=0.017) and Group 3 (r=0.875; p=0.022). No correlation of fetuin A with these parameters was detected in non-pregnant group.

Conclusion: Fetuin A, TAC, IL-10, adiponectin and their associations may be important from their predictive values for IVF success point of view. Parameters with anti-inflammatory or antioxidant property appear to improve pregnancy in women undergoing IVF.

Background: Many studies reported that follicle size has an essential role in developmental potential of oocytes. Also, the brilliant cresyl blue (BCB) test is one of the most important criteria in selection of more competent oocytes.

Objective: Selection of developmentally competent bovine oocytes.

Materials and methods: A total of 1730 bovine cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) were recovered from the ovaries by follicles isolation and classified into 3 categories according to the diameters of the follicles (small, <3 mm; medium 3-6 mm and large >6 mm). Oocytes were exposed to the BCB stain, diluted in Dulbecco's phosphate-buffered saline, modified with 0.4% bovine serum albumin (BSA) for 90 min. Oocytes with or without blue coloration of the cytoplasm were designated as BCB(+) and BCB(-), respectively.

Results: The BCB(+) and control oocytes originated from large and medium follicles exhibited a higher (p<0.0001) cleavage and blastocyst rate than BCB(-) oocytes. Furthermore, the BCB(+) oocytes from large and medium follicles had the highest (p<0.0001) proportion of blastocyst than other treatment groups. In contrast, the BCB(-) oocytes from small follicles had the lowest (p<0.0001) proportion of blastocyst than other treatment groups. Interestingly, the percentage of the BCB(+) oocytes from the large and medium ovarian follicles was significantly higher (p<0.0001), than the BCB(+) oocytes from the small follicles.

Conclusion: Current results confirmed that each BCB(+) oocyte could not lead to perfect embryo development and the BCB test is not sufficient enough for the identification of oocytes that are competent for in vitro embryo development.

Background: Ovarian pregnancy constitutes 0.15-3% of all ectopic pregnancies. The incidence of ectopic pregnancy is on the rise owing to evolution in assisted reproductive techniques (ART). The incidence reported following In vitro fertilization (IVF) or embryo transfer (ET) is 0.27% per clinical pregnancy.

Case: We present a case of a 13-weeks ovarian pregnancy following IVF-ET and through a review of the literature, the specific symptomatology, diagnostic criteria, and treatment of this particular pathology will be described.

Conclusion: Ovarian pregnancy is a rare condition and its diagnosis is difficult and relies on criteria based on intraoperative and histopathological findings. The management is, in spite of medical improvement, based on surgery. But the trend has shifted towards conservative surgeries in majority of cases.

Background: Adolescent pregnancy and childbirth are associated with increased risk and challenges for both mothers and birth outcomes.

Objective: To investigate the associations of growth change over time with parenting factors and to compare the differences between children born to adolescent and adult mothers in Taiwan.

Materials and methods: The dataset retrieved from Taiwan birth cohort study (TBCS) was collected by interviews using structured questionnaires, birth certificate and Passport of Well-baby Care of each child. Changes in body weight, body height and head circumference from birth to 18 months, as well as other variables were assessed by statistical analysis.

Results: There were 4.13% births born to adolescent mothers in 2005. Higher ratios of breastfeeding and working were found among adult mothers (p<0.001). Significantly higher percentage of adolescent mothers caregave their infants up to 18 months (p<0.001). Children born to adolescent mothers were associated with statistically significant lower body weight (p<0.001), body height (p<0.001) and head circumference (p<0.001) in spite of velocity and slop of growth patterns were similar over time. Breastfeeding did not significantly affected growth rate during the first 6 months. Generalized estimated equation models showed that gender and preterm birth were predictive factors for birth outcomes (both p<0.001) and correlated to changes over time.

Conclusion: Adolescent childbearing was associated with preterm birth and lower body weight, body height and head circumference from birth to 18 months. The changes in growth and development among children born to adolescent mothers remain to be followed and evaluated with the TBCS.

Background: Momordica charantia (M. charantia) seed has been supposed to have an antifertility property but mechanisms underlying the infertility effect have not been investigated.

Objective: We investigated the antifertility effect of M. charantia ethanol seed extracts on reproductive toxicology and seminal and plasma testosterone in male Wistar rats.

Materials and methods: The control group (I) was provided daily 1 ml dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and the experimental groups II and III were given daily 400 and 800 mg dry matter/kg body weight of the extracts dissolved in 1 ml DMSO via the esophageal route. All groups were administered for 42 days (day 42). Changes in body weight, fertility, reproductive characteristics, testicular histopathology and levels of seminal and plasma testosterone among three groups were compared.

Results: On day 42, the extracts caused antifertility (p=0.001). The extracts demonstrated significant reductions in diameters of seminiferous tubules and epididymides, spermatid density, daily sperm production and caudal epididymal spermatozoa, sperm motility and viability (p=0.046). Pathological changes in seminiferous tubules revealed atrophy, desquamation, pyknosis nucleus and multinucleated giant cell. Plasma cells were evident in three parts of epididymides of rats treated with high dose of the extract. Furthermore, the high dose of the extract suppressed seminal testosterone level (p=0.001) and plasma testosterone level (p=0.002).

Conclusion: Our data showed that high dose of M. Charantia seed extracts caused infertility in male rats. The interruption in their fertility was probably attributed to the direct toxic to seminiferous tubules, epididymis and the lowered testosterone level which might impact on sperm parameters.

Background: Date Palm Pollen (DPP) and Astragalus genus are used in some countries for the treatment of infertility.

Objective: This study was designed to investigate effects of DPP and Astragalus ovinus (A.Ovinus) on fertility in healthy adult male rats.

Materials and methods: Thirty-six rats were divided into six groups (n=6) including control and five treatment groups. DPP (120, 240 and 360 mg/kg) and A.ovinus (100, 500 mg/ kg) were orally given to the treatment groups. After thirty-five days, blood samples were taken to determine serum levels of FSH, LH, testosterone and estradiol. Weight of testis and epididymis, sperm count, sperm motility, seminiferous tubules diameter (STD), germinal cell layer thickness (GCLT), sertoli, leydig and spermatogonia cells were also evaluated.

Results: DPP at the of 120 and 240 mg/kg doses significantly raised the ratio of testis or epididymis to body weight, sperm count, sperm motility , and estradiol level compared to the control group (p<0.05). LH and testosterone levels only noticeably increased at 120 mg/kg of DPP (p<0.01 and p<0.001 respectively). STD increased in the three applied doses (p=0.001). A. ovinus extract at the indicated doses produced a significant reduction in the ratio of testis or epididymis to body weight and sperm motility (p<0.05). Sperm count, spermatogonia, leydig cells and FSH level decreased at dose of 500 mg/kg. Furthermore, GCLT, spermatogonia cells, and serum estradiol level increased at 100 mg/kg dose of A. ovinus.

Conclusion: Our findings indicate that DPP could improve fertility factors, while A.ovinus can exhibit deleterious effects on gonad and sperm parameters in rats.