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At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources
PubMed2006

Assessment of United States fertility clinic websites according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM)/Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) guidelines.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate SART-member fertility clinic websites for their compliance with the 2004 ASRM/SART guidelines for advertising (which is deemed mandatory for clinic membership), to survey the general characteristics of the websites, and to assess differences between academic and private clinic websites. DESIGN: Cross-sectional evaluation. SETTING: The Internet. PATIENTS: None. INTERVENTIONS: None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Eleven objective criteria based on 2004 ASRM/SART guidelines for advertising and eight objective criteria for general characteristics of fertility clinic websites. RESULTS: All 384 SART-registered clinics were evaluated; 289 (75.3%) had functional websites (211 private, 78 academic). Success rates were published on 51% of websites (117 private, 31 academic), the majority of which were private clinics (p=.025). The percentage of fertility clinic websites adhering to ASRM/SART guidelines was low in all categories (ranging from 2.8%-54.5% in private centers and 1.3%-37.2% in academic centers). No statistically significant difference was found in the services offered at private versus academic clinics. CONCLUSION: A significant proportion of SART-member fertility clinics, both private and academic, that have websites are not following the ASRM/SART guidelines for advertising. Increased dissemination and awareness of the guidelines is warranted.

Academic Medical Centers↗
PubMed1999

The influence of reproductive phase on lipopolysaccharide stimulation of prostacyclin production and cyclooxygenase-2 protein concentrations in reproductive and systemic arteries of the sheep.

Cyclooxygenase, the enzyme that converts arachidonate to prostaglandins, plays a regulatory role in vasodilation under normal and pathological conditions. Studies were conducted to determine the effects of reproductive phase and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on production of PGI2 and amounts of cyclooxygenase protein in uterine, mammary, mesenteric, and renal arteries. Arteries were collected from ewes during the follicular (Day 0 = estrus) or luteal (Day 10) phase of the estrous cycle and were cultured in the presence of LPS. After 24 h, media were collected and analyzed for 6-keto-PGF1alpha, the stable metabolite of PGI2. In addition, arteries were collected and homogenized and the relative concentration of cyclooxygenase was determined via Western analysis. Lipopolysaccharide stimulated PGI2 production in all four-artery types from both follicular and luteal phase ewes (p < 0.001). Upon LPS stimulation, uterine and mammary arteries produced more PGI2 compared to mesenteric and renal arteries (p = 0.04). The phase of estrous cycle did not affect PGI2 production by any of the artery populations exposed to LPS (p = 0.35). There was no cyclooxygenase-2 in untreated uterine and mammary arteries and no cyclooxygenase-2 was detected in untreated or LPS-treated mesenteric and renal arteries. In contrast, LPS-treated uterine and mammary arteries from luteal phase ewes had higher (p = 0.064) cyclooxygenase-2 concentrations than those from follicular phase ewes. These results suggest that the hormone conditions of the follicular (high estrogen) and luteal (high progesterone) phases of the ovarian cycle play a role in regulating uterine and mammary artery but not mesenteric and renal artery response to LPS.

6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Assessment of reproductive disorders and birth defects in communities near hazardous chemical sites. II. Female reproductive disorders.

Members of the workgroup on female reproductive disorders discussed methods to evaluate five principal functions: menstrual dysfunction, infertility, pregnancy loss, lactation disorders, and pregnancy complications. To test each function, a nested strategy was considered, based on progressive levels of effort available to conduct field investigations. This strategy was analogous to the three-tier classification of biomarkers used by other workshops. The lowest level of effort, corresponding to Tier 1, consists only of questionnaires, diaries, and reviews of maternal and infant medical records. The medium level of effort (Tier 2) collects data from questionnaires and diaries, and some biologic specimens. Suggested laboratory analyses included measurement of progesterone in saliva and several glycoprotein hormones in urine that evaluate menstrual dysfunction, infertility, and pregnancy loss. The highest level of effort (Tier 3) involves prospective collection of diary information and simultaneous collection of biological specimens.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMed1999

Reproductive outcome after sterilization reversal in women of advanced reproductive age.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to assess the clinical outcome of tubal reversal in women of advanced reproductive age. METHODS: A multicenter retrospective chart review of 153 patients who underwent a tubal ligation reversal was carried out. Patients were evaluated according to age. All patients had documented ovulation and a partner with a normal semen analysis by WHO criteria. Outcome measures included rates of clinical pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy, spontaneous abortion, and live birth, and the time to conception. RESULTS: Clinical pregnancy rates were significantly lower in women > or = 40 compared to younger groups. The time to conception was significantly shorter for women < 30 compared to women > or = 35. No pregnancies occurred in women > or = 42. CONCLUSIONS: Our data support the judicious use of sterilization reversal for infertile women with no male factor through their early forties. Women > or = 42 years should be especially counseled as to the very low success rates.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Epigenetic risks related to assisted reproductive technologies: short- and long-term consequences for the health of children conceived through assisted reproduction technology: more reason for caution?

Does the manipulation of gametes and embryos as practised in human IVF invoke perturbations in fetal and neonatal phenotype? There is increasing evidence that the answer is 'yes', although the degree of perturbation may be less acute than observed in other species. However, the long-term consequences are not known, and may prove to be considerable. There is now a substantial body of evidence from animal models suggesting that assisted reproductive technologies (ART) are associated with altered outcomes in fetal and neonatal development. Epigenetic modification of gene expression is an attractive hypothesis that accounts for these differences and is one of a number of causal pathways that may be activated by cellular stress invoked during manipulation. Here we widen the debate to propose that environment-induced cellular stress also acts to modify fetal and placental gene expression, potentially also contributing to phenotype skewing after ART.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Sex in Australia: reproductive experiences and reproductive health among a representative sample of women.

OBJECTIVE: To document the reproductive experiences of a representative sample of Australian women aged 16-59 years. METHOD: Computer-assisted telephone interviews were completed by a representative sample of 10,173 men and 9,134 women aged 16-59 years from all States and Territories. The overall response rate was 73.1% (69.4% among men, and 77.6% among women). Women were asked the number of times they had experienced a live birth, a still birth, a miscarriage and a termination of pregnancy. RESULTS: Of the women surveyed, 15.5% reported having experienced difficulty in becoming pregnant and 76.1% had been pregnant at least once. Nearly all the women who had been pregnant reported experiencing a live birth. Substantial minorities of women reported having experienced a miscarriage (33.4%) or a termination of pregnancy (22.6%). The percentage of women who reported becoming pregnant the first time as a teenager declined from 22.8% among women aged 50-59 to 16.9% among women aged 20-29. Of those who had had vaginal intercourse, 19.2% had used emergency contraception, 53.3% of them only once. CONCLUSION: There was clear evidence of substantial changes in the fertility of Australian women over the past 40 years.

Abortion, Legal↗
PubMed2003

Prenatal programming of reproductive neuroendocrine function: fetal androgen exposure produces progressive disruption of reproductive cycles in sheep.

In the agonadal, androgenized ewe testosterone before birth produces a precocious pubertal rise in circulating LH and abolishes the LH surge mechanism. The present study tested two predictions from this model in the ovary-intact female: 1) prenatal androgen exposure produces early ovarian stimulation; and 2) despite early ovarian stimulation, progestogenic cycles would not occur because of the abolition or disruption of the LH surge. Pregnant ewes were injected with testosterone propionate twice per week from either d 30-90 (T60 group; 100 mg/injection) or d 60-90 (T30 group; 80 mg/injection) of gestation (term, 147 d). Control ewes received no injections. At birth, the androgenized and control lambs were divided into two groups: ovary-intact to determine the effects of prenatal androgen on the timing of puberty and subsequent ovarian function, and ovariectomized to assess the timing of the pubertal decrease in sensitivity to estrogen negative feedback and the subsequent increase in LH. Neonatally orchidectomized, estrogen-treated males were included for comparison of the timing of this pubertal rise in LH secretion. Neuroendocrine puberty (determined on the basis of LH increase) was advanced in the androgenized females to a similar age as in males. Repeated progesterone cycles of the same duration and number occurred in the ovary-intact ewes, and they began at the same time as for control females, thus negating both predictions. Differences appeared during the second breeding season, when reproductive cycles were either absent (T60) or disrupted (T30 group). Our findings reveal that exposure to androgens in utero causes a progressive loss of cyclic function in adulthood.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Collaborative work to evaluate toxicity on male reproductive organs by repeated dose studies in rats 19). Effects of two-week repeated dosing of enoxacin on the male reproductive organs.

The toxicity of Enoxacin (ENX), a fluoroquinolone antibacterial agent, on the testis and epididymis was studied in rats. ENX was administered to 5 male rats orally once daily for 2 weeks at the dose level of 3000 mg/kg/day. ENX-treated rats showed a marked decrease in body weight, and two of them died on Day 10. At the end of the dosing period, absolute weights of the epididymis were decreased; in contrast, relative weights of testis were increased in the ENX-treated group. On histopathological examination, testis of ENX-treated rats exhibited the following regressive changes: degeneration of spermatids and spermatocytes, retention of Step 19 spermatids, chromatin margination in nuclei of spermatids, multinucleated giant cell formation, and/or vacuolar degeneration of Sertoli cells. Additionally, desquamated cell debris was observed in the epididymis. Degenerative spermatids and spermatocytes were strongly positive by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL). From these results, it is concluded that a 2-week treatment is sufficient to detect toxic effects of ENX on reproductive organs in male rats, and that testicular toxicity induced by ENX is associated with germ cell apoptosis.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1999

Implications of recent advances in reproductive physiology for reproductive management of goats.

The control of reproduction in goats is interesting for technical reasons (synchronization of kiddings, adjustment to forage availability or to economy), and for genetic reasons (identification and dissemination of improved genotypes). The use of short-light rhythms leads to markedly increased production of semen per buck and prevents occurrence of a 'resting' season. Recent identification of a bulbourethral lipase in goat spermatozoa opens new perspectives in sperm preservation. Light plus 'short day' treatments also allow induction of out-of-season oestrous cycles and ovulations leading to enhanced fertility. Repeated use of eCG provokes the production of antibodies, delays the timing of ovulation and causes a reduction in fertility after fixed-time artificial insemination. All steps of embryo production, freezing and transfer are now controlled and allow the attainment of satisfactory numbers of kids born per donor female, which are compatible with the development of the technique for exchanging genotypes between countries. In vitro production of embryos allows high development rates to be achieved after in vitro maturation and fertilization of oocytes, and will ensure the production of synchronous populations of one-cell zygotes at the stage required by new biotechnologies.

Animal Husbandry↗
PubMed1989

[Peripheral effects of prolactin in reproductive function. I. Male reproductive function].

Prolactin plays a peripheral role in male reproductive function just as it does in female function. Prolactin, through the medium of immunocytochemistry acts on testicular steroidogenesis through prolactin receptors which are sited on the Leydig cells. It alters the number of LH receptors and therefore the sensitivity of the testis to central stimulation and equally interferes with androgen synthesis. In the areas of physiological concentration the principal effect seems to be to stimulate secretion of testosterone by keeping up the number of LH receptors; but when there is acute hyperprolactinaemia, testosterone secretion is lowered or perhaps not changed at all because of a "post-receptor effect", in spite of there being larger numbers of LH receptors. The direct effect of prolactin on spermatogenesis has not yet been worked out and the results that have been obtained are controversial. Prolactin exerts a direct stimulating effect on the growth of prostatic cells working synergistically with testosterone through specific prolactin receptors. It could play a role in certain cancers of the prostate.

Humans↗
PubMed1989

[Peripheral effects of prolactin in reproductive function. II. Female reproductive function].

Prolactin (PRL) has an important peripheral role to play in female reproductive function. This hormone, in physiological concentrations, is necessary so that the follicle can mature properly. It also helps the maturation of oocytes and is essential for the physiological action of the corpus luteum so that progesterone production can be stimulated. It inhibits its catabolism and is responsible for keeping up the numbers of LH and oestradiol receptors. It works through the intermediary of prolactin receptors which are localised on the granulosa cells. The mechanism is through immuno-cytochemistry and it can be distinguished biochemically (Ka = 0.5 10(10) M). Probably, when levels are high it upsets follicular maturation by inhibiting the biosynthesis of the oestrogens and also by stimulating the secretion in the granulosa cells of a substance that inhibits oocyte maturation: and prolactin exercises a luteolytic action by stimulating the catabolism of the hormone and lessening the numbers of LH receptors. On the other and, there are high concentrations of PRL in amniotic fluid. As endometrial cells undergo the phenomenon of decidualization they produce PRL which is identical biochemically with the pituitary hormone. Certain steroids seem to regulate this synthesis of PRL. This hormone must play a role in fetal osmoregulation through the intermediary of prolactin receptors.

Endometrium↗
PubMed1994

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus: morphological, biochemical and serological characteristics of Quebec isolates associated with acute and chronic outbreaks of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome.

Cytolytic and noncytolytic strains of the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) were isolated in primary cultures of porcine alveolar macrophages (PAM) from lung homogenates of stillborn fetuses or blood samples of dyspneic piglets collected from Quebec pig farms having experienced acute or chronic outbreaks of PRRS. Serological identification of the virus was confirmed by indirect immunofluorescence and indirect protein A-gold immunoelectron microscopy using reference antiserum prepared from experimentally-infected specific pathogen free (SPF) piglets and monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) directed against the p15 nucleocapsid (N) protein of the reference ATCC-VR2332 isolate. Intracytoplasmic enveloped viral particles that tended to accumulate into cytoplasmic vesicles were observed in the infected PAM; no budding was demonstrated at the level of the cytoplasmic membrane. The extracellular virions appeared as pleomorphic but mostly spherical enveloped particles, 50-72 nm in diameter (averaged diameter of 50 particles was 58.3 nm), with an isometric core about 25-30 nm. Buoyant density of the virus in CsCL density gradients was estimated to 1.18-1.20 g/mL. No hemagglutinating activity was demonstrated. Analysis of semipurified virions of isolate IAF-exp91 by radioimmunoprecipitation (RIPA) and Western immunoblotting experiments, using reference rabbit and porcine hyperimmune sera, revealed four major viral proteins, a predominant 15 kD N protein and three other proteins with predicted M(r_ of 19, 26 and 42 kD. Progeny viral particles produced in PRRSV-infected PAM in the presence of tunicamycin lacked the 42 kD protein, thus confirming its N-glycosylated nature. Immunoprecipitation experiments using the anti-ATCC-VR2332 MoAbs confirmed the close antigenic relationships between Quebec and American reference isolates of PRRSV.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

[Andrologic indications for assisted reproduction techniques. When can increased fertilization rates by assisted reproduction be expected?].

Basics: When the cause of a sterile marriage must be assumed to lie with the husband, attempts are often made to resolve the problem by applying the techniques of assisted reproduction, viz insemination and in vitro fertilization (IVF). In such a case, this is the treatment of the wife, who may herself be completely healthy. Major points: In the case of oligoasthenoteratozoospermia (OAT) syndrome, the various techniques available are unable to decisively increase the conception rate. In particular, all IVF working groups are agreed that successes are greatly reduced in the case of inferior sperm quality, as compared with other indications. The "poorer" the original findings, the lower are the fertilization rates. The costs of IVF of about DM 6,000 per cycle mean that, with a success rate of some 8%, the overall cost for each pregnancy is about DM 72,000. This fact tends not to receive sufficient mention in discussions with the married couple. So far, it has not been possible to predict the success rate of an IVF on the basis of an examination of the ejaculate with any degree of accuracy with the aid of the parameters sperm cell density, motility and morphology. Nor do biological tests or an investigation of acrosome function help improve the situation. Even the direct observation of the fertilization of a human ovum, is of questionable value.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Fertilization in Vitro↗
PubMed1996

[Parenthood and child development after reproduction medicine treatment. Psychosomatic follow-up of 46 parents after assisted reproduction].

On the basis of a longitudinal study on "parenthood and child development after successful conception by IVF" in which 46 couples with 64 children born after reproductive medical treatment (IVF or ICSI) were followed up for three years, we now discuss several aspects of the psychological situation of those involved. Reference is made to the characteristics of the "structure" of the couples, their attitude towards the treatment, their experience of the pregnancy, features of child development and of the parent-child relationship, as well as to the prevailing psychological strategies of the couples for coping with the stresses and risks of assisted fertilization. Preliminary results show that during the course of treatment and following the birth of the children, the partnerships remained stable, and that relationships between family members are, for the most part, developing favorably.

Adaptation, Psychological↗