Reconsidering Res Judicata: A Comparative Perspective

We aimed to prospectively investigate the paternal antigen-induced cytokine secretion by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in response to hormone treatment in women undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and to examine the predictive value of the cytokine secretion profile in the outcome of IVF treatment, in a pilot study. Twenty-five women were included and IVF treatment was successful for six and unsuccessful for 19 women. Blood samples were collected before IVF treatment, on four occasions during IVF and four weeks after embryo transfer. The numbers of Th1-, Th2- and Th17-associated cytokine-secreting cells and cytokine levels in cell supernatants were analysed by enzyme-linked immunospot-forming (ELISpot), enzyme-linked immune-sorbent (ELISA) or Luminex assay. None of the cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, IL-17, TNF and GM-CSF) had any predictive value regarding IVF outcome. The majority of the cytokines reached their peak levels at ovum pick-up, suggesting an enhancing influence of the hormonal stimulation. Pregnancy was associated with a high number of IL-4-, IL-5- and IL-13-secreting cells four weeks after ET. In conclusion, the results do not support our hypothesis of a more pronounced peripheral Th1 and Th17 deviation towards paternal antigens in infertile women with an unsuccessful IVF outcome, although this is based on a small number of observations. A larger study is required to confirm this conclusion. Higher numbers of Th2-associated cytokine-secreting cells in pregnant women four weeks after ET do corroborate the hypothesis of a Th2 deviation during pregnancy

Relationships in IVF couples 20 years after treatment

BACKGROUND: Involuntary childlessness is a psychological and social dilemma for at least one but usually both members of the childless couples and is thought to have a lifelong impact on many of these couples. Studies of the long-term effects are scarce and the participation rate in published studies is generally very low. We therefore intended to analyse relationships and family structure in couples 20-23 years after the women in these couples had received IVF treatment. METHODS: The data are drawn from answers from 788 individuals-81% of the individuals treated. ENRICH has been used to analyse the relationships in those couples who stated that they have remained a couple since their IVF treatment. In total, 412 men and women (206 couples) answered the ENRICH inventory. A total of 14 men and 137 women answered the ENRICH, without their spouse answering the inventory. RESULTS: We found that the majority of all couples show a stable relationship 20 years or more after the date of IVF treatment. However, the group of couples who remained childless (9.2% of the total study population) during the 20 years following the IVF treatment differ from the majority on the subscale Children and Parent measuring aspects on attitudes and feelings about having and raising children. Another difference seen in the couples that were childless was that men scored significantly higher on Conflict resolution and the couples had a higher average score on positive agreement on the issues on Communication indicating a skill in communication in the relationship and also an agreement that they are communicating well. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the majority of IVF couples (90.8%) who had been treated similar to 20 years prior to follow-up had added at least one biological or adopted child to the family during that time. The relationships in couples who had continued to stay together during that period were generally described as being good, whether the couples had become parents or not.This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Human Reproduction following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version: Gunilla Sydsjö, A. Skoog Svanberg, C. Lampic and Barbara Jablonowska, Relationships in IVF couples 20 years after treatment, 2011, Human Reproduction, (26), 7, 1836-1842. is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/humrep/der131 Copyright: Oxford University Press (OUP) http://www.oxfordjournals.org

Relationships in IVF couples 20 years after treatment

BACKGROUND: Involuntary childlessness is a psychological and social dilemma for at least one but usually both members of the childless couples and is thought to have a lifelong impact on many of these couples. Studies of the long-term effects are scarce and the participation rate in published studies is generally very low. We therefore intended to analyse relationships and family structure in couples 20-23 years after the women in these couples had received IVF treatment. METHODS: The data are drawn from answers from 788 individuals-81% of the individuals treated. ENRICH has been used to analyse the relationships in those couples who stated that they have remained a couple since their IVF treatment. In total, 412 men and women (206 couples) answered the ENRICH inventory. A total of 14 men and 137 women answered the ENRICH, without their spouse answering the inventory. RESULTS: We found that the majority of all couples show a stable relationship 20 years or more after the date of IVF treatment. However, the group of couples who remained childless (9.2% of the total study population) during the 20 years following the IVF treatment differ from the majority on the subscale Children and Parent measuring aspects on attitudes and feelings about having and raising children. Another difference seen in the couples that were childless was that men scored significantly higher on Conflict resolution and the couples had a higher average score on positive agreement on the issues on Communication indicating a skill in communication in the relationship and also an agreement that they are communicating well. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the majority of IVF couples (90.8%) who had been treated similar to 20 years prior to follow-up had added at least one biological or adopted child to the family during that time. The relationships in couples who had continued to stay together during that period were generally described as being good, whether the couples had become parents or not.This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Human Reproduction following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version: Gunilla Sydsjö, A. Skoog Svanberg, C. Lampic and Barbara Jablonowska, Relationships in IVF couples 20 years after treatment, 2011, Human Reproduction, (26), 7, 1836-1842. is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/humrep/der131 Copyright: Oxford University Press (OUP) http://www.oxfordjournals.org

Men report good mental health 20 to 23 years after in vitro fertilisation treatment

Background: Infertility and infertility treatment are known to have negative short-term psychological consequences for men and women, with more long-term consequences for women. The long-term wellbeing and mental health of men who have experienced in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment has not been extensively described in the literature. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyse the mental health of men 20 to 23 years after IVF treatment. Method: The Symptom Checklist 90 tool was used to assess the self-perceived mental health of men who were part of a couple that underwent IVF treatment at Linkoping University Hospital, Sweden, 20 to 23 years earlier. We enrolled 292 out of the 490 men who took part in the hospitals IVF programme from 1986 to 1989 and compared them to an aged-matched control group. In addition, the men who had remained childless were compared to those who had fathered biological children and those who had adopted children. Results: The overall mental health of the men who had received IVF was good. We found that 54 % of the men had fathered their own biological children, 21 % were childless and the remainder were part of a couple that had gone on to adopt. The childless men displayed more mental health problems than the other men in the study, as did men who were unemployed, single or divorced. Conclusion: This study carried out 20 to 23 years after IVF treatment showed that the majority of the men who took part were in good mental health. Those who remained childless faced an increased risk of negative psychological symptoms and men who were single showed more symptoms of depression and anxiety disorders.Funding Agencies|Medical Research Council of Southeast Sweden; Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare</p

Immunological status in patients undergoing in vitro fertilisation : responses to hormone treatment and relationship to outcome

We aimed to prospectively investigate the paternal antigen-induced cytokine secretion by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in response to hormone treatment in women undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and to examine the predictive value of the cytokine secretion profile in the outcome of IVF treatment, in a pilot study. Twenty-five women were included and IVF treatment was successful for six and unsuccessful for 19 women. Blood samples were collected before IVF treatment, on four occasions during IVF and four weeks after embryo transfer. The numbers of Th1-, Th2- and Th17-associated cytokine-secreting cells and cytokine levels in cell supernatants were analysed by enzyme-linked immunospot-forming (ELISpot), enzyme-linked immune-sorbent (ELISA) or Luminex assay. None of the cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, IL-17, TNF and GM-CSF) had any predictive value regarding IVF outcome. The majority of the cytokines reached their peak levels at ovum pick-up, suggesting an enhancing influence of the hormonal stimulation. Pregnancy was associated with a high number of IL-4-, IL-5- and IL-13-secreting cells four weeks after ET. In conclusion, the results do not support our hypothesis of a more pronounced peripheral Th1 and Th17 deviation towards paternal antigens in infertile women with an unsuccessful IVF outcome, although this is based on a small number of observations. A larger study is required to confirm this conclusion. Higher numbers of Th2-associated cytokine-secreting cells in pregnant women four weeks after ET do corroborate the hypothesis of a Th2 deviation during pregnancy

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Immunological status in patients undergoing i