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Biomedical subjects

S Gordts

Publications and source records attributed to S Gordts.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Fluorescein diacetate assessment of embryo viability after ultrarapid freezing of human multipronucleate embryos.

OBJECTIVE: To assess embryo viability after ultrarapid freezing-thawing. DESIGN: We studied the fluorescence pattern of 35 ultrarapidly frozen-thawed multipronucleate human embryos exposed to fluorescein diacetate. SETTING: All the embryos were obtained from the Medical Center for Fertility Diagnostics and In Vitro Fertilization and Embryo Transfer at Leuven (Belgium), a private care center. PATIENTS, PARTICIPANTS: None. INTERVENTIONS: None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The fluorescence pattern was evaluated at room temperature after a 1-minute incubation in fluorescein diacetate solution, 4 hours and 24 hours after thawing. RESULTS: Healthy human multipronucleate embryos, when exposed to fluorescein diacetate, accumulated intracellular fluorescein and fluoresced brightly under ultraviolet light. On the other hand, embryos presenting submicroscopic cell membranes damage caused by different processes (e.g., high or low temperatures) lost the ability to accumulate intracellular fluorescein. All the ultrarapidly frozen embryos with normal looking blastomeres fluoresced brightly after a short exposure to fluorescein diacetate. CONCLUSIONS: Our experiments indicate an intact cell membrane permeability and an integrity of the intracytoplasmatic esterase enzyme activity of human embryos ultrarapidly frozen.

Blastocyst↗

Survival and pregnancy outcome after ultrarapid freezing of human embryos.

Contrary to the belief that rapid cooling and thawing of mammalian embryos is detrimental to survival, it has been shown that under certain conditions mammalian embryos can survive rapid freezing-thawing. In this study, 237 human fertilized oocytes (93 pronucleates, 20 multipronucleates, and 124 cleaved embryos) were frozen for a period of 1 day to 7 months using the ultrarapid freezing system. After thawing, 94% of the embryos in the pronucleate group and 89.5% in the multipronucleate group showed normal morphological features, and 79% and 71%, respectively, started to cleave. Forty cleaved embryos were also frozen-thawed, but only 15 (37.5%) survived at thawing. Thirty-four frozen-thawed cleaved embryos were transferred to 20 patients during spontaneous cycles. Four patients became pregnant.

Cell Division↗

Reversibility after female sterilization.

The factors influencing the result of reversal of tubal sterilization were investigated in a series of 78 patients who requested this operation during a 5-year period between 1977 and 1982. In the Falope-ring group isthmo-isthmic anastomosis resulted in a 92% pregnancy rate. On the other hand, no pregnancy occurred when the final tubal length after anastomosis was less than 4 cm. Ectopic pregnancy occurred in 5% of the patients.

Adult↗

Sperm phagocytosis by corona cells in a human in vitro fertilization system.

Clumps of corona cells were separated from oocytes at the moment of fertilization control and were subsequently processed and cut into 1-mu sections to study their general morphologic patterns. This study revealed an extensive phagocytosis of spermatozoa by corona cells. Clumps of mural granulosa cells of comparable size, recovered from follicular aspirates and incubated with spermatozoa, did not show the same extent of phagocytotic activity. The different nature of extracellular material could prevent penetration of the granulosa cell masses and thus a close contact between spermatozoa and granulosa cells. In our limited number of studied cases there was no indication of an aberrant phagocytosis pattern in coronas from polyspermic eggs or from oocytes that did not become fertilized. On the other hand, sperm penetration, as revealed by the sperm/corona ratio, was significantly higher in coronas derived from polyspermic eggs compared with those from unfertilized oocytes.

Chorionic Gonadotropin↗

Microsurgery of endometriosis in infertile patients.

From January 1973 to December 1980, 176 infertile women with endometriosis were treated with atraumatic and microsurgical techniques. None of these patients received preoperative or postoperative antigonadotropin therapy. The degree of endometriosis in these patients was classified according to the scaling point system of The American Fertility Society. After 2 years the cumulative pregnancy rate of the severe group (40%) was not different from that of the mild (43%) or moderate group (45%). It is therefore suggested that the use of microsurgical techniques can improve the pregnancy outcome in patients with severe endometriosis.

Adult↗

The epithelium of human hydrosalpinges: a light optical and scanning electron microscopic study.

Multiple tubal biopsies from 21 patients with thin-walled dilated hydrosalpinges and from 12 patients with thick-walled fibrous hydrosalpinges were studied. All the biopsies were examined by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy and the ciliated surface area at multiple locations measured by planimetry. These biopsies were compared with control biopsies taken from 13 normal women at varying stages of the menstrual cycle.

Adult↗

Ovarian transplantation by selective microvascular anastomoses in the rabbit.

Autotransplantation of the ovary by microvascular anastomoses was performed in 42 rabbits by three different procedures: orthotopic replantation with selective end-to-end anastomoses of the ovarian vessels; heterotopic transplantation in the groin area, with anastomosis of the ovarian vessels on the inferior epigastric vessels; heterotopic transplantation in the groin with the ovary included in a peritoneal sac to prevent adhesions. Three weeks later, at day 3 of a pseudo-pregnancy, the grafts were examined and morphology, presence of adhesions and ovulation were compared with those of a control group. The long-term vascular patency rate was 78%. The ovulation rate was 71.5% in the orthotopic group, 50% in the heterotopic group and 83.5% in the heterotopic group with the ovary in a peritoneal sac. Subcutaneous transplantation of the ovary within a peritoneal sac provides a new and useful experimental model for the study of tubo-ovarian function and for recovery of postovulatory oocytes.

Animals↗

Office mini-hysteroscopy.

The technique of diagnostic hysteroscopy has not yet been accepted generally as an ambulatory, well-tolerated office procedure. Especially in the infertile patient the standard hysteroscopic procedure is poorly tolerated in an office environment. Our prospective registration of 530 diagnostic office mini-hysteroscopies in infertile patients demonstrates that using an atraumatic insertion technique, watery distention medium and the new generation of mini-hysteroscopic endoscopes, hysteroscopy can be performed in an office set-up without any form of anaesthesia and with a high patient compliance. The significant number of abnormal findings (28.5%), the absence of complications and the low failure rate (2.3%) indicate that diagnostic office mini-hysteroscopy should be a first-line diagnostic procedure. Those results are compared with the registration of 4204 consecutive conventional diagnostic hysteroscopies in a routine gynaecological population performed between 1982 and 1989. We conclude that the mini-hysteroscopic system offers a simple, safe and efficient diagnostic method in the office for the investigation of abnormal uterine bleeding, to evaluate the cervix and uterine cavity in the infertile patient, for screening of endometrial changes in patients under hormone replacement therapy or anti-oestrogens as (adjuvant) treatment and, lastly, it may be very helpful for the interpretation of uncertain findings in other diagnostic techniques such as ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, blind biopsy or hysterosalpingography.

Ambulatory Surgical Procedures↗

The effective cumulative pregnancy rate of different modes of treatment of male infertility.

The clinical efficacy of conventional and advanced methods of treatment was assessed in 814 couples with infertility due to a male factor. The monthly and effective cumulative rate of ongoing or term pregnancies was calculated during 4712 couple-months. Treatment of varicocele by transcatheter embolization, resulting in 3.9% pregnancies per cycle and an effective cumulative pregnancy rate of 41% after 1 year, is more effective than counselling and timed intercourse (9% pregnancies after 12 months). Intrauterine insemination (IUI) of washed spermatozoa produced 17% pregnancies in the initial 4 months, but the success rate of the subsequent cycles (1.7% per cycle) was not different from that of the controls. In vitro fertilization (IVF) resulted in 16% pregnancies per attempt, but the effective cumulative pregnancy rate was only 31% in 12 months due to the long interval between treatment attempts and the high drop-out rate. With subzonal microinjection of sperm, the fertilization rate was higher (71%) than with regular IVF (29%) but both the pregnancy rate per attempt (9%) and the effective cumulative pregnancy rate (17% after 12 months) were low. The 10th percentile of sperm characteristics (cut-off values) of successful cases showed intrauterine insemination to be advantageous in cases with a lower percentage of spermatozoa with progressive motility (9%) than in the controls (15%). The cut-off value of sperm morphology in IVF (4%) is lower than that of IUI (8%) and of the controls (9%), but higher than that of subzonal insemination (1%). Treatment strategy must be defined selecting or combining conventional and assisted reproductive technology for each individual couple with male factor infertility.

Female↗

Vasoepididymostomy to the head of the epididymis: a comparative study of two microsurgical techniques in the rabbit.

In an experimental animal study, two different microsurgical techniques of vasoepididymostomy to the caput epididymidis are compared: an end-to-side anastomosis with the epididymal tubule and an end-to-end anastomosis with a section of a cluster of the epididymal tubule. The patency rates are respectively 50 per cent and 26.3 per cent, as controlled by deferentography and histology. Examination with scanning electron microscopy, shows that the superiority of the first method is due to the better apposition of both mucosas .

Animals↗