Vitrification has detrimental effects on maturation, viability, and subcellular quality of oocytes post IVM in cancerous women: An experimental study

Background: In vitro maturation (IVM) of immature oocytes retrieved from ovarian tissue has been considered as a valuable approach for fertility preservation in cancerous patients.Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of vitrification on oocyte maturation, survival rates, as well as the subcellular oocyte quality post IVM.Materials and Methods: The ovarian cortexes from 19 women with cervix and uterine malignancy aged 21–39 yr were collected. Cumulus-oocyte complexes were aspirated from all visible antral follicles. 102 immature oocytes were collected, and 43 oocytes were detected appropriately for IVM (control group). Also, 59 immature oocytes were vitrified, then matured in vitro (IVM) in two groups: with Growth/differentiation factor9 (GDF9) (group 1) and without GDF9 (group 2) supplementation. Rates of oocytes viability, maturation, and survival along with meiotic spindle visualization and zona pellucida birefringence were assessed with Polyscope.Results: The rate of maturation was significantly higher in controls (55.8%) compared to the other groups. Maturation rate was 23.3% in oocytes cultured in IVM medium enriched with GDF9, and 27.6% in those cultured in IVM medium lacking GDF9 (p= 0.86). Also, the meiotic spindle was present in 74.4% of control oocytes whichwas significantly higher than the other groups. The proportion of high zona pellucida birefringence was higher in the controls when compared with group 1 (51.2% vs. 23.3%, respectively, p = 0.04).Conclusion: Vitrification had a detrimental effect on oocyte maturation, viability as well as the subcellular quality of the oocytes after IVM in cancerous women

Synthesis of alkyl thiocyanates from alcohols using a polymer-supported thiocyanate ion promoted by cyanuric chloride/dimethylformamide

<div><p>A convenient procedure for one-pot conversion of alcohols into the corresponding alkyl thiocyanates in the presence of cross-linked poly (N-propyl-4-vinylpyridinium) thiocyanate ion [P4-VP]Pr-SCN, promoted by cyanuric chloride/dimethylformamide, is described. Various alcohols were converted to their corresponding alkyl thiocyanates and it was observed that substituted benzyl alcohol with electron-withdrawing or electron-donating groups were transformed into the corresponding benzyl thiocyanate derivatives in high to excellent yields in a short reaction time but, sterically hindered alcohols produced the corresponding thiocyanates in very low yields.</p></div

Honey with Coffee: A new finding in the treatment of Persistent Postinfectious Cough

Introduction: Persistent postinfectious cough (PPC) is a cough that persists longer than 3 weeks or perhaps for many months after a common cold or an upper respiratory tract infection (URTI). PPC has poor response to routine treatment modalities, so it can be a vexing problem for the patient and the physician alike. Our hypothesis was that honey and/or coffee have some beneficial effects in the treatment of PPC. The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic effects of coffee and/or honey in the treatment of patients with PPC. Materials and Methods: This was a double blind randomized clinical trial, conducted on adult patients during a 6-year period from 2003 to 2009. Included in this study were 84 adult participants that had experienced PPC longer than 3 weeks. All of them had the history of several referrals to different physicians and despite treatment, their cough had persisted. Patients with other causes of chronic cough, or systemic disease or with abnormal routine laboratory tests were excluded. All the included 84 participants were distributed into three groups. For all the participants, a jam-like paste was prepared. Each 600 grams of the product consisted of "70 grams original instant coffee" in the first regimen, "500 grams of honey" in the second regimen and "70 grams of instant coffee plus 500 grams of honey" in the third regimen. These participants were told to dissolve 25 grams of the prescribed product in about 200 CC of warm water (under 60o C), and drink this solution every 8 hours for one week. All the participants were evaluated before and at the end of the first week of their treatment, to measure the frequency of their cough. In addition they were under observation for the first month. Results: Comparing the effectiveness of all three treatment regimens, this study found "honey with coffee" as the most effective treatment modality for PPC (

Honey with Coffee: A new finding in the treatment of Persistent Postinfectious Cough

Introduction: Persistent postinfectious cough (PPC) is a cough that persists longer than 3 weeks or perhaps for many months after a common cold or an upper respiratory tract infection (URTI). PPC has poor response to routine treatment modalities, so it can be a vexing problem for the patient and the physician alike. Our hypothesis was that honey and/or coffee have some beneficial effects in the treatment of PPC. The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic effects of coffee and/or honey in the treatment of patients with PPC. Materials and Methods: This was a double blind randomized clinical trial, conducted on adult patients during a 6-year period from 2003 to 2009. Included in this study were 84 adult participants that had experienced PPC longer than 3 weeks. All of them had the history of several referrals to different physicians and despite treatment, their cough had persisted. Patients with other causes of chronic cough, or systemic disease or with abnormal routine laboratory tests were excluded. All the included 84 participants were distributed into three groups. For all the participants, a jam-like paste was prepared. Each 600 grams of the product consisted of "70 grams original instant coffee" in the first regimen, "500 grams of honey" in the second regimen and "70 grams of instant coffee plus 500 grams of honey" in the third regimen. These participants were told to dissolve 25 grams of the prescribed product in about 200 CC of warm water (under 60o C), and drink this solution every 8 hours for one week. All the participants were evaluated before and at the end of the first week of their treatment, to measure the frequency of their cough. In addition they were under observation for the first month. Results: Comparing the effectiveness of all three treatment regimens, this study found "honey with coffee" as the most effective treatment modality for PPC (

Developmental competence of immature oocytes aspirated from antral follicles in patients with gynecological diseases

Background: In vitro maturation (IVM) of immature oocytes collected from ovary has been proposed for fertility preservation. In addition, quality of oocytes post IVM is one of the factors determining its developmental competence. By using the non-invasive Polscope system, both meiotic spindle (MS) and zona pellucida (ZP) can be assessed in living oocytes. Objective: The aim was to investigate the developmental potential of immature oocytes retrieved from ovarian tissue after IVM, as a method for fertility preservation, in patients with gynecological diseases. Materials and Methods: The ovarian cortex from 26 patients with malignant and benign diseases (21-45 years old), were obtained directly from collaborating hospitals, and transported to the IVF center on ice. In total 61 immature oocytes were aspirated, of which 18 (29.5%) were degenerated and discarded. The remaining 43 (70.5%) healthy oocytes were cultured in IVM culture media for 48 hr. The rate of maturity was assessed, and the ZP birefringence and MS were imaged with Polscope technology. Results: Overall 43 immature oocytes underwent IVM technology, of which 30.2% reached viable metaphase II (MII) oocytes. The ovarian tissues of 9 (34.6%) women were lacking oocytes at any stage. During polarized light microscopy examination, MS could be visualized only in one of the MII oocytes, but high ZP birefringence’s were observed in the majority of the oocytes post IVM (61.5%). Conclusion: Oocytes maturation post IVM from unstimulated ovaries showed a good developmental competence in gynecologic patients. Further studies should be performed to advance the oocyte maturation program, such as co-culture system, for fertility preservation

"Persistent post-infectious cough" is better treated by which one? Prednisolone, Honey, Coffee, or Honey plus coffee: A meta-analysis

453-460Cough is a common symptom of upper respiratory tract infection. One of the causes of chronic cough is persistent post-infectious cough (PPC). PPC is a cough that persists longer than three weeks after a "common cold". PPC has poor response to routine treatments. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the therapeutic effects of prednisolone, coffee, honey, and "honey plus coffee" in the treatment of PPC. This was a Meta-analysis of three double blind randomized clinical trials conducted on 245 adult participants presenting PPC during an eight-year period from 2005 to 2013. The included participants were assigned into five groups. For each group a special jam-like paste was prepared. Every participant was told to dissolve 25 grams of his/her prescribed product in 200 mL of warm water and drink it every eight hours for one week. All the participants were evaluated before the treatment and two weeks later, to measure the severity of their cough. Comparing the effectiveness of all five regimens, this study found "honey with coffee" as the most effective treatment modality for PPC. Honey plus coffee can successfully treat PPC at a short time. So, it is recommended. </span