Preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy: helpful but not a first choice.

PURPOSE: This retrospective cohort study aimed to assess and compare the outcomes between cumulative live birth of patients with and without PGT-A and also between prior unsuccessful IVF cycles and PGT-A cycles among patients who experienced IVF but without live birth delivery, and to clarify the effective usage of PGT-A as an in vitro fertilization (IVF) add-on. METHODS: A total of 2113 females undergoing IVF with at least one blastocyst were reviewed. Patients in the PGT-A and non-PGT-A groups were further categorized into first-time IVF and prior unsuccessful IVF groups (previous IVF experience but without live birth delivery). RESULTS: In the PGT-A group, there were additional oocyte retrieval cycles, fewer transfer cycles per patient, higher clinical pregnancy rates per embryo transfer, and lower miscarriage rates per clinical pregnancy as compared to the non-PGT-A group, all showing significant differences. However, the first-time IVF group with PGT-A had a significantly longer duration from the first oocyte retrieval to the first live birth delivery (LBD) and a significantly lower LBD rate per patient than the non-PGT-A group. The cumulative probability for a first LBD with PGT-A was inferior in the first-time IVF group for women < 35 years, marginally superior in the prior unsuccessful IVF group of women aged 38-40 years, and similar for other groups. CONCLUSION: PGT-A should not be recommended to all patients; however, if the first IVF treatment failed, PGT-A may reduce the patient's burden regardless of age.

Application of heat- and steam-generating sheets to the lumbar or abdominal region affects autonomic nerve activity.

Effects of applying a heat- and steam-generating (HSG) sheet on peripheral hemodynamics and autonomic nerve activity were examined. An HSG sheet was applied to the lumbar or abdominal region. Measurements included skin temperature at the lumbar and abdominal regions and the fingertip, total hemoglobin, tissue oxygen saturation ratio (StO2), pupillary light reflex, changes in ECG R-R interval blood pressure and percutaneous electrogastrography (EGG). A heat-generating sheet without steam was used as the control. Based on the present findings, application of the HSG sheet to the lumbar or abdominal region may improve peripheral hemodynamics and inhibit sympathetic nerve activity, resulting in parasympathetic nerve activity dominance.

Left-right patterning of the mouse lateral plate requires nodal produced in the node.

Initial determination of left-right (L-R) polarity in mammalian embryos takes place in the node. However, it is not known how asymmetric signals are generated in the node and transferred to the lateral plate mesoderm (LPM). Mice homozygous for a hypomorphic Nodal allele (Nodal(neo)) were generated and found to exhibit L-R defects, including right isomerism. Although the mutant embryos express Nodal at gastrulation stages, the subsequent expression of this gene in the node and left LPM is lost. A transgene that conferred Nodal expression specifically in the node rescued the L-R defects of the Nodal(neo/neo) embryos. Conversely, ectopic expression of the Nodal inhibitor Lefty2 in the node of Nodal(neo/+) embryos resulted in a phenotype similar to that of the Nodal(neo/neo) mutant. These results indicate that Nodal produced in the node is required for expression of Nodal and other left side-specific genes in the LPM.