简介：AbstractThe source of human oocytes is directly associated with the success of infertility treatment and fertility preservation. The number of oocytes obtained is possibly correlated with the success rate in terms of live birth rates. However, oocyte quality must be refined such that the number of oocytes is not positively correlated with the quality of oocytes. Different ovarian stimulation protocols can be used to obtain numerous oocytes. However, oocyte quality should be considered the most important factor affecting infertility treatment and fertility preservation. Infertile women are generally willing to take health-related risks to achieve a live birth, and ovarian stimulation using high-dose hormonal treatments may be harmful for both women and infants. Therefore, successful infertility treatment and fertility preservation should be defined as the birth of a healthy baby at term without compromising the health and safety of the mother and infant. Therefore, the source of high-quality oocytes must be carefully considered prior to infertility treatment and fertility preservation.

简介：AbstractGamete production is essential for mammalian reproduction. In the ovaries, the primordial follicle, which is the basic reproductive unit, is formed either perinatally or during the second pregnancy stage in humans. However, some oocytes die before the establishment of the primordial follicle pool. Consequently, it is essential to uncover how the size of the primordial follicle pool is determined and how the programmed cell death of oocytes is performed under potential surveillance. According to recent studies, the fate of oocytes in the fetal ovary seems to be determined by different protective strategies through the timely control of apoptosis or autophagy. In this review, we discuss at least three oocyte-derived protective biomarkers, glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta, X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis, and Lysine-specific demethylase 1 (also known as KDM1A), responsible for surveilling the developmental quality of fetal oocytes to coordinate primordial follicle formation in the fetal ovary. This review contributes to a better understanding of the secrets of the female reproductive reserve under physiological conditions.

简介：AbstractObjective:There are few reports of live births from heterotopic transplantation of frozen-thawed ovarian tissue. The purpose of this study is to assess the follicular development in the frozen-thawed ovarian tissues following heterotopic transplantation in both female and male bodies.Methods:Cluster of differentiation 1 (CD1) mice (6-8 weeks) were used in this study as ovarian tissue donors and foster mothers for embryo transfer. Sperm from CD1 male mice were used for insemination by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Nude severe combined immunodeficiency mice (8 weeks) were employed as recipients of ovarian tissue transplantation. The frozen-thawed ovarian tissues were transplanted to 4 sites on each mouse, female and male, subcutaneously. After 3 months, both female and male mice were injected with 5.0 IU gonadotropins intraperitoneally. Post 48 hours of injection, the mouse was killed for ovarian transplant collection. Only fully grown oocytes with contacted cumulus cells (cumulus-oocyte complexes) were then selected for maturation in vitro. In vitro matured oocytes were inseminated with fresh sperm by ICSI, and the developed blastocysts were frozen using the vitrification method and stored until embryo transfer. After thawing, the thawed blastocysts were incubated for at least 2 hours before the transfer. The foster mice mothers mated with vasectomised male 3 days previously. Live birth was monitored at 19 days after transfer, and the resulted offspring was raised for fertility test.Results:The relatively high recovery rates of the transplanted ovarian tissues were collected in both frozen-thawed and fresh ovarian tissue transplants from both female and male bodies. The fully grown immature oocytes became mature in vitro and the fertilized zygotes developed to blastocyst stage. There are no differences between frozen-thawed and fresh ovarian transplants in term of oocyte quality and embryo development to blastocyst rates. Nineteen-day post-transfer, 3 foster mothers from the frozen-thawed ovarian tissue transplant group delivered 13 pups and the 4 foster mothers of the fresh ovarian tissue transplant group delivered 12 live pups. The produced offspring were normal in appearance and grew healthy and fertile.Conclusions:Our results attest that the follicles can survive and develop in the frozen-thawed ovarian tissues following the subcutaneous transplant to adult male mouse’s body regardless of basal endocrinal environment. Those fully grown oocytes can produce healthy and fertile offspring which will provide the possibility for further mechanistic understanding of endocrinology of folliculogenesis.

简介：摘要PurposeTo evaluate the efficacy and safety of radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (rESWT) according to total number of pulses on hamstring muscle spasticity in children with spastic type cerebral palsy (CP)．MethodsThis study is a randomized controlled trial consisting of thirteen patients with spastic CP, 9 males and 4 females, aged 5 to 14 years (mean age 9.2). Twenty-five spastic hamstring muscles were divided in four groups. Group I: 500 pulses, Group II: 1，000 pulses, Group III: 1，500 pulses, and Group IV: 2，000 pulses. Australian Spasticity Assessment Scale (ASAS) was measured at four different time points (pre-ESWT, post-ESWT, 2 weeks post-ESWT, and 4 weeks post-ESWT)．ResultsAll four groups showed improvement in ASAS relative to pre-treatment, although only significant in Group III (1，500 pulses). There were no statistically significant differences in ASAS between all four groups in pre-ESWT [|2(2)＝3.907, P＝0.272], immediately post-ESWT [|2(2)＝1.250, P＝0.741], 2 weeks post-ESWT vs pre-ESWT [|2(2)＝3.367, P＝0.338], and 4 weeks post-ESWT vs pre-ESWT [|2(2)＝1.566, P＝0.667]．ConclusionThe effect of rESWT on spastic hamstring in children with spastic CP is not dependent on the number of pulses.