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Successful fertilization and pregnancy outcome in in-vitro fertilization using cryopreserved/thawed spermatozoa from patients with malignant diseases.

Cryopreservation of spermatozoa before treatment is the only proven effective method available to circumvent the sterilizing effect of therapy in some patients with malignant diseases. Because of impaired sperm quality after freezing and thawing in-vitro fertilization/embryo transfer (IVF/ET) was indicated in 10 patients (12 cycles) during 1986-1990. The patient's mean age was 33.4 +/- 1.6 years. The following diagnoses were made: seminoma (1), testicular carcinoma (3), leiomyosarcoma of the prostate (1), Wegener's granulomatosis (1), non-Hodgkin's (1) and Hodgkin's lymphoma (3). When motile spermatozoa could be recovered after thawing, the total fraction of motile spermatozoa after swim-up separation ranged from 0.2 to 4.2 x 10(6) spermatozoa/ml (eight patients, nine cycles). In all these cases, insemination was performed with multiple oocytes per dish. Fertilization was achieved when swim-up recovered a mean of 1.8 +/- 0.5 x 10(6) spermatozoa/ml and when insemination was performed with at least a calculated concentration of motile spermatozoa of 1 x 10(5) spermatozoa/oocyte. The fertilization rate of preovulatory oocytes was 60%. Four patients achieved a pregnancy: two of them delivered a single healthy baby, one delivered triplet healthy babies and one had a preclinical abortion. In two patients (three cycles), no motile spermatozoa were recovered after thawing, and micromanipulation of oocytes for assisted fertilization was performed. Although fertilized oocytes were transferred, those couples did not achieve a pregnancy. Patients with lymphopathies had the best results, whilst those with testicular neoplasms had the poorest outcome, thus suggesting a poor gametogenic function in the non-affected testis. These results give hope to some patients with malignant diseases to maintain their reproductive capacity through sperm banking and IVF/ET.

Adult↗

Pilot study with 120 mg Andriol treatment for couples with a low fertilization rate during in-vitro fertilization.

Treatment with 120 mg/day of Andriol (testosterone undecanoate; Organon, The Netherlands) was given to 11 men whose semen had either failed to fertilize, or had resulted in a less than 33% fertilization rate in a first in-vitro fertilization (IVF) trial. Repeat IVF at the end of a 3 month treatment period resulted in a highly significant increase in the number of oocytes fertilized from 4/95 (4.2%) before to 23/87 (26.4%, P less than 0.001) after Andriol treatment. One couple attained spontaneous conception during the second month of Andriol intake and three pregnancies occurred among the remaining 10 cases undergoing repeat IVF, for a total ongoing pregnancy rate of 36.4%. Sperm concentration but not motility increased in the native semen after Andriol intake, but there were no significant changes in sperm characteristics after preparation. The improvement in pregnancy rate contrasts favourably with the results obtained by repeat IVF of untreated historical controls. The result obtained in the present pilot study should encourage the performance of a larger, placebo-controlled investigation protocol.

Female↗

Fertilization in brown algae. IV. Appearance of sperm-specific antigens on fertilized eggs.

Flagella antigens from sperm of Fucus serratus have been used to raise antibodies in rabbits. The immunoglobulin G fraction inhibits fertilization with some degree of species specificity. The antigens detected on sperm are not present on unfertilized egg membranes, but appear after fertilization. The common antigens on the fertilized egg can be distinguished from the cell wall material that is also released on fertilization.

Epitopes↗

The influence of self-fertilization performance and copulation behaviour in reproduction by cross-fertilization in groups of Biomphalaria tenagophila (Mollusca, Planorbidae).

The following hypotheses were tested for groups of simultaneous hermaphrodites Biomphalaria tenagophila: (a) snails that have low reproductive success during the process of self-fertilization do not increase their reproductive success after the end of grouping; (b) the copulation behaviour and the presence of one snail whose eggs have a low viability rate influence the partner's reproductive success by cross-fertilization. Groups were constituted by a homozygous pigmented snail and two albinos: one with a viability rate higher than 70% ("good reproducers") and the other less than 10% ("bad reproducers"). All pigmented snails had viability rates higher than 70%. The "good" and "bad" reproducer albino snails had similar copulation behaviour. However, after the end of grouping, the "bad reproducers" continued to have viability rates less than 10% over 30 days. In 100% of the cases that pigmented snails copulated (performing either a male role or simultaneously male and female roles) exclusively with "good" reproducer albinos, they presented high reproductive success (producing, on average of 8.4 pigmented embryos/egg-mass). However, in 100% of the cases that pigmented snails copulated with both partners, the "good" reproducer albino snails produced none or very few embryos (the highest average was 2.2 pigmented embryos/egg-mass). Therefore, the production of viable embryos by cross-fertilization was more influenced by self-fertilization performance than by copulation behaviour. The presence of a snail whose eggs have a low viability rate could decrease their partners reproductive success.

Animals↗

Selection for female fertility using censored fertility traits and investigation of the relationship with milk production.

Bivariate models (censored linear-linear and censored threshold-linear) were used to estimate genetic parameters for production and fertility traits in the Spanish Holstein population. Records on 71,217 lactations from 41,515 cows were used: 30 and 36% of lactations were censored for days open (DO) and number of inseminations to conception (INS), respectively. Heritability estimates for production traits (milk, fat, protein) ranged between 0.18 and 0.25. Heritability of days to first service (DFS) and DO was 0.05; heritability of INS on the liability scale was 0.04. Genetic correlations between fertility traits were 0.41, 0.71, and 0.87 for DFS-INS, DO-INS, and DO-DFS, respectively. Days open had a larger genetic correlation (ranging from 0.63 to 0.76) with production traits than did DFS (0.47 to 0.59) or INS (0.16 to 0.23). Greater antagonism between production and DO may be due to voluntary management decisions for high-yielding cows, resulting in longer lactation lengths. Inseminations to conception appeared to be less correlated with milk production than were the other 2 female fertility traits. Including INS in a total merit index would be expected to increase genetic gain in terms of profit, but profit would decrease if either DO or DO and DFS were included in the index. Thus, INS is the trait to be preferred when selecting for female fertility. The genetic correlation between actual milk yield and 305-d standardized milk yield was 0.96 in the present study, suggesting that some reranking of sires could occur. Because the target of attaining a 12-mo calving interval, as implied by a 305-d standardized lactation length, is changing in the dairy industry, routine genetic evaluation of actual total lactation milk yield should be considered.

Animals↗

[Influences of sperm quality and quantity on fertilization, cleavage rates and quality of embryos in in-vitro fertilization].

OBJECTIVE: To examine the influences of the quality and quantity of seminal sperm and inseminational sperm on in-vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes. METHODS: chi-square tests were used to analyze the impacts of both semen and inseminated sperm concentrations and percentages of different grade motile sperm on the fertilization rates in 481 matured and 273 immatured oocytes and cleavage rate percentage of embryo with low quality in embryos obtained from 92 IVF-embryo transfer cycles. RESULTS: The fertilization rates of both kinds of oocytes and cleavage rate of fertilizaed matured oocyte significantly decreased (P < 0.05) as the concentrations and percentages of grade a and b sperms in semen reduced. The rates of embryos with abnormal morphology were significantly dropped when the above sperm parameters increased (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, it was also found that the concentration and motility of inseminated sperm could also affect the above three IVF parameters significantly (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Highly active semen and inseminated sperm play important roles not only in fertilization, but also in cleavage and embryo development during IVF procedure.

Cleavage Stage, Ovum↗

[Dynamics of soil P pool in a long-term fertilizing experiment of wheat-maize rotation. I. Crop yield effect of fertilizer P and dynamics of soil total P and inorganic P].

The effects of long-term applying fertilizer P and manure on the pools of soil total P and inorganic P and the crop yield in rotation of winter wheat-summer maize-->spring maize were studied. The results showed that the pool of soil total P and inorganic P were increased by applying fertilizer P and manure, and the phosphorus mostly accumulated in soil was inorganic P. The critical amounts of fertilizer P (P2O5) for balancing soil P were 94.7 kg.hm-2 to winter wheat-summer maize and 51.5 kg.hm-2 to spring maize. Based on regression equations, the application rates of fertilizer P (P2O5) for economic optimum and highest yields were 135.8 and 149.8 kg.hm-2 to winter wheat-summer maize, and 88.6 and 95.9 kg.hm-2 to spring maize, respectively.

China↗

Basal glucose level as an independent predictor of fertilization rate in patients without polycystic ovary syndrome included in an in-vitro fertilization program.

Insulin resistance is a common characteristic of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) who are known to differ in their in-vitro fertilization outcomes compared to non-PCOS patients. As insulin resistance can be found in a considerable proportion of normal individuals, we assessed its contribution to ovarian responsiveness and fertilization rate. 26 non-PCOS patients undergoing IVF for the first time were investigated. Insulin resistance was evaluated by using a euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp technique. According to multiple regression analysis insulin sensitivity, expressed as insulin stimulated glucose disposal rate, during euglycemic clamp (r = -0.81, p < 0.05 and r = -0.89; p < 0.01) and basal estradiol level (r = -0.54; p < 0.05 and r = -0.56; p < 0.05) appeared significant negative predictors of the number of fertilized oocytes and embryos, respectively. Furthermore, basal glucose level appeared independently as a significant positive predictor of the number of fertilized oocytes and the number of embryos. (r = 0.90; p < 0.01 and r = 0.96; p < 0.01 respectively). We conclude that blood glucose concentration and insulin resistance respectively are independent predictors of IVF outcome.

Adult↗

[Changes of crop yield and soil fertility under long-term application of fertilizer and recycled nutrients in manure on a black soil III. Soil nutrient budget].

The nutrient budget of fertilization models under different treatments was calculated using data from a field experiment over the period of 1985-1999. The results indicated that application of nitrogen fertilizer accelerated a large deficit of soil phosphorus, and the use of nitrogen and phosphorus accelerated the deficit of potassium. The experimental data demonstrated the appearance of a large area of soil deficit of phosphorus from 1970s and of potassium from 1980s in China. Nutrient recycled in farming system improved soil nutrient budget, but could not meet the nutrient requirements from high-yield crops. The use of recycled nutrients with an appropriate use of fertilizers according to the soil fertility could produce higher crop yields, balance soil nutrient budget, and not cause surplus nutrients to emit into environment.

Agriculture↗

[Effect of long-term fertilization on crop yield and soil fertility of upland red soil].

The studies on the influence of long-term fertilization on crop yield and soil fertility of upland red soil showed that P was the most deficient in this soil, and hence, phosphorus fertilizer had the best effect on crop yield. Applying lime and microelements could not significantly increase the crop yield. The concentration of P and K in peanut could be increased if fertilizer was applied, indicating that the supply level of soil nutrients decided the nutrient concentration in plants. The reconstructive efficiency of soil available nutrient pool was dependent on the surplus or deficit of soil nutrients. When the surplus of nutrients was 1 kg x hm(-2), N was increased by 0.6-6.2 mg x kg(-1), P was increased by 0.20-0.28 mg x kg(-1), and K was increased by 1.1-8.5 mg x kg(-1). The changing in results was due to the loss of N and K from soil. The nutrient bupplying capability of soil was the quantity of the nutrients which soil could provide by weathering to satisfy the plant growth. The amount of P fixed by soil was 43.5 kg x hm(-2) x yr(-1), and that of N and K provided by soil was 40.5 and 55 x kg x hm(-2) x yr(-1), respectively.

Biomass↗

[Influence of long-term fertilization on phosphorus fertility of calcareous soil I. Organic matter, total phosphorus and available phosphorus].

A 23 years-located experiment of wheat-corn rotation showed that long term application of animal manure combined with chemical fertilizer contributed greater to the contents of soil organic matter, total phosphorus, inorganic phosphorus and available phosphorus. Applying chemical fertilizer could increase soil organic matter, total phosphorus, inorganic phosphorus and available phosphorus contents, but the increment was lower than treatments animal manure and fallow. Compared with no fertilization, different fertilization treatment had its own distribution characteristics of soil organic matter, total phosphorus and available phosphorus in 0-100 cm soil layer.

Biomass↗

[Fertility controls as the measure of herd fertility of dairy stock].

Hormonal analyses have been conducted along with intensive clinical following-up of the animals of three dairy herds in the area of Thessaloniki/Greece for a two year period. The data and progesterone profiles collected by means of milk progesterone assay (EIA) contribute considerably towards confirming and/or correcting clinical diagnoses. The clinical findings and the fertility parameters illustrate the considerable burden of fertility problems present in the dairy herds. The authors assume that faults in nutrition constitute the cause of silent heat and the problems derived from it. Faulty management is mainly associated with difficulties in oestrus diagnoses owing to disorders of fertility, failure to keep precise fertility data and the effects of inconsistent servicing of the cows on the part of the state inseminators.

Animals↗

Atypical luteinizing hormone rise and associated fertilization failure in non-male factor in vitro fertilization patients.

The purpose of this investigation was to analyze fertilization failure in non-male factor infertility in vitro fertilization (IVF) patients. Twenty-five nonfertilized IVF patients were compared with 57 successfully fertilized IVF patients. Patients were matched for age, ovulation-induction protocol, and cycle. The two groups were similar with respect to infertility etiology, peak estradiol, and total oocytes retrieved at laparoscopy. There was a greater incidence of primary infertility (64 versus 49%) and mean years of infertility (5.4 +/- 0.4 versus 4.6 +/- 0.3) in the nonfertilization group, although these differences were not statistically significant. Most important, the nonfertilization patients had a greater incidence of an atypical LH rise prior to hCG administration (60 versus 18%; P less than .001) and fewer mature oocytes (2.0 +/- 0.3 verus 3.4 +/- 0.3; P less than .01). Stepwise linear regression analysis yielded four primary factors for predicting fertilization failure: infertility duration, primary infertility, number of mature oocytes, and presence of LH rise. These findings help characterize several potential factors other than oligozoospermia that are associated with nonfertilization, and support LH monitoring in IVF and gamete intrafallopian tube transport patients.

Adult↗

[Fertility capability after the discontinuing use of various methods of fertility control].

The author draws attention to difficulties in assessing the degree of fertility after the use of various contraception methods, because prior to their application the women's initial fertility is not exactly examined. He gives a critical review of the experience reported so far on fertility after the interruption of hormonal and intrauterine contraception, sterilization, and artificial abortions. His conclusions is that none of the temporary contraception methods represents a considerable risk relating to future fertility if in each woman contraindications for their use are strictly obeyed.

Abortion, Induced↗

A zona biochemical change and spontaneous cortical granule loss in eggs that fail to fertilize in in vitro fertilization.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the extent of biochemical changes in the zona pellucida (ZP) and cortical granule release in eggs failing to fertilize in IVF. DESIGN: After insemination, unactivated eggs without two pronuclei (PN) were studied by high resolution microscopy and fluorescent probes to determine cortical granule density and meiotic stage. After ZP isolation, proteins from individual ZPs were biotinylated, electrophoresed, and visualized by western blots with avidin-chemiluminescence. Controls included mouse unfertilized and fertilized eggs and human germinal vesicle stage oocytes and > or = 3PN eggs. SETTING: University medical center and hospital tertiary care IVF-ET program. RESULTS: Many of the unfertilized eggs were in metaphase and had relatively low cortical granule densities indicative of cortical granule loss. Approximately one half of the ZPs showed evidence of biochemical hardening with a modification of a 90 to 100 x 10(3) molecular (weight) ratio (M(r)) ZP protein. The 3PN eggs had few cortical granules and their ZPs had a pronounced 90 to 100 x 10(3) M(r) modification that was not detected in germinal vesicle stage ZP controls. CONCLUSION: The observed changes in ZP biochemistry and cortical granule quantitation demonstrate that failed fertilization is frequently associated with spontaneous cytoplasmic, but not nuclear, activation. In affected eggs, these changes could prevent fertilization in routine IVF and in cases of reinsemination. The relationship of changes in the ZP and cortical granules to infertility and in vitro culture requires further investigation. The 90 to 100 x 10(3) M(r) ZP protein modification can be detected biochemically with 1/10 of a human ZP.

Animals↗

[Differential fertility and body constitution of fertile and postmenopausal women from Austria].

With 156 fertile and 171 postmenopausal patients of the I. Universitäts-Frauenklinik in Vienna the intercorrelations between 29 cephalic and postcephalic body measures, 34 anthropometric indices and number and date of pregnancies, spontaneous abortions as well as births were computed. For both proband groups typical correlation patterns between the two trait systems could be observed. It turned out, that small, robust women with a high amount of subcutaneous fat tissue had more pregnancies and births than tall, slender women with less amount of subcutaneous fat tissue. Differences between the two groups occurred only with regard to the number of significant correlations as well as of the height of the correlation coefficients. With the fertile probands more significant and especially higher correlations were stated. The correlations between the anthropometric characters and the date of the individual pregnancies yielded marked differences between the two samples: the number of significant correlations of the postmenopausal women surpassed the number of significant correlations of the fertile women. Concerning the causes for the intercorrelations between fertility and body dimensions, hormonal factors and somatic changes resulting from pregnancies and births as well as age-dependent changes of body shape are discussed.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗

The U.S. fertility decline, 1961-1975: the contribution of changes in marital status and marital fertility.

Changes in marital fertility have accounted for 83 percent of the decline in total fertility since 1971; changes in marital status accounted for 19 percent, and changes in nonmarital fertility had only a negligible effect. Declines in the level of marital fertility account for a substantial part of the overall decrease; postponement of childbearing did not occur in any significant degree until the 1970s.

Adolescent↗

Analysis of fertility indices of cows with reproductive disorders and of normal cows in herds with low and normal fertility.

Semiannual computer printouts of reproductive disorders diagnosed in high producing Israeli dairy herds were evaluated for a comparison of fertility indices of diseased and normal cows in low (LFH) and normal fertility herds (NFH). In 16,910 cows, conception rates to first AI in cows with reproductive disorder were >50% below those in normal cows (P<0.001). For both groups of cows, conception rates were lower in LFH (P<0.0001). A comparison of fertility indices between LFH (5, 171 cows) and NFH (14,573 cows) revealed, in addition a higher overall conception rate and a lower percentage of cows still open on Day 150 post partum (problem cows, (P<0.0001), as well as a higher pregnancy rate for NFH (P<0.001), for cows with reproductive disorder and for normal cows in these herds. In herds with predominantly uterine-related reproductive disorder, a high incidence of postpartum anestrus was seen infrequently; while in herds with a high incidence of postpartum anestrus, postbreeding anestrus was equally high (P<0.05 - 0.001). In general reproductive disorder have been shown to have long-term negative effects on fertility indices in both LFH and NFH, but with more serious consequences in LFH. Since a sizeable percentage of normal cows can be identified, reproducing normally under identical management conditions, cows in both kinds of herds with reproductive disorder must be less resistant to environmental stress. Thus, while cows with reproductive disorders maintained their general health and their high level of productivity, they responded either immediately with uterine disturbances or they refused to cycle properly, and they conceived later. A case can be made that all reproductive disorders represent disease entities influenced by management factors.

Journal Article↗