Quantification of nucleolar channel systems: uniform presence throughout the upper endometrial cavity.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of nucleolar channel systems (NCSs) by uterine region, applying continuous quantification. DESIGN: Prospective clinical study. SETTING: Tertiary care academic medical center. PATIENT(S): Forty-two naturally cycling women who underwent hysterectomy for benign indications. INTERVENTION(S): NCS presence was quantified by a novel method in six uterine regions-fundus, left cornu, right cornu, anterior body, posterior body, and lower uterine segment (LUS)-with the use of indirect immunofluorescence. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Percentage of endometrial epithelial cells (EECs) with NCSs per uterine region. RESULT(S): NCS quantification was observer independent (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.96) and its intrasample variability low (coefficient of variation 0.06). Eleven of 42 hysterectomy specimens were midluteal, ten of which were analyzable with nine containing >5% EECs with NCSs in at least one region. The percentage of EECs with NCSs varied significantly between the LUS (6.1%; interquartile range [IQR] 3.0-9.9) and the upper five regions (16.9%; IQR 12.7-23.4), with fewer NCSs in the basal layer of the endometrium (17 ± 6%) versus the middle (46 ± 9%) and luminal layers (38 ± 9%) of all six regions. CONCLUSION(S): NCS quantification during the midluteal phase demonstrates uniform presence throughout the endometrial cavity, excluding the LUS, with a preference for the functional luminal layers. Our quantitative NCS evaluation provides a benchmark for future studies and further supports NCS presence as a potential marker for the window of implantation.

The nucleolar channel system reliably marks the midluteal endometrium regardless of fertility status: a fresh look at an old organelle.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether nucleolar channel systems (NCSs) in the midluteal endometrium are associated with overall fertility status and/or with unexplained infertility. DESIGN: Retrospective and prospective clinical studies. SETTING: Repository of stored specimens from prior multicenter study and private infertility center. PATIENT(S): Retrospective study that included 97 women (49 fertile couples, 48 infertile couples) who had been randomized for endometrial biopsy during the midluteal or late luteal phase. The prospective study included 78 women with a variety of infertility diagnoses. INTERVENTION(S): Endometrial biopsies were obtained and assessed for the presence of NCSs by indirect immunofluorescence. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The presence of NCS was graded semiquantitatively and dichotomized as normal versus low or absent. RESULT(S): Normal presence of NCS was significantly associated with the midluteal phase compared with the late luteal phase (80% vs. 29%). However, there was no association between presence of NCS and fertility status or between presence of NCS and unexplained infertility. CONCLUSION(S): Midluteal phase endometrium consistently forms NCSs regardless of fertility status, including unexplained infertility. This indicates a possible role for the NCS in initiating the window of endometrial receptivity. However, the consistent presence of NCSs across several different types of infertility challenges the likelihood that inadequate secretory transformation is a cause of infertility.

Egg freezing, procreative liberty, and ICSI: the double standards confronting elective self-donation of oocytes.

The consensus view among relevant professional societies opposing the offering of elective oocyte cryopreservation for potential future self-donation withstands neither clinical nor ethical scrutiny. The favorable risk-benefit ratio of this technology mandates both the prioritization of patient autonomy for informed women seeking to maximize-not guarantee-their chances of having genetically related children, and a justification for viewing egg freezing differently from intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

Sibling and self ovum donation for sisters with an intermediate FMR1 mutation: what's a program to do?

OBJECTIVE: To increase awareness of the unique clinical and ethical considerations invoked by the request of a patient with premature ovarian failure (POF) and her nulliparous sister, both with intermediate-size mutations in fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1), to pursue sibling ovum donation. DESIGN: Case report. SETTING: Academic medical center. PATIENT(S): A 32-year-old woman with POF and her 26-year-old sister with occult diminished ovarian reserve, both of whom are carriers of an intermediate-size mutation in FMR1. INTERVENTION(S): Prospective donor ovarian function testing, genetic testing and consultation, and psychological evaluation; institutional assisted reproduction ethics committee consultation, and controlled ovarian hyperstimulation-IVF with cryopreservation of embryos for potential future self-use. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Successful cryopreservation of embryos for autologous use by the prospective donor (younger sister) before ovum donation. RESULTS(S): Three blastocysts were frozen. CONCLUSION(S): Requests for sibling ovum donation, while understandable and ethically sanctioned under typical circumstances, prove particularly challenging in some patients with POF given uncertainties regarding the prognosis of the currently asymptomatic sister, risks of genetic transmission of POF, and fiduciary responsibilities to address the reproductive interests of the prospective donor. A multidisciplinary approach was highly beneficial in this case.

Explained compared with unexplained fever in postoperative myomectomy and hysterectomy patients.

OBJECTIVE: To confirm that fever with localized findings is less prevalent among febrile postoperative myomectomy patients than it is among hysterectomy patients. METHODS: Hospital records of 341 hysterectomy patients and 250 myomectomy patients were reviewed. Rate of overall febrile morbidity, proportion of fever with localized findings, proportion of febrile patients worked-up, and other perioperative parameters were recorded. Fever was prospectively defined both inclusively (temperature at least 38.0 degrees C occurring at least 4 hours postoperatively) and in standard fashion (temperature at least 38.0 degrees C after 24 hours postoperatively). A localized fever required a positive laboratory, radiologic, or clinical finding. Chi-square, Student t test, and multivariable logistic regression were used. RESULTS: The proportion of patients who developed postoperative fever after at least 4 hours was identical between myomectomy and hysterectomy patients (39.2% compared with 39.3%, P=.98). However, the proportion of febrile myomectomy patients with localized findings was significantly lower than hysterectomy patients (14.3% compared with 31.3%, P=.003). Likewise, when comparing respective rates of overall and localized fever after at least 24 hours postoperatively, similar results were obtained. Multivariable analysis confirmed the lower likelihood of localized findings among febrile postoperative myomectomy patients compared with hysterectomy patients (odds ratio of localized fever 0.30, 95% confidence interval 0.12-0.75, P=.01). Additionally, obesity raised the likelihood of localized findings in each group by 6% per unit of body mass index (odds ratio 1.06, 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.10, P=.03). CONCLUSION: Overall postoperative fever rates are similar, but myomectomy is independently associated with fewer localized fevers than hysterectomy. Given the relatively low likelihood of localized fever, clinicians may consider simplifying the fever workup of postoperative myomectomy patients. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II.