Detection of Y chromosome microdeletions and hormonal profile analysis of infertile men undergoing assisted reproductive technologies

Background: Y chromosome deletions [YCDs] in azoospermia factor [AZF] region are associated with abnormal spermatogenesis and may lead to azoospermia or severe oligozoospermia. Assisted reproductive tech- nologies [ART] by intracytoplasmic sperm injection [ICSI] and testicular sperm extraction [TESE] are commonly required for infertility management of patients carrying YCDs. The aim of this study was to estimate the frequency of YCDs, to find the most frequent variant in infertile men candidate for ART and to compare YCD distribution with a control fertile group. The semen parameters, hormonal profiles and ART outcomes of the infertile group were studied

Materials and Methods: This case-control study consisted of 97 oligozoospermic or non-obstructive azoospermic [NOA] infertile men, who had undergone ART, as the case group and 100 fertile men as the control group. DNA samples were extracted from blood samples taken from all 197 participants and YCDs were identified by multiplex polymerase chain reaction [PCR] of eight known sequence-tagged sites. The chi-square test was used to compare the mean values of hormone and sperm parameters between the two groups. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant

Results: No YCD was detected in the control group. However, 20 out of 97 [20.6%] infertile men had a YCD. AZFc, AZFbc and AZFabc deletions were detected in 15 [75%], four [20%] and one [5%] YCD-positive patients. No fertilization or clinical pregnancy was seen following ICSI in this sub-group with YCD. The mean level of FSH was significantly higher in the group with YCD [28.45 +/- 22.2 vs. 4.8 +/- 3.17 and 10.83 +/- 7.23 in YCD-negative patients with and without clinical pregnancy respectively]

Conclusion: YCD is frequent among NOA men and YCD screening before ART and patient counseling is thus strongly recommended

The potential role of granulosa cells in the maturation rate of immature human oocytes and embryo development: A co-culture study / 대한생식의학회지

OBJECTIVE: In order to increase the number of mature oocytes usable for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), we aimed to investigate the effect of co-culturing granulosa cells (GCs) on human oocyte maturation in vitro, the fertilization rate, and embryo development. METHODS: A total of 133 immature oocytes were retrieved and were randomly divided into two groups; oocytes that were cultured with GCs (group A) and oocytes that were cultured without GCs (group B). After in vitro maturation, only oocytes that displayed metaphase II (MII) underwent the ICSI procedure. The maturation and fertilization rates were analyzed, as well as the frequency of embryo development. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients, their basal levels of follicle-stimulating hormone, and the number of oocytes recovered from the patients were all comparable between the two study groups. The number of oocytes that reached MII (mature oocytes) was 59 out of 70 (84.28%) in group A, compared to 41 out of 63 (65.07%) in group B (p=0.011). No significant difference between fertilization rates was found between the two study groups (p=0.702). The embryo development rate was higher in group A (33/59, 75%) than in group B (12/41, 42.85%; p=0.006). The proportion of highest-quality embryos and the blastocyst formation rate were significantly lower in group B than in group A (p=0.003 and p<0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: The findings of the current study demonstrate that culturing immature human oocytes with GCs prior to ICSI improves the maturation rate and the likelihood of embryo development.

[Evaluation of simple method to predict the anterior and overall bolton discrepancy in a south Iranian population]

Bolton analysis is a good indicator to evaluate tooth size discrepancies but the ethnic variation of these values should be considered. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the tooth ratios in different sexes and malocclusion groups in Iranian population and to compare these ratios with the data from the Bolton study. Also the best predictors of anterior and overall Bolton discrepancies were determined in this study. In this cross-sectional study, a total of 715 dental casts [526 female. 189 male] were recruited from department of orthodontics of Shiraz dental school and private offices of orthodontists. The samples were divided into three groups based on Angles Malocclusion groups. Then the greatest mesiodistal widths of all teeth were measured with digital caliper with accuracy of 0.01 mm and the anterior and overall ratios were calculated. Finally, the data were analyzed by Pearson Correlation, independent t-test and Kruskal-Wallis test, through SPSS software. The anterior ratio [78.74%] and the overall ratio [91.94%] showed no statistically significant differences according to sex and malocclusion groups in south Iranian population. The results revealed that the correlation coefficient of lateral ratio with anterior Bolton discrepancy was 0.544 and central ratio with anterior Bolton discrepancy was 0.536. Also the correlation coefficient of first premolar ratio with overall Bolton discrepancy was 0.440 and the second premolar ratio with overall Bolton discrepancy was 0.407. The anterior ratio for the whole population was statistically different from Bolton's, but no statistically significant difference was found for the overall ratio. In Iranian population, the best predictor of anterior Bolton discrepancy was lateral tooth and the best predictor of overall Bolton discrepancy was first premolar