Studies of ovarian stimulation for IVF have suggested a relationship between follicle size and pregnancy rates. Furthermore the follicular endocrine environment is correlated with oocyte quality. The aim of this study was first to verify the relationship between follicular steroid content, follicular size, oocyte maturity and fertilization outcome in women with normal ovaries following recombin...

•We used Random-Start for the IVF cycle in urgent settings of gynecological cancer.•Oocytes can be obtained at any time before cancer treatment efficiently.•Oocyte maturity rates were comparable with conventional antagonist protocol.•Random-Start protocol is promising in emergency fertility preservation.

CASEREPORT ] Mr and Mrs C were aged 35. Mr C worked as a bus driver and his wife as a manageress. He was known to have obstructive azoospermia due to congenital absence of the vas deferens and was a carrier of the cystic fibrosis gene mutation R560T. His karyotype was 46XY and his hormone profile was normal. Mrs C was not a cystic fibrosis carrier, her menstrual cycle was regular and she was ov...

Maturation arrest of human oocytes may occur at various stages of the cell cycle. A total failure of human oocytes to complete meiosis is rarely observed during assisted conception cycles. We describe here a case series of infertile couples for whom all oocytes repeatedly failed to mature during IVF/ICSI. Eight couples, all presenting with unexplained infertility, underwent controlled ovarian s...

Previous studies have demonstrated that the use of recombinant human follicle stimulating hormone (rhFSH) for ovarian stimulation may be associated with a better outcome than human menopausal gonadotrophin (HMG), probably due to the absence of LH, higher FSH bioactivity and better quality of oocytes and embryos when rhFSH is used. Very few studies have examined the effects of different gonadotr...

Chondrichthyes have become an important economic resource in recent years. In spite of this importance, there is little knowledge about their reproductive biology, especially of species from the south-western Atlantic. In this work, we study the morphology and histology of the ovary of Sympterygia acuta. The results show that oogonia were present only in the immature females (stage I of maturit...

Several studies have shown that high concentrations of luteinizing hormone (LH) in the follicular phase of stimulation can have a negative effect on oocyte quality, pregnancy rate and incidence of miscarriage. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of highly purified follicle stimulating/hormone (FSH HP) on ovarian stimulation and particularly on nuclear maturity and morphologi...