Background: In spite of the great deal of research in assisted reproductive techniques, more than 80% of transferred embryos by IVF/ICSI methods fail to be implanted. The causes for repeated implantation failures (RIF) may be reduced endometrial receptivity or other various uterine pathologies, such as thin endometrium, altered expression of adhesive molecules or immunological factors; whereas ...

During mitosis the DNA is allocated to each of the two daughter nuclei, such that each is genetically identical to the original and to each other. As a result, all the somatic cells of our body are genetically identical as they have all been produced from the zygote by cell cycles involving mitosis. Therefore, DNA replication is a vital process in the transfer of exact copies of genes into the ...

BACKGROUND The respective advantages of day 3 and day 5 embryo transfer are a matter of debate. Previous comparisons did not include pronuclear stage zygote scoring and cumulative success rates (fresh and cryopreserved embryos). METHODS Patients were randomized prospectively for day 3 or day 5 embryo transfer. Day 3 embryos were selected for transfer and cryopreservation by using combined eva...

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer (ET) has been essential in the treatment of infertility. The world's first IVF-ET baby was born in 1978 based on the technique developed by Dr. Robert Edwards and Dr. Patrick Steptoe. In Japan, the first IVF-ET birth was reported in 1983 by Prof. Masakuni Suzuki at Tohoku University School of Medicin...

The asymmetric cell division of the zygote is the initial and crucial developmental step in most multicellular organisms. In flowering plants, whether zygote polarity is inherited from the preexisting organization in the egg cell or reestablished after fertilization has remained elusive. How dynamically the intracellular organization is generated during zygote polarization is also unknown. Here...

This is a confession building on a conversation with David Sackett in 2004 when I shared with him some personal adventures in evidence-based medicine (EBM), the movement that he had spearheaded. The narrative is expanded with what ensued in the subsequent 12 years. EBM has become far more recognized and adopted in many places, but not everywhere, for example, it never acquired much influence in...

BACKGROUND Release of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) by ovaries in response to HCG administration is one of the main mechanisms of ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome. Since Dopamine/dopamine receptor2 (Dp-r2) pathway activity -mediated by VEGF/ Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR- 2) signaling-, is associated with angiogenic events, dopamine agonists were used for th...