Background： Thin endometrium is associated with poor reproductive outcomes; estrogen treatment can increase endomctrial thickness （EMT）. The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to investigate the factors inf...Background： Thin endometrium is associated with poor reproductive outcomes; estrogen treatment can increase endomctrial thickness （EMT）. The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to investigate the factors influencing the effectiveness of estrogen treatment and reproductive outcomes after the treatment in patients with thin endometrium. Methods： Relevant clinical data of 101 patients with thin endometrium who had undergone estrogen treatment were collected. Possible factors influencing the effectiveness of treatment were analyzed retrospectively by logistic regression analysis. Eighty-seven infertile women without thin endometrium who had undergone assisted reproduction served as controls. The cases and controls were matched for age, assisted reproduction method, and number of embryos transferred. Reproductive outcomes of study and control groups were compared using Student＇s t-test and the Chi-square test. Results： At the end of estrogen treatment, EMT was ≥8 mm in 93/101 patients （92.1%）. Effectiveness of treatment was significantly associated with maximal pretreatment EMT （P = 0.017） and treatment duration （P = 0.004）. The outcomes of assisted reproduction were similar in patients whose treatment was successful in increasing EMT to ≥8 mm and the control group. The rate of clinical pregnancy in patients was associated with the number of good-quality embryos transferred in both fresh （P = 0.005） and frozen-thawed （P = 0.000） embryo transfer cycles. Conclusions： Thinner EMT before estrogen treatment requires longer treatment duration and predicts poorer treatment outcomes. The effectiveness of treatment depends on the duration of estrogen administration. Assisted reproductive outcomes of patients whose treatment is successful （i.e., achieves an EMT ≥8 mm） are similar to those of controls. The quality of embryos transferred is an important predictor of assisted reproductive outcomes in patients treated successfully with exogenous estrogen.展开更多
Among the different DNA anomalies that can be present in the male gamete, DNA fragmentation is the most frequent, particularly in infertile subjects. There is now consistent evidence that a sperm containing fragmented...Among the different DNA anomalies that can be present in the male gamete, DNA fragmentation is the most frequent, particularly in infertile subjects. There is now consistent evidence that a sperm containing fragmented DNA can be alive, motile, morphologically normal and able to fertilize an oocyte. There is also evidence that the oocyte is able to repair DNA damage; however, the extent of this repair depends on the type of DNA damage present in the sperm, as well as on the quality of the oocyte. Thus, it is important to understand the possible consequences of sperm DNA fragmentation （SDF） for embryo development, implantation, pregnancy outcome and the health of progeny conceived, both naturally and by assisted reproductive technology （ART）. At present, data on the consequences of SDF for reproduction are scarce and, in many ways, inconsistent. The differences in study conclusions might result from the different methods used to detect SDF, the study design and the inclusion criteria. Consequently, it is difficult to decide whether SDF testing should be carried out in fertility assessment and ART. It is clear that there is an urgent need for the standardisation of the methods and for additional clinical studies on the impact of SDF on ART outcomes.展开更多
文摘Background： Thin endometrium is associated with poor reproductive outcomes; estrogen treatment can increase endomctrial thickness （EMT）. The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to investigate the factors influencing the effectiveness of estrogen treatment and reproductive outcomes after the treatment in patients with thin endometrium. Methods： Relevant clinical data of 101 patients with thin endometrium who had undergone estrogen treatment were collected. Possible factors influencing the effectiveness of treatment were analyzed retrospectively by logistic regression analysis. Eighty-seven infertile women without thin endometrium who had undergone assisted reproduction served as controls. The cases and controls were matched for age, assisted reproduction method, and number of embryos transferred. Reproductive outcomes of study and control groups were compared using Student＇s t-test and the Chi-square test. Results： At the end of estrogen treatment, EMT was ≥8 mm in 93/101 patients （92.1%）. Effectiveness of treatment was significantly associated with maximal pretreatment EMT （P = 0.017） and treatment duration （P = 0.004）. The outcomes of assisted reproduction were similar in patients whose treatment was successful in increasing EMT to ≥8 mm and the control group. The rate of clinical pregnancy in patients was associated with the number of good-quality embryos transferred in both fresh （P = 0.005） and frozen-thawed （P = 0.000） embryo transfer cycles. Conclusions： Thinner EMT before estrogen treatment requires longer treatment duration and predicts poorer treatment outcomes. The effectiveness of treatment depends on the duration of estrogen administration. Assisted reproductive outcomes of patients whose treatment is successful （i.e., achieves an EMT ≥8 mm） are similar to those of controls. The quality of embryos transferred is an important predictor of assisted reproductive outcomes in patients treated successfully with exogenous estrogen.
文摘Among the different DNA anomalies that can be present in the male gamete, DNA fragmentation is the most frequent, particularly in infertile subjects. There is now consistent evidence that a sperm containing fragmented DNA can be alive, motile, morphologically normal and able to fertilize an oocyte. There is also evidence that the oocyte is able to repair DNA damage; however, the extent of this repair depends on the type of DNA damage present in the sperm, as well as on the quality of the oocyte. Thus, it is important to understand the possible consequences of sperm DNA fragmentation （SDF） for embryo development, implantation, pregnancy outcome and the health of progeny conceived, both naturally and by assisted reproductive technology （ART）. At present, data on the consequences of SDF for reproduction are scarce and, in many ways, inconsistent. The differences in study conclusions might result from the different methods used to detect SDF, the study design and the inclusion criteria. Consequently, it is difficult to decide whether SDF testing should be carried out in fertility assessment and ART. It is clear that there is an urgent need for the standardisation of the methods and for additional clinical studies on the impact of SDF on ART outcomes.
