Does thiol/disulfide homeostasis affect the number of metaphase 2 oocyte in the treatment of in vitro fertilization?

AIM: To investigate the effect of thiol/disulfide homeostasis on the number of oocytes retrieved and metaphase 2 (M2) oocytes in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization. METHOD: A prospective study of 94 patients who were admitted to the in vitro fertilization clinic was conducted. Serum samples were taken on the oocyte pick-up day and kept until the analysis. Thiol and disulfide were measured in order to evaluate the total thiol/disulfide. RESULTS: A statistically significant correlation was observed between disulfide and M2. CONCLUSION: This study provides an inexpensive and noninvasive method to measure oxidative stress, and suggests that there is a positive correlation between the number of M2 and disulfide, resulting in low-impact oxidative stress.

Higher adrenomedullin levels during implantation are associated with successful pregnancy.

AIM: To determine how the adrenomedullin (ADM) level in a woman's serum on the day of embryo transfer affects pregnancy results. MATERIALS & METHODS: Women who had undergone frozen embryo transfer between July 2018 and February 2019 were prospectively included in the study. The relation between the level of ADM and pregnancy result was examined after taking a sample of serum from each patients on the same day as the transfer. RESULTS: The results revealed that the ADM levels in patients who became pregnant were higher, but not to a statistically significant level. CONCLUSION: Adrenomedullin is an important molecule for human embryo implantation.

Maternal Serum and Fetal Cord Blood C-Reactive Protein Levels but not Procalcitonin Levels Are Increased in Idiopathic Intrauterine Growth Restriction.

BACKGROUND The aim of the present study was to compare procalcitonin and CRP levels in maternal serum and fetal cord blood samples of patients with idiopathic intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) vs. a control group of appropriate for gestational age (AGA) infants. MATERIAL AND METHODS The present prospective study included 43 patients: 27 patients with idiopathic IUGR (IUGR group) and 26 AGA infants at similar gestational ages (control group). Maternal serum and fetal cord blood samples were collected from the control group and IUGR group at time of delivery. Procalcitonin and CRP levels were analyzed in maternal blood. Procalcitonin and CRP levels were analyzed in fetal cord blood. RESULTS The median value of CRP levels in maternal blood was 47.5 mg/dl in the IUGR group and 15.255 mg/dl in the AGA group (p=0.001). The mdian CRP level in cord blood was 36.4 mg/dl (range, 17.3-47.2) in the IUGR group and 10.1 mg/dl (range, 4.07-16.5) in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.001). The median maternal serum procalcitonin level was 0.05 µg/l in the IUGR group and 0.04 µg/l in the AGA group, and the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.435). The median procalcitonin value in fetal cord blood was 0.06 µg/l in the IUGR group and 0.04 µg/l in the AGA group, and the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.741). CONCLUSIONS Maternal serum and fetal cord CRP levels were higher in the IUGR group; however, there was no difference in procalcitonin, which is another inflammatory indicator, between the groups.

Embryo flash migration in fresh and frozen embryo transfers for day 3 and day 5 embryos.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the embryo flash migration after 60 min from embryo transfer in fresh and frozen cycles. DESIGN: 80 fresh and 81 frozen embryo transfers implemented Ondokuz Mayis University between December 2017 and May 2018 were included in this prospective study. The fresh transfers performed at day 3 embryos as the frozen transfers were day 5 embryos. The distance between the embryo and the fundus was measured in the sagittal plane within 1 min of the transfer. After 60 min of bed rest the distance between the air bubble and the fundus was measured. The transfers were divided into three groups based on the migration of the embryos after the transfer. Embryos were classified as static if they were within 15 mm of their initial position. If they moved more than 15 mm towards the cervix or more than 15 mm towards the fundus, it was classified as cervical and fundal, respectively. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference in embryo flash movements between frozen and fresh transfers (p < 0.05). In fresh transfers 48 patients (%60.0) were cervical, 14 patients (%17.5) were static and 18 patients (22.5%) were fundal. In frozen embryo transfers 31 patients (38.3%) were cervical, 31 patients (38.3%) were fundal and 19 (23.5%) patients were static. CONCLUSION: We found that cervical migration is lower in frozen transfers than in fresh transfers. This result may be related with the day of embryo or the endometrium in fresh or frozen cycles. Because in this study the embryos transferred were day 3 in fresh cycle and day 5 in frozen cycle. In frozen transfers there was not any significant difference in embryo position between pregnant and non-pregnant group. But in fresh transfers the cervical migration was significantly high in non-pregnant patients (p < 0.05).

Role of vascular endothelial growth factor and placental growth factor expression on placenta structure in pre-eclamptic pregnancy.

AIM: Pre-eclampsia is a hypertensive disease that is characterized by high blood pressure and proteinuria after 20 gestational weeks and complicates 3-8% of all pregnancies. It is classified as either mild or severe pre-eclampsia according to severity, and the aim of this study was to investigate the structural differences between these two classifications. METHODS: Placenta samples were collected from 68 women who underwent cesarean delivery. Total volume of villi and numerical density of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)- and placental growth factor (PIGF)-positive cells were estimated on stereology and evaluated using one-way ANOVA. RESULTS: There was no significantly difference in total villi volumes between the groups (P > 0.05). In contrast, on immunohistochemistry, the numerical density of VEGF-positive cells in severe pre-eclampsia was significantly different to the control and mild pre-eclampsia groups (P<0.05). Additionally, the numerical density of PIGF-positive cells in the mild and severe pre-eclampsia group was significantly higher than in the control group (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: There is no relationship between villi volume and pre-eclampsia, although growth factors play a role in placental changes. The present results were supported by histopathology and several studies in the literature.