ABSTRACT
Background & objectives: Studies have shown that insulin resistance and hyperinsulinaemia play a major role in the pathogenesis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Therefore, the use of insulin sensitizing drugs in the treatment of PCOS has attracted the attention of medicine and researchers. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of sitaformin (sitagliptin/metformin) and metformin on the quality of oocyte and embryo in classic PCOS patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Methods: Sixty patients of PCOS (25-35 yr) were randomly allocated into three groups (n=20, each group): a metformin-treated group (administered metformin 500 mg twice daily), a sitaformin-treated group (administered sitaformin 50/500 mg twice daily) and a placebo group. Participants in all the groups received the drug two months prior to the start of the ovulation cycle and treatment continued until the day of the oocyte aspiration. Results: Serum insulin and total testosterone levels decreaseed significantly after treatment in both the treatment groups as compared to the placebo (P<0.05). A significant decrease in the number of immature oocytes [MI + germinal vesicle (GV) stage] was observed in metformin and sitaformin groups as compared to the placebo. In addition, sitaformin group when compared to the metformin group showed a significant decrease in the number of immature oocytes (P<0.05). The number of mature and normal MII oocytes increased significantly in both the treatment groups compared to the placebo group (P<0.05). The number of mature and normal oocytes increased in sitaformin group in comparison to the metformin group, but the difference was not significant. There was a significant increase in the number of grade I embryos, fertilization and cleavage rates in the sitaformin group compared to the other groups (P<0.05). Interpretation & conclusions: This is the first study to compare the impact of sitaformin with metformin on oocyte and embryo quality in women with PCOS undergoing a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist cycle. In conclusion, sitaformin can be more effective in decreasing immature oocytes and increasing the quality of embryos than the use of metformin.
ABSTRACT
Background and Objectives: Cadmium an environmental pollutant, exert several risks to human health. In this study we investigated the effect of cadmium chloride (CdCl 2 ) on Viability, morphology and bone Matrix Miniralization of Rat Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells (rMSCs). Materials and Methods: rMSCs were cultured in DMEM containing 15% FBS and pen-strep. After 21 days of treatment with the selected doses of 750 and 2000 nM of CdCl 2 viability, colony forming unit, population doubling number, DAN breakage and the morphology of the cells were studied. Also to study the effects of CdCl2 on differentiation property, the morphology and bone matrix mineralization via estimation of intracellular calcium concentration and quantitative alizarin red were also evaluated in the cells using Hoechst, Acridine orange and Alizarin red staining. Data was analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey ' s test and the means difference was considered significant at P<0.05. Results: The mean viability, colony forming unit, population doubling number and also the mean bone matrix mineralization of the rMSCs treated with CdCl 2 significantly reduced in a dose dependent manner. Nuclear fragmentation and cytoplasm shrinkage was also seen in the treated cells. Conclusion: CdCl 2 can reduce the viability and bone matrix mineralization of rMSCs even at low doses.