BACKGROUND A good blood supply towards the endometrium is usually considered to be an essential requirement for implantation. We aimed to evaluate the role of endometrial and subendometrial blood flows in the prediction of pregnancy during IVF treatment. METHODS Patients undergoing the first IVF cycle were recruited. A three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound examination with power Doppler was perfo...

To cite: Carr D. Acupunct Med 2015;33:2–6. The role of somatosensory stimulation (acupuncture and related techniques) as an adjunct to assisted reproductive technology (ART) has been hotly debated over the past decade. In the last 6 years there have been no fewer than 12 meta-analyses of 34 randomised controlled trials (table 1). Systematic and narrative reviews of the literature often report c...

Successful implantation requires endometrial receptivity. To investigate the mechanisms of miR-494-3p on receptivity, GnRHa's superovulation scheme was designed to reduce and pregnant mice were injected with antagomir. The regulatory role identified by RT-qPCR, uterine blastocyst count, scanning electron microscopy, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, Western blot. Results indicated that antagomir...

Embryo implantation requires that the blastocyst will attach during the receptive stage of the endometrium, known as window of implantation (WOI). Historically, it has been assumed that the WOI is always constant in all women. However, molecular analyses of endometrial receptivity demonstrates a personalized WOI (pWOI) that is displaced in one out of four patients suffering from recurrent impla...

Implantation is one of the most crucial steps in the process of reproduction. Implantation failure is often due to impaired uterine receptivity. Assisted Reproduction techniques are used in order to overcome fertility problems. The endometrial scratch (ES) is a relatively new technique that is said to improve the probability of a successful pregnancy in some women. 1 Although the exact mechanis...

HOX genes convey positional identity that leads to the proper partitioning and adult identity of the female reproductive track. Abnormalities in reproductive tract development can be caused by HOX gene mutations or altered HOX gene expression. Diethylstilbestrol (DES) and other endocrine disruptors cause Müllerian defects by changing HOX gene expression. HOX genes are also essential regulators ...

Endometrium is a unique tissue that is prepared for implantation of blastocyst during each menstrual cycle by expression of genes during a defined period of endometrial receptivity. Induction of gene over-expression in endometrium allows gaining insight on the role that genes play in endometrial function. Here, we show that induction of a state of gene over-expression in endometrium is feasible...