Successful pregnancy and live birth after intrauterine administration of autologous platelet-rich plasma in a woman with recurrent implantation failure: a case report

Background: platelets contain a significant amount of growth factors that have positive effects on local tissue repair and endometrial receptivity

Case: here we present a 45-yr-old woman with primary infertility and two failed in vitro fertilization [IVF] cycles who was candidate to receive donor eggs. Five consecutive frozen-thawed embryo transfer cycles with good quality embryos were performed within 2 yr. With the diagnosis of recurrent implantation failure [RIF], the patient was treated for improving endometrial receptivity with intrauterine administration of autologous platelet-rich plasma [PRP], 24 hr before embryo transfer. The patient gave birth to a healthy baby boy weighing 2350 gr in the cesarean section

Conclusion: extensive literature search suggests that this is the ?rst successful pregnancy after administration of PRP in a woman with RIF. Local administration of PRP before embryo transfer may play a vital role in successful implantation

Dietary supplementation with astaxanthin may ameliorate sperm parameters and DNA integrity in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats / 대한생식의학회지

OBJECTIVE: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is known to cause many systemic complications as well as male infertility. Astaxanthin (ASTX) is a powerful antioxidant that is involved in a variety of biologically active processes, including those with anti-diabetes effects. The present study investigates the effect of ASTX on the spermatozoa function in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. METHODS: We divided 30 adult rats into three groups (10 rats per group), with a control group that received corn oil mixed with chow. DM was induced by intra-peritoneal injection of STZ. Eight weeks after the STZ injection, half of the diabetic animals were used as diabetic controls, and the rest were treated with ASTX for 56 days. Then the parameters and chromatin integrity of the epididymal sperm were analyzed using chromomycin A3, toluidine blue (TB), and acridine orange (AO) staining. RESULTS: The count, viability, and motility of the epididymal sperm were decreased significantly in the STZ group in comparison with the control group (count and viability, p<0.001; motility, p<0.001;0.01). ASTX increased normal morphology and viable spermatozoa compared to the STZ group (morphology, p=0.001; viability, p<0.001;0.05). The percentage of abnormal chromatins in TB and AO staining was higher in the STZ group compared to the control group (p<0.001;0.001). The mean percentage of TB and AO positive spermatozoa in STZ rats was significantly lower in the STZ+ASTX group (TB, p=0.001; AO, p<0.001;0.05). CONCLUSION: This study observed that in vivo ASTX treatment partially attenuates some detrimental effect of diabetes. Conversely, ASTX improved sperm viability, normal morphology, and DNA integrity.

[Endometrial morphology following repeated ovarian stimulation in mouse]

Gonadotropins are commonly used for superovulation in human and animals to retrieve more oocyte and increase chance of pregnancy. Ovarian stimulation in assisted reproduction technology produces lower implantation rates per embryo transferred than natural and ovum donation cycles, suggesting suboptimal endometrial development due to the hormones used to recruit more oocytes. Due to the frequent use of gonadotropins in the treatment of infertility in successive periods, the aim of this study was to determine the endometrial changes in response to repeated ovarian stimulation. This experimental interventional study has done in research center of Hamadan university of medical sciences in 2012. NMIRI female mice six weeks old were used in this study and divided into 7 groups [5 each]. The mice in group 1, 2, 3 and 4 received 1, 2, 3 and 4 times pregnant mare serum gonadotropin [PMSG] and 48 hours later 7.5 IU human chorionic gonadotrophin [hCG] respectively. For each group were considered a control group which received on time gonadortropin injection. The mouses were killed 13-16 hours after hCG injection and middle part of uterine horn cut for histological study using Hematoxylin and Eosin staining. The parameters that studied were surface epithelium of endometrium, glandular epithelium, and endometrial height and axis of uterine gland. Our results showed that there are no significant differences in glandular epithelium, axis of glands and height of endometrium in experimental groups [P>0.05]. The height of surface epithelium showed significant increases after ovarian stimulation in experiment group [P0.03]. Our results showed that there are no significant differences in glandular epithelium, axis of glands, height of endometrium and height of surface epithelium between control groups and also it's experimental group [P>0.05]. Conclusion Changes in the height of surface epithelium could be one of the reasons for decrease implantation rates with repeated ovarian stimulation

[Semi-quantitative analysis of endometrial HOXA10 and BTEB1 mRNA expressions in the implantation window of patients with endometriosis and myoma]

The techniques used in assisted reproductive technologies have progressed considerably, but many embryos do not implant after transfer upon the use of these techniques. One of the causes of infertility is repeated implantation failure due to decreased endometrial receptivity. Furthermore, in clinical conditions such as endometriosis and myoma, implantation decreases after embryo transfer. In this case-control study the expression patterns of HOXA-10 and BTEB1 mRNAs were evaluated at the time of implantation in patients with myoma and endometriosis. In this study performed in Hamadan University of Medical Sciences during 1389, the cases included 16 patients with endometriosis and myoma [8 in each group] and the control group consisted of 8 fertile women. Endometrial sampling was performed at mid-secretory phase. Later, the expression patterns of HOXA-10 and BTEB1 mRNAs were evaluated using a semi-quantitative RT-PCR method. The optimal PCR cycles determined were 30, 32 and 26 for HOXA10, BTEB1 and beta-actin, respectively. Endometrial HOXA-10 and BTEB1 mRNA expression levels [normalized to beta-actin expression] at the time of implantation were significantly decreased in the endometrium of infertile patients with endometriosis compared with that of healthy fertile controls [P<0.05]. A similar pattern was seen in patients with myomas for both HOXA10 and BTEB1 genes, [P<0.05]. It seems that lower expression of HOXA-10 and BTEB1 mRNAs in the implantation window of endometrium that increase normally, could account for some aspects of infertility in patients with endometriosis and myoma