Ultra-Fast Vitrification: Minimizing the Toxicity of Cryoprotective Agents and Osmotic Stress in Mouse Oocyte Cryopreservation.

Globally, women have been adopting oocyte cryopreservation (OC) for fertility preservation for various reasons, such as inevitable gonadotoxic treatment for specific pathologic states and social preferences. While conventional vitrification (C-VIT) has improved the success rate of OC, challenges of possible toxicities of high-concentration cryoprotective agents and osmotic stress persist. To overcome these challenges, we evaluated the ultra-fast vitrification (UF-VIT) method, which reduces the equilibration solution stage exposure time compared to C-VIT by observing mouse oocyte intracellular organelles and embryonic development. Consequently, compared to fresh mouse oocytes, UF-VIT presented significant differences only in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) intensity and mitochondrial (MT) distribution. Meanwhile, C-VIT showed substantial differences in the survival rate, key ER and MT parameters, and embryonic development rate. UF-VIT exhibited considerably fewer negative effects on key MT parameters and resulted in a notably higher blastocyst formation rate than C-VIT. Meiotic spindle (spindle and chromosomes) morphology showed no significant changes between the groups during vitrification/warming (VW), suggesting that VW did not negatively affect the meiotic spindle of the oocytes. In conclusion, UF-VIT seems more effective in OC owing to efficient cytoplasmic water molecule extraction, osmotic stress reduction, and minimization of cell contraction and expansion amplitude, thus compensating for the drawbacks of C-VIT.

Changes in Fatigue, Psychological Distress, and Quality of Life After Chemotherapy in Women with Breast Cancer: A Prospective Study.

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy leads to various symptoms and psychological distress, which contribute to a significant decrease in the quality of life of the patients. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to identify changes and interrelationships in the fatigue-depression-anxiety symptom cluster and quality of life during the cancer care trajectory in women with breast cancer. METHODS: Fifty women participated in the study and completed questionnaires at 3 different times: prechemotherapy, postchemotherapy, and 6 months after the completion of chemotherapy. The assessment tools were the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Fatigue Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast Cancer version 4 Scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive and repeated-measures analysis of variance statistics. RESULTS: A significant increase in fatigue (F = 41.95, P < .001) and psychological distress (F = 26.55, P < .001) from prechemotherapy to postchemotherapy was noted. Improvement was observed 6 months after the completion of chemotherapy. A positive or negative change in fatigue was associated with the same in psychological distress. Quality of life (F = 65.22, P < .001) also showed similar change patterns as observed with fatigue and psychological distress. Fatigue had a greater impact on quality of life at postchemotherapy, but psychological distress had a greater impact at prechemotherapy and at the 6-month follow-up. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that chemotherapy is highly associated with the fatigue-depression-anxiety symptom cluster and quality of life in women with breast cancer. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Nursing intervention is needed to relieve the intensity of the fatigue-depression-anxiety symptom cluster and thus improve the quality of life of patients undergoing chemotherapy from before treatment to follow-up.

Effects of high molecular weight water-soluble chitosan on in vitro fertilization and ovulation in mice fed a high-fat diet.

A high molecular weight water-soluble chitosan (WSC) with an average molecular weight of 300 kD and a deacethylation level of over 90% was produced using a simple multi-step membrane separation process. It is known that WSC prevents obesity induced by a high-fat diet. Consequently, this study investigated whether or not WSC improved the ovarian dysfunction caused by obesity in mice. The mice were fed a high density protein and lipid diet for 4 weeks, followed by the administration of WSC at 480 mg/kg body weight per day for 4 days. Thereafter, the changes in body weight, ovulation rate, in vivo and in vitro fertilization and embryonic development were measured. WSC markedly reduced the body weight of obese mice fed with a high-fat diet, but not in mice fed with a normal diet. WSC had significant effects on the ovulation rate, both the in vivo and in vitro fertilization rates and embryonic development. These results indicate an improvement in the ovarian and oviduct dysfunction caused by obesity, and suggest an adjustment in the internal secretions and metabolic functions.