Preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) in infertile female age > or = 35 years by fluorescence in situ hybridization of chromosome 13, 18, 21, X and Y.

INTRODUCTION: It is common in infertile couples that the female partner age > or = 35 years, that some of them require assisted reproductive technology (ART) for their treatment, it is also well known that in this female age group increases the chance of chromosome aneuploidy in offsprings. It is known that the antenatal diagnosis may have the ethical dilemma and psychological impact. Therefore, the preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) may have a role in this ART group. OBJECTIVE: The present study had the objective to compare the incidence of normal, abnormal embryos and also aneuploidy of each chromosome, i.e. 13, 18, 21, X and Y between 2 subgroups of age i.e. the age 35-39 years and 32-39 years vs. the age > or = 40 years in both female and male partners respectively. MATERIALS AND METHOD: This prospective study was performed in 20 infertile couples attending the Fertility Clinic at Thammasat University Hospital during the years 2006-2007 of which the female partner aged > or = 35 years had to use the ART. The PGS was performed by FISH technique with 5 probes to detect the 13, 18, 21, X and Y chromosomes. The comparative analysis was made between 2 subgroups of both female and male partner aged, as mentioned above in the incidence of normal, abnormal embryos and aneuploidy of each chromosome by Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test with statistical significance if p < 0.05. RESULTS: The abnormal embryos in the female partner age > or = 40 years were higher than those of the age 35-39 years (72.4% vs. 52.5%, p = 0.07) but with no statistical significance. No different results were obtained in the comparable male partner age groups (56.8% vs. 61.4%, p = 0.66). The normal female and male embryos in the female partner age 40 years were lower than those of the age 35-39 years (10.4% vs. 25.4%, p = 0.08 and 17.2% vs. 22.1%, p = 0.60 respectively) but with no statistical significance. The normal female and male embryos in the male partner age > or = 40 years and the age 32-39 years were also compared with no significant differences (20.5% vs. 20.5%, p = 1.00 and 22.7% vs. 18.2%, p = 0.60, respectively). The percentage of embryos with aneuploidy of chromosome 18 in the female partner age > or = 40 years was significantly higher than that of the age 35-39 years (72.0% vs. 45.0%, p = 0.003). The pregnancy rate in the presented PGS study was 12.5% but unfortunately was associated with a high abortion rate of 100%. CONCLUSION: It was found in the present study that the incidence of abnormal embryos trend to increase in the female partner aged > or = 40 years compared to the aged 35-39 years although with no statistical significance. However, the incidence of embryos with aneuploidy of chromosome 18 was higher in females aged > or = 40 years with statistical significance, whereas the male partner age had no impact on the abnormality or normality of the embryo. The abortion rate was very high (100%) probably may be due to inadequate choice of probes, inappropriate fixation technology and small sample size. However, the results obtained in this study indicate that the PGS should be considerably performed with strong indication only.

Antifertility effect of “terpinnen-4-OL” in hamsters.

“Terpinen-4-ol” a cyclic terpene alcohol isolated from oil of Zingiber cassumunar Roxb., was tested for its antifertility effect in hamsters. The fertility test was performed according to the MB 55 WHO protocol (52 days of treatment). The results of the experiment revealed that at dose levels of 100 and 200 mg/kg, the number of epididymal sperm decreased significantly, by 65 and 74 percent respectively. More than 90 percent of the sperm abnormal morphology, especially at the midpiece portion of the tail; motility was also markedly depressed. The sperm motility rate of the group receiving 100 mg/kg varied from 0 to 40 percent compared with 74 percent of the control group. The sperm motility rate was totally zero in the group treated with 200 mg/kg. When the males were mated with females, the pregnancy rate of the mated females was 0 percent (with both low and high doses) compared with 100 percent for the control group; there was no evidence of abnormal, live or dead fetuses or other parameter connected with pregnancy. Blood levels of FRH, LH and testerone were not significantly changed. Histological study of the testis revealed no interference with spermatogenesis at all doses tested. Moreover, no significant alteration in body weight, or in adrenal gland, testicular and accessory sex organ weights except for the weights of the cauda and total epididymis which were significantly decreased. When the modified MB 55 protocol (22 days of treatment) was applied, exactly similar results, as described above were obtained. When Terpinen-4-ol was tested for its antifertility effect in female hamsters, no significant alteration on fertility parameters, namely pregnancy rate, number of live fetuses including abnormal fetuses, implantation sites and corpus luteum of pregnancy was observed. These results indicate with certainty that this compound possesses potent antipermatogenesis and antifertility effects in males only. Further study to again more information would certainly be worthwhile and may lead to the development of a male contraceptive for human use in the future.