Stability of freeze-dried sera stored at different temperatures for the detection of anti-leishmania infantum antibodies using direct agglutination test

This study aimed to evaluate freeze-dried sera as an alternative to non-freeze dried for detection of anti- Leishmania infantum antibodies over the course of 11 months using the direct agglutination test [DAT]. Altogether, 60 serum samples [30 from humans and 30 from dogs] were collected from various geographical locations in Iran. All the collected sera were pooled and each pooled serum sample contained 10 different sera. In the beginning, the human and dog pooled sera were categorized as positive [weak and strong] and negative based on anti-L. infantum antibodies using the DAT. All the freeze-dried and non-freeze-dried sera were stored at -70[degree sign] C, -20[degree sign] C, 4[degree sign] C, 22-28[degree sign] C and 56[degree sign] C for 11 months. The positive and negative human and dog pooled sera were separately tested using the DAT each month and the results were compared to non-freeze-dried sera kept under the same conditions. We found strong agreement [100%] between the results obtained from freeze-dried human and dog in strong DAT positive sera kept at -70[degree sign] C, -20[degree sign] C, 4[degree sign] C and 22-28[degree sign] C during this study. The human and dog pooled sera stored at 56[degree sign] C were corrupted after 2 weeks. The DAT results were highly reproducible using freeze-dried human pooled sera in the beginning and month 11 of this study [CV = 0.036]. Freeze-dried human and dog strong DAT positive sera are highly stable under different temperature conditions, are easy to transport and are safe for use as positive and negative serum controls in laboratories

Relationship between energy expenditure related factors and oxidative stress in follicular fluid

Background: This study evaluated the impact of body mass index [BMI], total calorie intake and physical activity [PA] as energy expenditure related factors on oxidative stress [OS] in follicular fluid [FF]

Materials and Methods: This prospective study conducted on 219 infertile women. We evaluated patients' BMI, total calorie intake and PA in their assisted reproduction treatment cycles. Malondialdehyde [MDA] and total antioxidant capacity [TAC] in pooled FF at oocyte retrieval were additionally assessed

Results: There was no relation between OS biomarkers to total calorie intake and PA. The TAC levels in FF adjusted for age, duration of infertility, etiology of infertility, number of used gonadotrophin and PA showed a positive relation to BMI [p=0.001]. The number of used gonadotrophin and PA had a negative relation to duration of infertility [p=0.03] and anovulation disorder as an etiology of infertility. The MDA level in FF had a positive association with anovulation disorder as the etiology of infertility [p=0.02]. MDA in FF was unaffected by BMI

Conclusion: Increasing age, BMI and PA do not affect OS in FF. In women with longtime infertility and those with anovulation disorder as an etiology of infertility, decreased potent antioxidant defense in the follicular microenvironment may contribute to ovarian function. Therefore antioxidant supplements may be beneficial for these groups of women