Fertility preservation is becoming increasingly important to improve the quality of life in cancer survivors. Despite guidelines suggesting that discussion of fertility preservation should be done prior to starting cancer therapies, there is a lack of implementation in this area. A number of techniques are available for fertility preservation, and they can be used individually or together in the same patient to maximize efficiency. Oocyte and embryo cryopreservation are now established techniques but have their limitations. Ovarian tissue cryopreservation though considered experimental at present, has a wider clinical application and the advantage of keeping the fertility window open for a longer time. Both chemotherapy and radiotherapy have a major impact on reproductive potential and fertility preservation procedures should be carried out prior to these treatments. The need for fertility preservation has to be weighed against morbidity and mortality associated with cancer. There is thus a need for a multidisciplinary collaboration between oncologists and reproductive specialists to improve awareness and availability.

A rapid development and application of assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) and ovulation-induction drugs may lead to ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome (OHSS). Young age, low body mass index (BMI), polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), previous OHSS, high follicle count, and elevated serum estradiol (E2) are the certain factors that predispose women to OHSS. Many strategies have been used to reduce or avoid OHSS. Use of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) increases ovarian vascular permeability and is responsible for activating the vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF) pathway and thus the entire cascade, leading to symptomatic OHSS. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists are used as a replacement for hCG for final oocyte maturation in antagonist cycles. Reducing or eliminating the use of hCG and use of GnRH agonist triggered GnRH antagonist cycles and cryopreservation of oocytes or embryos is the most promising approach in making OHSS free clinic a reality.

Recently, gel-based proteomics has been increasingly applied to investigate proteins involved in female reproductive tract in healthy and disease states. Gel-based proteomics coupled by mass spectrometry (MS) facilitate the identification of new proteins playing roles in cellular and molecular interactions underlying female reproductive biology and it is a useful method to identify novel biomarkers of diseases by studying thousands of proteins simultaneously involved in female reproductive tract in healthy state compared to disease state. This review will discuss the best studies areas contributed to female reproductive biology in which gel-based proteomics coupled by MS has been applied to generate proteome of female reproductive tract in a healthy state.

Context: Efficacy of gonadotropin releasing hormone agonists (GnRH-a) for ovulation in high-responders. Aims: The aim of the current study is to compare the impact of different GnRH-a doses for the final oocyte maturation on cycle outcomes and ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) rates in high-responder patients undergoing ovarian stimulation. Settings And Designs: Electronic medical records of a private in vitro fertilization center, a retrospective analysis. Subjects and Methods: A total of 77 high-responder cases were detected receiving GnRH-a. Group I consisted of 38 patients who received 1 mg of agonist and Group II consisted of 39 patients who received 2 mg of agonist. Statistical Analysis: In order to compare groups, Student's t-test, Mann-Whitney U-test, Pearson's Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test were used where appropriate. A P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Result: Number of retrieved oocytes (17.5 vs. 15.0, P = 0.510), implantation rates (46% vs. 55.1%, P = 0.419) and clinical pregnancy rates (42.1% vs. 38.5%, P = 0.744) were similar among groups. There were no mild or severe OHSS cases detected in Group I. Only 1 mild OHSS case was detected in Group II. Conclusion: A volume of 1 or 2 mg leuprolide acetate yields similar outcomes when used for the final oocyte maturation in high-responder patients.

Aim: To review the experience on depot-dose, and daily low-dose gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) long protocols and identify prognostic factors. Setting And Design: A chart review was conducted on 2106 depot and 1299 daily low-dose cycles at a university hospital. Methods: Clinical parameters were summarized, and prognostic factors of clinical pregnancy for each protocol were identified by logistic regressions. Missing data were imputed using multiple imputations (MI) and the regression models were rerun after MI. Results: Clinical pregnancy rate was 57.5% and 46.9% in the depot and daily low-dose groups, respectively. Logistic regressions with MI identified age (odds ratio [OR]: 0.95, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.92-0.98), serum progesterone (OR: 0.62, 95% CI: 0.45-0.84) and endometrial thickness (OR: 1.06, 95% CI: 1.02-1.12) on human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) day, number of oocytes retrieved (OR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.01-1.06), fertilization rate (OR: 2.66, 95% CI: 1.46-4.87) and ratio of good-quality D3 embryos (OR: 4.31, 95% CI: 2.79-6.67) as prognostic factors in the depot group. Age (OR: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92-0.98), endometrial thickness on hCG day (OR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.03-1.15), ratio of good quality D3 embryos (OR: 2.56, 95% CI: 1.59-4.13) and the number of cryopreserved embryos (OR: 1.07, 95% CI: 1.003-1.15) are prognostic for the daily low-dose protocol. Some regression coefficients that are significant under model-wise deletion become nonsignificant after MI. Conclusions: Age, embryo quality and endometrial thickness on hCG day are important prognostic factors for both 1.0/1.3 mg depot and 0.05/0.1 mg daily low-dose luteal phase GnRHa long protocols. MI is a valuable tool to gauge and address bias caused by missing data in reproductive medicine.

Context: There is disagreement as to whether the concentration of a substance in follicular fluid is related to the quality of the follicle as a possible reflection of the oocyte quality or whether this concentration is related to the clinical characteristics of the patient. AIM: To establish the variability of steroid hormone levels in follicular fluids from different follicles of the same patient and between patients. Settings And Design: Prospective cohort study. Materials And Methods: In 31 patients who underwent intracytoplasmic sperm injection it was performed an ultrasound guided aspiration of follicular fluid of the first two mature follicles from each ovary. Chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassays were performed to determine the levels of estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S). Statistical Analysis: Unconditional mixed model. Results: Variation in estradiol levels between follicles in the same patient was approximately twice the variation between subjects (P = 0.05). In the case of progesterone, the intra-subject variation was similar to the inter-subject variation (P = 0.006). The testosterone levels had a slightly smaller intra-subject variation than inter-subject variation (P = 0.002), and the intra-subject variation in DHEA-S levels was approximately one-fifth of the inter-subject variation (P = 0.0003). Conclusions: The variations in the levels of follicular progesterone and testosterone were similar between patients and between a given patient's follicles; however, the estradiol levels variability was higher among different follicles. The amount of follicular estradiol may be considered a selection tool between the follicles of a given patient.

Objective: Infertility may be the sole manifestation of genitourinary tuberculosis (TB) and men with idiopathic obstructive azoospermia are often screened for TB using semen polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. We assessed the benefits of such screening. Design: Totally, 100 infertile men with idiopathic obstructive azoospermia were screened with a kit-based PCR for semen TB. Confirmatory tests for TB were performed in PCR positive men before administering anti-tubercular therapy (ATT) for 6 months. Semen analysis was repeated to assess benefits of treatment. Results: Seven subjects (7%) had positive semen PCR for TB. Four of them had other clinical evidence of TB (history and physical signs) and were administered ATT. None had any improvement in semen parameters. No subject had any other laboratory evidence of TB and no other subject (96%) was administered ATT. Conclusions: Screening for TB using semen PCR did not identify any men who would have been missed on clinical evaluation and is thus not indicated in men with idiopathic obstructive azoospermia.

Aims: To compare depression, anxiety, stress, and related factors among women and men with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Settings And Design: In this cross-sectional survey conducted between November and September 2013, 200 participants with HIV/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) attending Consultation Centers. Materials And Methods: Participants with HIV/AIDS were interviewed using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales questionnaire (DASS ₂₁ ). Results: There were significant associations between marital status of women and the level of depression (P < 0.05). However, the mean depression and anxiety in women are greater than men (P < 0.05), and the mean stress in men is greater than women (P < 0.05). Conclusions: HIV infection is related with psychiatric disorders. According to the results, women are more vulnerable to depression and anxiety and they need more care. Management of these psychiatric disorders is very important and requires innovative comprehensive approaches.

There are limited causes of surgically treatable male infertility. Lymphangiocele of scrotum is a very rare condition particularly in adult life. Lymphangiocele causing infertility is further rare and not reported in English literature so far. We report an extremely rare case of lymphangiocele in a 29 years male presenting with male infertility that improved after surgery.

Multiple pregnancy in in vitro fertilization (IVF) is on the decline with a reduction in number of embryos transferred. But the risk of monozygotic splitting persists. The risk of monozygotic twinning in women undergoing IVF is reported to be twice that of natural conception, and monochorionic triplets are even rarer at 100 times more than natural conception. We report a case of monochorionic triamniotic (MCTA) triplets following conventional IVF and blastocyst transfer without zona manipulation. This report highlights the possibility of zygotic splitting in IVF in young couples with no family history, in centers with good experience with blastocyst transfer. MCTA triplets carry a high risk of perinatal mortality and morbidity and need multidisciplinary care. Prevention and prediction of zygotic splitting ought to be realized with better reporting and identification of possible risk factors.