Clinical outcomes of vitrified-thawed embryo transfer using a pull and cut straw method

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical outcomes of patients with vitrified-thawed embryos transferred using either the 0.25 mL straw method and the pull and cut straw (PNC) method. To evaluate the clinical outcomes of patients with transferred embryos that underwent assisted hatching at the cleaved embryo (day 3) or the blastocyst (day 5) stage. METHODS: The study population consisted of women who underwent vitrified-warmed embryo transfer between May 2000 and December 2011 and assisted hatching was performed after warming of embryos. Cycles of thawing between assisted hatching treated and non treated groups were compared for survival and pregnancy rates. RESULTS: The PNC vitrification method improved survival and pregnancy rates in partial lysed embryos. While assisted hatching did not affect the developmental and clinical pregnancy rates of the vitrified-warmed blastocyst group, it did increase the pregnancy rate of poor quality vitrified-warmed cleaved embryos. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that PNC may increase the number of clinical pregnancies via the vitrification of both cleaved embryos and blastocysts. In addition, selective assisted hatching treatment of embryos that show a poor prognosis after warming may increase the rate of clinical pregnancy.

Validation of the Korean Version of Cambridge Cognitive Examination-Revised(CAMCOG-R) to Assist Dementia Diagnosis

BACKGROUND: The present study aims to examine the reliability and validity of a Korean version of the CAMCOG-R(CAMCOG-RK) in a clinical setting and an institution, that have been widely used to detect early dementia. METHODS: Study participants included 243 dementia sufferers, 68 mild cognitive impairment(MCI) suffers and 354 non-demented subjects. DSM-IV clinical criteria for dementia and Petersen's criteria for MCI were used as the 'gold' standards. The CAMCOG-R was translated into Korean and then back to English. Six items needed modifications for local usage. RESULTS: Interrater and test-retest scores calculated as intraclass correlation coefficients showed excel- lent for total score and all subscale scores of CAMCOG-RK. A strong concurrent validity was found with the MMSE-K score(r=0.82, p<0.01). Examination of the association between CAMCOG-R scores and socio- demographic variables(age, sex, and education) shows that age and education exerts a significant, and independent, effect upon performance. The eight age and education-specific cutoff point for dementia and MCI provided excellent sensitivity and specificity mostly more than 90%. CONCLUSION: The CAMCOG-RK was found to be an appropriate instrument to discriminate between demented and non-demented individuals and between individuals with MCI and without MCI in a clinical setting. Further studies should examine the psychometric characteristics of the CAMCOG-RK in a more varied sample.

Establishment of Human Embryonic Stem Cells Derived from Frozen-Thawed Blastocysts / 대한불임학회지

OBJECTIVE: This study was to establish the human embryonic stem (ES) cells derived from frozenthawed blastocyst stage embryo that were destined to be discarded after five years in routine human IVF-ET program. METHODS: Frozen-thawed and survived human blastocysts were treated by immunosurgery, and recovered ICM cells were cultured onto STO feeder cell layer and ICM colony was subcultured by mechanical dissociation into clumps. To identify ES cell, alkaline phosphatase staining and expression of Oct4 in replated ICM colonies were examined. Also, to examine the possibility of ES cell differentiation, retinoic acid (RA), basic fibroblast growth factor (b-FGF), nerve growth factor (NGF) were added in culture medium. In addition, to classify the specific cell type, differentiated cells were stained by indirect immunocytochemistry. RESULTS: One ICM colony recovered from frozen-thawed six blastocysts was subcultured, continuously replated during 40 passage culture duration without differentiation. Subcultured colonies were strong positively stained by alkaline phophatase. When the expression of Oct4 in cultured ES colony was examined, Oct4b type is more clearly indicated than Oct4a one although there was not detected in embryoid body or differentiated cells. In differentiated cardiomyocytes from ES colony, cells were beaten regularly (60 times/min). In differentiated neural cells from ES colony, neurofilament (NF) 200 kDa protein, microtubule associated protein (MAP) 2 and beta-tubulin of specific marker in neurons, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) of specific marker in astrocytes and galactocelebrocide (GalC) of specific marker in oligodendrocytes were confirmed by indirect immunocytochemistry. Also, muscle cells were detected by indirect immunocytochemistry. In addition, ES colonies can be successfully cryopreserved. CONCLUSION: This study suggested that establishment of human ES cells can be successfully derived from frozen-thawed blastocysts that were destined to be discarded, and obtained specific cell types (cardiomyocytes, neurons and muscle cells) through the in vitro differentiation procedures of ES cells.

Optimization of In Vitro Culture System of Mouse Preantral Follicles / 대한불임학회지

No abstract available.

A CLINICAL STUDY OF FOREIGN BODY INGESTION

We analyzed records at Chonnam university hospital from Sep. 1. 1993 to Aug. 31. 1996 to assess clinical significance of the foreign body in the gastrointestinal tract. There were 133 episodes consisting of 79 pediatric and 54 adult patients as possible to review. In the pediatric patients, the coin was the most common cause of foreign body ingestion, while adult patients were usually caused by bones and meat. We removed foreign bodies in the oral cavity and oropharynx in 12 cases using direct laryngophanmgoscpy and forcep. Endoscopy was performed successfully in 47 of 51 patients in which was attempted; there were two complications composed of an aspiration pneumonia and a mediastinitis due to esophageal perforation. There were spontaneous passage of foreign bodies in 48 cases. We observed complications in 6 cases in which 4 cases needed operations due to complications. Foreign bodies which pass into the stomach can be observed for development of complications, as 94% of foreign bodies which reach the stomach spontaneously pass. Only 4 patients required interventions, which was done without mortality.