Associations among morphological parameters, clinical factors and euploid blastocyst formation.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association among embryonic morphological parameters, clinical factors and euploid blastocyst formation. METHODS: This prospective cohort study included 422 blastocysts from 135 patients who had undergone preimplantation genetic analysis after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). RESULTS: Of 422 blastocysts, 200 (47.4%) were euploid and 222 (52.6%) aneuploid. Women aged older than 38 years were more likely to develop aneuploid embryos (OR: 3.4, CI: 2.2-5.4, p<0.001). Poor ovarian reserve (OR: 3.3, p<0.001), increased male age (39.0 versus 40.7, p=0.019), and decrease in sperm percentage with normal morphology (2.5% vs. 1.9%, p=0.047) were associated with aneuploidy. Type C trophectoderm (TE) and type C inner cell mass were associated with a high risk of embryo aneuploidy, with OR of 4.1 (CI: 2.2-7.7, p<0.001) and 1.7 (CI: 1.01-3.0, p=0.048), respectively. Logistic regression analysis revealed maternal age and type C TE as the main risk factors for aneuploidy. Among combinations of factors, the best marker for the risk of aneuploidy was maternal age older than 38 years, combined with a type-C embryo with trophectoderm, which showed a positive predictive value of 88.6% and a specificity of 97.5%. CONCLUSIONS: Trophectoderm and type-C inner cell mass are the main embryo risk factors for aneuploidy, explaining approximately 71% and 60% of the risk, respectively. Among clinical factors, advanced maternal and paternal age (older than 38 and 36 years, respectively), antral follicles (<5), and a low percentage of sperm with normal morphology increased the risk of embryonic aneuploidy.

Association of FSHR, LH, LHR, BMP15, GDF9, AMH, and AMHR polymorphisms with poor ovarian response in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization.

OBJECTIVE: This paper aimed to assess the correlation between LH, LHR, GDF9, FSHR, AMH, AMHR2, and BMP15 polymorphisms, which are related to follicular development, and decreased ovarian response in women undergoing controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) for IVF. METHODS: This age-matched case-control study included three or four controls per woman undergoing COH. Controls were women with normal ovarian response (NOR) and cases were women with poor ovarian response (POR) in oocyte retrieval (three or fewer oocytes). DNA was extracted from peripheral blood and potential associations with gene polymorphisms related to follicular development (LH, LHR, GDF9, FSHR, AMH, AMHR2, and BMP15) were analyzed. RESULTS: Sixty-six patients were included, 52 in the NOR and 14 in the POR group. Two GDF9 polymorphisms were associated with follicular response after COH, one associated with POR - the presence of a mutant polymorphism in heterozygosis and homozygosis of the GDF9 398-39 (C to G) [23% NOR versus 68% POR (OR 4.01, CI 1.52-10.6, p=0.005)] - and another associated with protective response - the presence of normal homozygosis of GDF9 (C447T) [19.2% NOR versus 50% POR (OR 0.34, IC 0.14-0.84, p=0.019)]. No additional associations were found between the other analyzed polymorphisms and POR. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that GDF9 appears to play an important role in follicular development, whereas polymorphisms in its DNA chain may negatively affect ovarian reserve, such as 398-39 (C to G), or positively, as seen in C447T.

The usefulness of metaphase I oocytes in women who undergo controlled ovarian hyperstimulation for intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the fertilization and blastocyst formation rates of oocytes in metaphase I (MI) obtained from women who underwent controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) for intracytoplasmic injection. METHODS: A prospective cohort study that included women from whom at least 1 MI and 1 MII oocyte were obtained after COH was performed. We collected 1,907 oocytes from 164 women (1291 MII, 352 MI and 258 prophase I or atretic). After oocyte classification, the MII and MI oocytes were incubated for 4 hours. RESULTS: After 4 hours, the rescue maturation rate was 57.2%; 205 MI oocytes matured to MII oocytes in vitro (rescued MI-MII group), and 153 remained in MI (arrested MI group). The normal fertilization rates were directly associated with oocyte maturation, with rates of 79.1%, 60.2%, and 31.9% in MII, MI-MII and MI oocytes, respectively (p<0.001). Group arrested MI had an odds ratio (OR) of 7.6 (CI 5.2 - 11.2, p<0.001) for abnormal fertilization compared with Group MII. The blastocyst formation rate was directly associated with oocyte maturation, at 36.4% for MII, 11.4% for MI-MII and 0.6% for MI. CONCLUSION: Oocytes collected at the MI stage after OCH that did not mature to MII after rescue maturation had a blastocyst formation rate of only 0.6%, while those in MII and MI-MII had rates of 36.4% and 11.4%, respectively. However, we found a pregnancy with the birth of a healthy baby from a blastocyst formed after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) of an MI oocyte.

GDF9 polymorphisms: influence on ovarian response in women undergoing controlled ovarian hyperstimulation.

OBJECTIVE: The study looked into the possible influence of GDF9 polymorphisms on ovarian response in women with a normal ovarian reserve undergoing controlled ovarian hyperstimulation for in vitro fertilization (IVF). METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 67 women with normal ovarian reserve aged 30-39 years submitted to controlled ovarian hyperstimulation for IVF. We sequenced four polymorphisms in the GDF9 gene (C398G, C447T, G546A, and G646A) and analyzed their influence on follicular and oocyte outcomes. RESULTS: The mutant allele C398G decreased the total number of follicles >17mm (6.49 vs. 4.33, p=0.001), total number of follicles (10.11 vs. 7.33, p=0.032), number of MII oocytes retrieved, and serum progesterone levels on trigger day. The C447T polymorphism was associated with a greater number of follicles between 12 and 14 mm on the day of r-hCG, while the G546A polymorphism was associated with lower serum progesterone levels on trigger day. CONCLUSIONS: GDF9 gene polymorphisms C398G and C447T adversely affected ovarian response in women undergoing controlled ovarian hyperstimulation. These findings show that in addition to playing a role in the early stages of folliculogenesis, GDF9 polymorphisms have an important impact on the final stage of oocyte development.

Causes of recurrent miscarriage after spontaneous pregnancy and after in vitro fertilization.

PROBLEM: We aimed to investigate the main causes of recurrent miscarriage (RM) in patients with losses after spontaneous gestation (SG) and after in vitro fertilization (IVF). METHOD OF STUDY: A prospective case-control study was conducted. The eligible patients were women who had experienced two or more consecutive abortions after <12 weeks' gestation, two consecutive losses after SG, or two consecutive losses after IVF. All patients were subjected to the following evaluations: karyotyping of the aborted material, alloimmune and autoimmune marker testing, and acquired and hereditary thrombophilia marker testing. RESULTS: In total, 58 patients were eligible: 32 patients with RM after SG and 26 patients with RM after IVF. The factors associated with RM were genetic (29%), immune (14%), thrombophilic (21%), and thrombophilic and immune (24%), and only 12% of the cases were idiopathic. Comparing the two study groups (SG and IVF), all studied factors were similar, except for a higher ANA positivity observed in the SG group (SG 30.4% vs IVF 5.3%, OR 8.6 (CI 1.1-21.1, P .048). CONCLUSION: Our study identified the possibly factors associated with recurrent miscarriage in 86% of the cases, and these factors appear to be similar in patients with recurrent miscarriage after spontaneous gestation and IVF. This study demonstrates that IVF with PGT-A with euploid embryo transfer could reduce abortions by up to 29%, but other factors need to be investigated even in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization.

A não aceitação da gravidez e o desenvolvimento de crianças com quatro anos de idade no bairro Vila Jardim, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil / Unwanted pregnancy and children development at four years of age in Vila Jardim, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil / No aceptación del embarazo y el desarrollo infantil a los cuatro años de edad en Vila Jardim, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

Objetivo: investigar como a gravidez não planejada e não aceita pode afetar o desenvolvimento da criança e quais os fatores sociodemográficos, das relações familiares e da rede social que podem interagir nessa relação. Método: participaram 82 mulheres que não planejaram a gestação, parte de um estudo longitudinal que incluiu todas as famílias do Bairro Vila Jardim de Porto Alegre, que tiveram filhos em hospital público entre novembro de 1998 e dezembro de 1999. Estas foram divididas em dois grupos: 73 mulheres que aceitaram a gestação até o quarto mês e nove delas que não a aceitaram. As participantes foram entrevistadas sobre: a gravidez e o parto, o relacionamento do casal e o impacto do nascimento da criança tanto para as suas vidas como para a dos pais da criança e famílias de origem. O desenvolvimento das crianças aos quatro anos foi avaliado pelo Teste de Denver II. Resultados: encontrou-se uma diferença significativa entre os grupos, demonstrando que os filhos de mães que não aceitaram a gestação apresentam maiores dificuldades de desenvolvimento da linguagem e da coordenação motora fina em relação às crianças cujas gestações foram aceitas até o quarto mês. Destaca-se que o grupo de mães que não aceitou a gestação apresentou problemas conjugais de moderados a graves e maior número de filhos. Conclusões: as crianças cuja gestação não foi aceita têm maiores riscos de apresentarem problemas de desenvolvimento, quando comparadas com aquelas fruto de gestações não planejadas, mas aceitas até o quarto mês. Esse achado salienta a importância de os profissionais de saúde identificarem durante o pré-natal a aceitação ou não da gestação, visto que este fator, assim como a qualidade da relação conjugal e o número de filhos, está associado com as dificuldades de desenvolvimento da criança, sendo sensível a intervenções terapêuticas e/ou programas de prevenção.

Objective: To investigate how the unplanned and unaccepted pregnancy may affect children's development and associated demographic and relational factors. Method: 82 women who did not plan their pregnancies participated. They are part of a larger study that follows all children born in public hospitals, from November 1998 to December 1999 in a Porto Alegre neighborhood, in South of Brazil. They were divided in two groups: 73 accepted the pregnancy after the fourth month and nine did not accept it. Participants were interviewed on: the pregnancy and birth; the couple's relationship; the impact of the child's birth for their lives and to the child's fathers, as well as to the family of origin. Children were evaluated at age four using Denver II test. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between the groups: children of mothers that did not accept the pregnancy had developmental difficulties in language and fine motor coordination. These mothers had significantly more couple relationship problems and more children. Conclusions: children of unaccepted pregnancies showed evidences of more developmental problems in language and fine motor coordination than children of mothers who did not plan but accepted their pregnancies by the fourth month. This finding emphasizes the importance of health professionals to look for acceptance or not of pregnancy during prenatal care - as well as the quality of the couple's relationship and the number of children - since these factors are associated with difficulties of child development, which may be sensitive to therapeutic intervention and/or prevention programs.

Objetivo: investigar como la gestación que no ha sido ni planeada, ni aceptada hasta los cuatro meses, puede afectar el desarrollo del niño y cuales son los factores sociodemográficos, de las relaciones familiares y de la red social que pueden interactuar en esta asociación. Método: se han estudiado 82 mujeres que no planearon la gestación, parte de un estudio longitudinal que incluyó a todas las familias de un barrio de Porto Alegre que tuvieron hijos en un hospital público entre noviembre de 1998 y diciembre de 1999. Fueron divididas en dos grupos: 73 que aceptaron la gestación hasta el cuarto mes y nueve que no la aceptaron. Las participantes fueron entrevistadas acerca de: el embarazo y el parto, la relación de pareja y el impacto de nacimiento del niño, tanto para sus vidas como para los padres de los niños y las familias de origen. El desarrollo de los niños a los cuatro años fue evaluado con el Test de Denver II. Resultados: se encontró una diferencia significativa entre los grupos, indicando que los hijos de madres que no aceptaron la gestación presentan mayores dificultades de desarrollo del lenguaje y de la coordinación motora fina comparados con los niños nacidos de gestaciones que fueron aceptadas hasta el cuarto mes. Se destaca que el grupo de madres que no aceptó la gestación presentó más problemas de pareja de moderados a graves y mayor número de hijos. Conclusiones: Los niños y niñas nacidos de gestaciones no aceptadas tienen mayor riesgo de presentar problemas en el desarrollo que los de gestaciones no planeadas, pero aceptadas al cuarto mes. Este hallazgo refuerza la importancia de los profesionales sanitarios identificar durante prenatal la aceptación o no del embarazo, así como la calidad de la relación marital y el número de niños, visto que estos factores se relacionan con las dificultades de desarrollo del niño, siendo sensibles a la intervención terapéutica y/o programas de prevención.

Considerações clínicas sobre a psicoterapia cognitivo-comportamental de bancários com Transtorno de Estresse Pós-Traumático / Clinical considerations about cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy of bank employees with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Os profissionais da área da saúde mental com frequência são desafiados a encontrar novos tratamentos para situações adversas e peculiares dosindivíduos. O Transtorno de Estresse Pós-Traumático (TEPT) é um dos distúrbios psiquiátricos mais comuns e que deixam sequelas, tendo em vista queafeta a vida funcional das pessoas que sofreram um trauma e desenvolvem otranstorno. Dessa forma, este estudo visa a uma revisão da literatura a respeito das estratégias terapêuticas utilizadas em Terapia Cognitivo-Comportamental (TCC) no tratamento do TEPT em bancários. Para tanto, foi realizada uma busca por artigos que descreveram protocolos de tratamento para o TEPT e as particularidades encontradas nos bancários, a fim de adequar a TCC para essa população. Os resultados sugerem que a população de bancários apresenta algumas diferenças em termos de cognições pós-traumáticas se comparada a outras populações, de forma que é sugerida uma adaptação dos protocolos detratamento para atender às necessidades desses pacientes. (AU)

Professionals in mental health area are often challenged to find new treatments to adverse and peculiar situations of individuals. The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is one of more common psychiatric disorders that cause sequels considering that it aff ects functional life of people who suff ered a trauma and develop the disorder. Thus, this research intends to do a literature review about therapeutic strategies used on Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) in PTSD treatment in bank employees. In order to do this, a research was made for articles that describe treatment protocols for PTSD and the particularities found in bank employees, with the purpose to suit CBT for this group of people. The results suggest that the population of bank employees presents some diff erences in terms of post-traumatic cognitions if compared to other populations, so an adaptation of treatment protocols to meet the needs of these patients is suggested. (AU)