Comparison of embryonic development in cleavage stage mouse embryo biopsy between acid Tyrode's solution and laser assisted techniques.

The study was carried out to determine the effectiveness and safety of the infrared 1.48 microm laser in cleavage stage mouse embryo biopsy, compared to the conventional acid Tyrode's solution. One hundred and thirty cryopreserved cleavage stage mouse embryos were included in the study. Fifty embryos were biopsied by acid Tyrode's solution. Forty-seven embryos were biopsied by the infrared 1.48 microm laser. Thirty-three embryos were incubated without biopsy as the control group. Thirteen of 50 embryos in the acid Tyrode's group and 16 of 47 in the laser assisted group became cavitating morulae on day 4, meanwhile 23 of 33 in the control group reached this stage. The blastocyst formation of acid Tyrode's, laser assisted and control group were 94.0, 97.8 and 100.0 per cent, respectively. The hatching rate of acid Tyrode's solution, laser assisted and control group were 78.7, 84.7 and 63.6 per cent, respectively. No significant difference in blastocyst formation and hatching rate was found. The percentage of grade I blastocysts in control group (96.9%) was significantly higher than those in acid Tyrode's solution (68.0%) and the laser assisted group (76.0%). There was no significant difference in the percentage of grade 1 blastocysts between the acid Tyrode's solution and the laser assisted group. In conclusion, the infrared 1.48 microm wavelength laser may be an alternative to acid Tyrode's solution in embryo biopsy.

Embryonic testicular regression syndrome: a case report.

A case of testicular regression syndrome was reported. The patient was an 18 year old girl presenting with primary amenorrhoea. Physical examination revealed normal female external genitalia and underdeveloped secondary sexual characteristics. Hormonal profile indicated gonadal failure. Chromosome analysis revealed 46,XY karyotype. Diagnostic laparoscopy demonstrated undeveloped internal genital organs. Remnants of epididymis, vas deferens and seminiferous tubule were uncovered during exploratory laparotomy. Ontogeny of sexual differentiation and pathogenesis of testicular regression syndrome were reviewed and discussed.

Comparison of pronuclear stage embryo transfer and in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer following intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

To determine whether the mode of embryo transfer (PROST vs IVF) affected the outcome in intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles, 237 ICSI cycles (106 PROST and 131 IVF) were analyzed. Several parameters, including patient age, duration of infertility, amounts of hMG used, number of mature eggs retrieved and injected, fertilization rate, number of embryos transferred, and clinical pregnancy rate, were compared. Most of the variable factors were not significantly different, except the mean numbers of transferred embryos which were significantly higher in the PROST group. The clinical pregnancy rate showed no statistical difference between PROST and IVF cycles (25.5 and 16.8%; p = 0.139). This study suggests that even the pregnancy rate in PROST cycles was slightly higher than IVF cycles, but there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups.

Comparison of two-layer Percoll gradient and mini-Percoll methods for sperm preparation.

To compare the efficiency of sperm preparation between the two-layer Percoll gradient and mini-Percoll methods, 50 normal and 33 abnormal semen samples from male partners of infertile couples were studied. The number of recovered spermatozoa, percentage of motility, percentage of normal morphology, and their survival at 24 and 48 hours were assessed. Both Percoll gradient techniques resulted in a significantly higher percentage of motility and percentage of normal morphology compared with the original semen samples (p < 0.0001). The two-layer Percoll gradient showed a higher sperm recovery than the mini-Percoll method (p < 0.001), but the latter resulted in a higher percentage of motility (p > 0.001) and a higher sperm survival rate at 24 hours (p < 0.05) than the former, regarding normal semen samples. These differences did not appear with abnormal semen samples when analyzed as a group. Considering each of the abnormal parameters separately, sperm recovery was significantly higher after the two-layer Percoll gradient in the case of astheno- and teratozoospermia (p < 0.05), but sperm survival at 48 hours was higher after the mini-Percoll gradient in the case of teratozoospermia (p < 0.05). It is concluded that both the two-layer Percoll gradient and mini-Percoll method can be used effectively for sperm preparation. The former yields a higher sperm recovery, but the latter should be considered regarding teratozoospermic samples and semen samples of very low volume.

The occurrence of granulation tissue at Vaginal vault from different suture materials of vault closure following hysterectomy.

A randomized double blind clinical trial was carried out in order to compare the occurrence of vaginal vault granulations between vaginal closure, using interrupted figure-of-eight sutures with chromic catgut and poliglecaprone 25 (MonocrylR). One hundred and twelve healthy patients who underwent total abdominal hysterectomy were randomly assigned to one of the two studied suture materials. Six weeks after the operation, the patients were examined blindedly whether there were vaginal vault granulations. The characteristics of both studied groups were comparable. The incidence of vaginal vault granulations in patients was 33.9%. The granulations occurred in 19.6% in the poliglecaprone 2. And 48.2% in the chromic catgut suture material group (P<0.01). In patients with vaginal vault granulation, 76.3% had abnormal vaginal discharge and/or bleeding, while only 6.7% of those without had (P<0.01). Closure of vaginal vault with poliglecaprine 25 should be employed in case of total abdominal hysterectomy because of decreasing the occurrence of vaginal vault granulations later on.