Office microlaparoscopic intrafallopian transfer of day one zygote versus day three embryo transfer after previous failed ICSI trials

The objective of the study was to investigate whether transferring zygotes on day 1 would result in similar pregnancy rates compared to transferring cleavage stage embryos on day 3 in a prospective randomized trial, using the office microlaparoscopic procedure. Patients undergoing IVF/ICSI treatments were randomized to either day 1 or day 3 transfers after previous failed ICSI trials due to failed implantation. The primary outcome measure was pregnancy rate. Pregnancy rates were higher in day 3 group (55/131, 42%)when compared to day 1 (34/123, 28%, P = 0.024). Similarly, implantation rates were higher in day 3 group (P= 0.03). There were more cycles with cryopreservation in the day 1 group (P < 0.001). Embryo quality on day 3 was similar between pattern 0 and nonpattern 0 zygotes. Day 3 embryo transfers result in better pregnancy and implantation rates compared to day 1 zygote transfers

The relationship between antisperm antibodies prevalence and genital Chlamydia trachomatis infection in women with unexplained infertility

Chlamydia trachomatis infection is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases. Sperm-associated antibody could impair fertility through various mechanisms; both factors could be correlated to affect the fertility status of women. Design: A retrospective case-control study was performed enrolling ninety (n=90) patients with primary or secondary infertility as the case group, in addition to another eighty (n=80) healthy women attending the family planning clinic to investigate the correlation between C. trachomatis past and current infections and antisperm antibodies (ASA) in women with unexplained infertility. Results: The PCR prevalence of C. trachomatis didn't differ significantly among both groups (2.4 versus 1.6%, P value=0.66). In contrast, significantly higher prevalence of anti- C. trachomatis specific IgG (39% versus 19%, P value=0.87) antibodies were found among infertile women. ASA prevalence was significantly higher in infertile group ( 20 % versus 5%, P=0.04 ). The final study results have failed to find a positive correlation between current or past C. trachomatis infection and the level of antisperm antibodies level in women suffering of unexplained infertility. Conclusion: Anti-sperm antibodies were significantly higher in infertile women, but without a significant difference between the incidences of ASA in infertile women with past or current C. trachomatis current infection.L'infection de chlamydia trachomatis est une des maladies sexuellement transmissibles les plus communes et l'anticorps li&eacute; au sperme peut abimer la fertilit&eacute; &agrave; travers divers m&eacute;canismes. Les deux facteurs peuvent &ecirc;tre corr&eacute;l&eacute;s pour affecter l'&eacute;tat de fertilit&eacute; des femmes. Une &eacute;tude r&eacute;trospective bas&eacute;e sur l'&eacute;tude de cas a &eacute;t&eacute; men&eacute;e aupr&egrave;s des quatre-vingt &ndash;dix (n=90) patientes atteintes de la st&eacute;rilit&eacute; primaire et secondaire comme constituant le groupe de cas, y compris quatre-vingts (n=80) d'autres femmes en bonne sant&eacute; qui fr&eacute;quentaient la clinique de planification familiale afin d'&eacute;tudier la corr&eacute;lation entre l'ancien C. trachomatis et les infections actuelles et les anticorps antisperme (AAS) chez les femmes atteintes de la st&eacute;rilit&eacute; inexplicable. La pr&eacute;valence de PCR par rapport &agrave; C. trachomatis n'a pas indiqu&eacute; des diff&eacute;rences remarquables parmi les deux groupes (2,4 contre 1,6%, Valeur de P= 0,06). Par contre, on a d&eacute;couvert des diff&eacute;rences tr&egrave;s remarquables par rapport aux anti-C . trachomatis de la sp&eacute;cificit&eacute; 1gG (39% par opposition &agrave; 19%, valeur de P= 0,87) ont &eacute;t&eacute; trouv&eacute; chez les femmes st&eacute;riles (20% par opposition &agrave; 5% P=0,04). Les r&eacute;sultats d&eacute;finitifs de l'&eacute;tude n'a pas r&eacute;ussi &agrave; montrer une corr&eacute;lation positive entre l'infection de C. trachomatis et le niveau d'anticorps d'antisperme chez les femmes st&eacute;riles, mais sans une diff&eacute;rence remarquable entre les incidences d'AAS chez les femmes st&eacute;riles de C. trachomatis pass&eacute; ou actuel.Key words: Antisperm-antibodies (ASA); Anti-C. trachomatis antibodies (ACTA); un-explained infertility; pelvic inflammatory diseases (PID)

Non-angiogenic tumours and their influence on cancer biology

Solid tumours need a blood supply, and a large body of evidence has previously suggested that they can grow only if they induce the development of new blood vessels, a process known as tumour angiogenesis. On the basis of this hypothesis, it was proposed that anti-angiogenic drugs should be able to suppress the growth of all solid tumours. However, clinical experience with anti-angiogenic agents has shown that this is not always the case. Reports of tumours growing without the formation of new vessels can be found in the literature dating back to the 1800s, yet no formal recognition, description and demonstration of their special biological status was made until recently. In 1996, we formally recognized and described non-angiogenic tumours in lungs where the only blood vessels present were those originating from normal lung tissue. This is far from an isolated scenario, as non-angiogenic tumour growth has now been observed in tumours of many different organs in both humans and preclinical animal models. In this Opinion article, we summarize how these tumours were discovered and discuss what we know so far about their biology and the potential implications of this knowledge for cancer treatment