Intensity and Appreciation of Sweet Taste Solutions Are Modulated by High-Intensity Aerobic Exercise in Adolescent Athletic Males.

PURPOSE: Exercise seems to influence taste, but the effect of exercise on specific tastes is still to be elucidated among youths. METHODS: Athlete boys aged 14-16 years were recruited. Participants (n = 19) ages ranged 14.7 (0.7) years, weight 59.6 (7.8) kg, and height of 173.4 (7.9) cm. Distinct taste tests were administered using low and high concentrations of sweet, salty, and bitter solutions before and after a 30-minute aerobic exercise session (70%-90% of estimated maximal heart rate). McNemmar tests, standard paired t tests, Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, and Cohen d effect size tests were used to analyze taste identification, intensity, and appreciation. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in taste identification capacities after exercise. Participants perceived more intense (P = .037) and appreciated better (P = .004) the low-concentration sweet solution after exercise. Taste appreciation was increased for the high-concentration sweet solution (P = .009) after exercise. Effect sizes were moderate (0.516-0.776). Possible effects were noted for the intensity of salty solutions (P = .0501 and .0543). CONCLUSION: Following an exercise session, participants had increased perceived intensity and appreciation of sweet solutions. This adds new insights into how exercise influences taste in youths, a topic less documented compared with adults, suggesting further research into its impact on dietary choices is needed.

Gene expression analysis of follicular cells revealed inflammation as a potential IVF failure cause.

PURPOSE: Hormonal stimulation prior to IVF influences the ovarian environment and therefore impacts oocytes and subsequent embryo quality. Not every patient has the same response to the same treatment and many fail for unknown reasons. Knowing why a cycle has failed and how the follicles were affected would allow clinicians to adapt the treatment accordingly and improve success rate. This study examines the hypothesis that transcriptomic analysis of follicular cells from failed IVF cycles reveals potential reasons for failure and provides new information on the physiological mechanisms related to IVF failure. METHODS: Follicular cells (granulosa cells) were obtained from IVF patients of four Canadian fertility clinics. Using microarray analysis, patients that did not become pregnant following the IVF cycle were compared to those that did. Functional analysis was performed using ingenuity pathway analysis and qRT-PCR was used to validate the microarray results in a larger cohort of patients. RESULTS: The microarray showed 165 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the negative group compared to the pregnancy group. DEGs include many pro-inflammatory cytokines and other factors related to inflammation, suggesting that this process might be altered when IVF fails. Overexpression of several factors, some of which act upstream from vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), also indicates increased permeability and vasodilation. Some DEGs were related to abnormal differentiation and increased apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that failure to conceive following IVF cycles could be associated with an imbalance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory mediators. The findings of this study identify potential failure causes and pathways for further investigation. Stimulatory protocols personalized according to patient response could improve the chances of later success.

Rescue in vitro fertilization using a GnRH antagonist in hyper-responders from gonadotropin intrauterine insemination (IUI) cycles.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the outcomes in the conversion of high-response gonadotropin intrauterine insemination (IUI) cycles to "rescue" in vitro fertilization (IVF) using a Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone (GnRH) antagonist, with regards to implantation rates, pregnancy rates, cost, and ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) as compared to matched, hyper-responder, IVF controls. METHODS: This prospective cohort study was conducted between January 2007 and December 2009 at our institution. In order to decrease high-order multiple pregnancy, minimize the incidence of OHSS, and avoid cycle cancellation, high-response stimulated-IUI patients opted to convert to "rescue" IVF using the GnRH antagonist cetrorelix acetate. We then compared their clinical outcomes with matched patients from high-response IVF cycles of the standard long mid-luteal GnRH agonist protocol (14 or more collected oocytes). Only cases of conventional IVF without intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) were included in the control group. RESULTS: Out of 184 patients undergoing stimulated-IUI cycles with gonadotropins, 87 patients developed a hyper-response, and 20 opted to convert to "rescue" IVF. These patients were compared with 157 matched, hyper responder IVF controls from our registry. The implantation rate was 25.6 % in the "rescue" IVF group and 20.7 % in the control IVF group (p < 0.0047). The ongoing clinical pregnancy rate per embryo transfer was 45.0 % and 33.6 % in the "rescue" IVF and the control IVF groups, respectively (p < 0.0001). The mean duration of stimulation was comparable between cohorts (10.0 vs.10.4 days, p = 0.6324). The mean dose of gonadotropin used per cycle was higher in the control group, 2664 international units (IU) of follicle stimulation hormone (FSH) compared to 1450 IU of FSH in the "rescue" IVF group (p < 0.0001). The incidence of severe OHSS is also higher in the control group, 5.1 % versus no cases in the "rescue" IVF group (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates that conversion of high-response gonadotropin-IUI cycles to "rescue" IVF using a GnRH antagonist is a cost-effective strategy that produces better results than regular IVF with relatively minimal morbidity, and shorter duration to achieve pregnancy. Implantation and ongoing clinical pregnancy rates tend to be higher than those from hyper-responder regular IVF patients.

Levels of P34H, a sperm protein of epididymal origin, as a predictor of conventional in vitro fertilization outcome.

A prospective double-blind study was performed to determine if Western blot detection of P34H, a sperm protein of epididymal origin that is involved in the binding to the zona pellucida, is predictive of standard IVF outcome. Our results demonstrate that the proportion of positive P34H cases that produced embryos in vitro clearly differs from cases with undetectable levels of P34H (P<.001).