Melatonin improves fertilization rate in assisted reproduction: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland and it has antioxidant properties. AIM: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of melatonin on assisted reproductive technologies through a systematic review and a meta-analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Search strategies were used in PubMed and in other databases covering the last 15 years. After screening for eligibility, 17 articles were selected for the systematic review. For the meta-analysis statistics, two groups were formed, the treatment group (with melatonin) and the control group (without melatonin) for various assisted reproduction outcomes. RESULTS: The main results were that no statistical differences were found concerning the clinical pregnancy outcome (p = 0.64), but there was a statistical difference with respect to Mature Oocytes (MII) (p = 0.001), antral follicle count (p = 0.0002), and the fertilization rate (p ≤ 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Melatonin had beneficial effects such as the improvement in the fertilization rate, although the authors did not obtain significance in the clinical pregnancy rate.

Melatonin improves fertilization rate in assisted reproduction: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background: Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland and it has antioxidant properties. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of melatonin on assisted reproductive technologies through a systematic review and a meta-analysis. Materials and methods: Search strategies were used in PubMed and in other databases covering the last 15 years. After screening for eligibility, 17 articles were selected for the systematic review. For the meta-analysis statistics, two groups were formed, the treatment group (with melatonin) and the control group (without melatonin) for various assisted reproduction outcomes. Results: The main results were that no statistical differences were found concerning the clinical pregnancy outcome (p = 0.64), but there was a statistical difference with respect to Mature Oocytes (MII) (p = 0.001), antral follicle count (p = 0.0002), and the fertilization rate (p ≤ 0.0001). Conclusions: Melatonin had beneficial effects such as the improvement in the fertilization rate, although the authors did not obtain significance in the clinical pregnancy rate.

COVID-19: A Challenge to the Safety of Assisted Reproduction.

There is an increased risk of becoming pregnant through fertility treatments using assisted reproductive technology (ART) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this review is to gather comprehensive data from the existing literature on the potential risks of fertility management during the pandemic period, and outline strategies to mitigate them, with a focus on the hormonal and surgical procedures of ART. A comprehensive search of the scientific literature on COVID-19 in relation to fertility was conducted in the PubMed database using the keywords "coronavirus," "COVID-19," "SARS-CoV-2" and "pregnancy," "fertility," "urogenital system," "vertical transmission," "assisted human reproduction," "controlled ovarian stimulation," "oocyte retrieval," "in vitro fertilization," "hormones," "surgical procedures," "embryos," "oocytes," "sperm," "semen," "ovary," "testis," "ACE-2 receptor," "immunology," "cytokine storm," and "coagulation," from January 2020-July 2022. Published data on pregnancy and COVID-19, and the interaction of the urogenital system and SARS-CoV-2 is reported. The immunologic and prothrombotic profiles of patients with COVID-19, and their increased risks from controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) and ART surgeries, and how these procedures could facilitate COVID-19 and/or contribute to the severity of the disease by enhancing the cytokine storm are summarized. Strategies to prevent complications during COS that could increase the risks of the disease in pre-symptomatic patients are considered. The impact of SARS-CoV-2 on pre-symptomatic infertile patients presents a challenge to find ways to avoid the increased hormonal, immunologic, and prothrombotic risks presented by the use of COS in ART protocols during the COVID-19 outbreak. Safe ART procedures and recommendations are highlighted.

Reproduction, skin aging, and sleep in middle-aged women.

There is a growing trend for women to delay having children, with a significant number of women postponing motherhood until the third or fourth decade of life. At the same time, these middle-aged women may be more concerned about skin aging and use dermatologic procedures to delay or repair the effects of aging, environmental factors, and oxidative stress on the skin. It has been suggested that the use of skin cosmetics and procedures may play a role in the reproductive system, although their possible effects have not yet been clearly elucidated. Another crucial factor that needs to be raised in this context is poor sleep, which seems to have an important relationship with both reduced fertility and accelerated skin aging, especially when it is associated with greater oxidative stress and hormonal imbalance. This review discusses the important triad of sleep, dermatology, and reproduction, a subject that has received relatively little attention; and, given its potentially wide-ranging implications, one that deserves more frequent and detailed consideration in future studies. Understanding this complex web of interactions could help to provide outcomes that include healthier skin, safety, improved self-esteem, and successful fertility treatments, all of which can directly affect quality of life.

Hormônio do crescimento como adjuvante à estimulação ovariana de pacientes más respondedoras candidatas à fertilização in vitro / Growth hormone as an adjuvant to ovarian stimulation of poor responder IVF candidates

A má resposta ovariana em fertilização in vitro apresenta uma prevalência de 2 a 30% dos ciclos de estimulação ovariana. Diversos tratamentos adjuvantes são encontrados na literatura, no entanto, a utilização de hormônio de crescimento (GH) adjuvante foi o que apresentou os resultados mais promissores, com elevação da taxa de gravidez em até 17% nestas pacientes. O objetivo deste estudo foi realizar uma revisão da literatura para esclarecer como o GH atua na estimulação ovariana e para investigar as formas de utilização em más respondedoras. Foram encontrados estudos que relacionam a utilização de GH com o aumento no número de oócitos, na sua qualidade, na redução do tempo de êxito na concepção, na taxa de nascimentos, no estímulo de secreção de progesterona e de gonadotrofina coriônica humana (hCG). Foram discutidas as limitações dos estudos anteriores e de que forma limitam ou condicionam os resultados encontrados. Apesar dos estudos revisados terem diferido na dosagem e na forma de utilização do GH, seus resultados suportaram a proposta de utilização de GH no protocolo de estimulação de pacientes más respondedoras.(AU)

Between 2 and 30% of the patients submitted to ovarian stimulation present poor ovarian response. Several adjuvant treatments were found in the literature, however, the use of growth hormone (GH) as adjuvant presented the most promising results, increasing pregnancy rates in up to 17% in these patients. The objective of this study was to review the literature in order to clarify how GH acts on ovarian stimulation and to investigate ways to use it in poor responders. Studies that relate the use of GH with increase in the number of oocytes, on its quality, in the reduction of time to conception, life birth rate, in the stimulus of progesterone and human corionic gonadotropin (hCG) secretion were found.. The limitations found on previous studies and the way in which they limit or condition the founded results were discussed. Although the dosage and ways of use of GH have differed on the reviewed studies, their results supported the proposal of GH use on the stimulation protocols for poor responder patients.(AU)