In a recent retrospective cohort study, researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College looked at data of all patients undergoing a fresh IVF cycle and a subsequent frozen IVF cycle over a 13-year period. They sought to determine whether there are any predictors of the likelihood of success in a frozen embryo transfer after failure to conceive in a fresh embryo transfer.
A sperm DNA fragmentation assessment can help determine appropriate fertility treatment in infertile men with normal semen parameters who have a failed IUI cycle. A recent study by Weill Cornell Medical College analyzed the efficiency of different fertility treatment methods by comparing pregnancy rates between normal and abnormal sperm DNA fragmentation cohorts in relation to IUI, IVF and IVF with ICSI. The researchers determined, “For men with compromised sperm DNA fragmentation in their ejaculate, ICSI confirms to be the best insemination method with ejaculated sperm. For men who have compromised sperm nuclear DNA that failed ICSI, a testicular sampling yielded superior clinical outcome.”
A recent study sought to investigate if intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), increases IVF success in patients with endometriosis.
Researchers analyzed the fertility treatment cycles of 221 patients with a confirmed endometriosis diagnosis, compared to 150 patients with unexplained infertility. In the endometriosis group, 124 patients had standard insemination, and 97 patients had ICSI. The ICSI group had a higher percentage of day 5 transfers, a higher clinical pregnancy rate and a higher live birth rate than the insemination group.
The implantation rate of slower developing blastocysts (day 5 embryos) is a result of asynchrony of the embryo and the endometrium, not the quality of the embryo, according to data presented by Reproductive Medicine Associates of NY (RMA of NY). However, the implantation rate is improved if the slower developing embryos are frozen, then thawed and transferred to a well-prepared, controlled uterine environment.
The role of preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) in egg donor IVF has been unclear, according to Dr. John Zhang. While success rates using donor egg are generally high because donors are young, a large number of embryos are reported to be aneuploid (abnormal) – as many as 53%. So Zhang and researchers at New Hope Fertility Center looked at 81 egg donation cycles to determine whether PGS would be effective. In the study, 31 patients had PGS and transferred euploid (normal) embryos and 50 did not have PGS on the embryos transferred. The PGS group had a higher implantation rate (72.3% vs. 49.1%) and a higher clinical pregnancy rate (72.5% vs. 46.1%).
A recent study compared the efficacy of two types of preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) used with IVF and single embryo transfer: next generation sequencing (NGS), and array Comparative Genomic Hybridization (aCGH). The researchers determined that clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates are comparable.
Dr. Alan Copperman from RMA of New York discusses the impact that PGS has when used in fertility treatments. It has been found that if PGS is used it the time to a successful pregnancy is reduced.
PGD and Frozen Embryo Transfers yield higher pregnancy rates than fresh embryos! What is FET? What is PGD? “The problems with IVF are pretty well known: pregnancy rates are not as good as they should be".
Egg freezing for fertility preservation in combination with preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) results in high live birth rates and allows for single embryo transfer regardless of a woman’s age, according to a recent study published by NYU Fertility Center.
A recently published study set out to answer the question, “How many frozen eggs does it take to have a baby?”
“We looked at 160 cycles of women using their own eggs that they had previously frozen for fertility preservation,” says Dr. Nicole Noyes, a reproductive endocrinologist at NYU Fertility Center and co-director of NYU Fertility Center's Oocyte Cryopreservation (Egg Freezing) Program. “We looked at the pregnancy rate by age and looked at how many eggs you needed to achieve 100% pregnancy rate.”
