The role of elagolix in the suppression of ovulation in donor oocyte cycles.

Objective: To study the clinical use of elagolix in ovarian stimulation and its effect on premature ovulation in a cohort of women undergoing oocyte donation. Design: A prospective cohort study with the use of historical controls. Setting: A private reproductive endocrinology and infertility clinic. Patients: Seventy-five oocyte donors and 75 historical donors, aged 21-30 years, who had each passed Food and Drug Administration and American Society for Reproductive Medicine-approved oocyte donor screening. Interventions: Administration of elagolix 200 mg orally every night at bedtime with development of a follicular size of ≥14 mm for ovulation suppression compared with ganirelix 250 µg every night at bedtime. Main Outcome Measures: Premature ovulation rate, total oocytes, mature oocytes, maximum estradiol, luteinizing hormone, and progesterone levels. Results: Oocytes were available in all retrievals because there were no instances of premature ovulation in either the elagolix or ganirelix groups. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in baseline demographics. Both groups had the same amounts of gonadotropins consumed and days of stimulation. The average number of total oocytes was similar between the control group and elagolix group (30.55 vs. 30.31). Furthermore, the average number of mature oocytes was similar between the control and study groups (25.42 vs. 24.73). An analysis of the 580 fresh oocytes in the elagolix group and the 737 fresh oocytes in the ganirelix group showed similar outcomes with fertilization rates of 79.7% and 84.6%, respectively. Blastocyst development rates were also similar: 62.9% in the elagolix group and 57.3% in the ganirelix group. Conclusions: Compared with a historical control group using ganirelix, patients receiving elagolix demonstrated a similar number of oocytes and mature oocytes with on average 4.2 fewer injections per cycle and average per-cycle patient savings of $289.10. Clinical Trial Registration Number: Western IRB Pr. No.: 20191163, April 11, 2019. First enrollment June 20, 2019.

Associations between perfluorinated alkyl acids in blood and ovarian follicular fluid and ovarian function in women undergoing assisted reproductive treatment.

Endocrine disrupting contaminants, in combination with other environmental variables, are associated with altered reproductive health. Assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedures offer valuable opportunities to explore the connections between environmental contaminants in the ovarian microenvironment and measures of fertility, including impaired responsiveness to gonadotropins. Here, we investigate an emerging class of environmental contaminants, the perfluorinated alkyl acids (PFAAs), to determine whether ovarian contaminant levels are associated with measures of ovarian responsiveness and fertility outcomes in a South Carolina population of women undergoing ART. Levels of PFAAs in plasma and follicular fluid samples collected from women undergoing ovarian stimulation were analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Six PFAAs were detected in both plasma and follicular fluid. PFAA concentrations in plasma correlate strongly to those detected in ovary and, with the exception of one compound, remain stable throughout ovarian stimulation. The concentration of PFHxS in follicular fluid inversely relates to baseline follicle counts. While no significant relationships were detected between ovarian response measures and PFAA concentrations, we identified a negative relationship between follicular fluid PFDA and PFuNA and blastocyst conversion rates. Our assessments indicate that plasma levels of PFAAs serve as a sound proxy of those in the ovarian compartment and that follicular fluid levels of specific PFAA compounds are inversely related to important clinical measures of reproductive health including baseline follicle count and post-fertilization success.

Functional studies of subcutaneous ovarian transplants in non-human primates: steroidogenesis, endometrial development, ovulation, menstrual patterns and gamete morphology.

BACKGROUND: The study objective was to determine if ovarian function would be restored following fresh and cryopreserved extrapelvic autologous ovarian transplantation and if vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) administration would augment the success rate. METHODS: Sixteen regularly cycling female cynomolgus monkeys underwent bilateral oophorectomy and were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: (i) sham transplant group (n = 5) underwent transplantation of pieces of adipose tissue; (ii) fresh autologous ovarian transplantation without VEGF administration (n = 6) and (iii) fresh autologous ovarian transplantation with 1 microg of VEGF (n = 5) administered at the transplantation site daily for 14 days after transplantation. The ovarian tissue from the sham transplanted group was cryopreserved. This material was later thawed and transplanted in four out of five of the sham operated group. RESULTS: Five out of six (83%) of the primates in our transplantation group without VEGF had functioning ovarian transplants while two of five (40%) primates in our transplantation group with VEGF administration had functioning ovarian transplants. The cryopreserved group had two of four primates (50%) with functioning transplants. Ovarian stimulation yielded multiple follicles and one metaphase II oocyte from the fresh and one metaphase II oocyte from the cryopreserved group. CONCLUSIONS: The success of ovarian transplantation in these non-human primates with menstrual cycles bodes well for the development of ovarian transplantation protocols for women at risk of ovarian failure.