Scientific Publication

Volume 18, No 1 January 2009

Natural cycle IVF and oocyte in-vitro maturation in polycystic ovary syndrome: a collaborative prospective study

1. M Benkhalifa1, 2. A Demirol, 1-6. YJR Ménézo, 3. E Balashova, 4. AK Abduljalil, 4. Dr S Abbas, 5. I Giakoumakis, 2. T Gurgan

1. ATL R&D Laboratory, 78320 France & UNILABS Laboratories, Geneva, Switzerland
2. Women Health Clinic, IVF & Genetics, Ankara, Turkey
3. IVF Dept, National Institute of Surgery, Moscow, Russia
4. Dr Samir Abbas Medical Centre, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
5. Mediteranean Fertility Centre & Genetics Services, Chania, Crete, Greece
6. Correspondence: ATL R&D, Reproductive Biology & Genetics Laboratory, 4 Rue Louis Lormand, 78320 La Verriere, France

In-vitro maturation (IVM) was performed in 350 cycles for 262 unstimulated patients diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome who were primed with human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) before oocyte retrieval. In order to improve nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation, growth hormone was added to the maturation medium. Oocytes were recovered in 94.8% of the cycles, with a mean number of nine cumulus–oocyte–complexes retrieved. Within 28 h, 62% of the oocytes reached the metaphase II (MII) stage, and 17.6% were MII after a further 20 h in culture. An ongoing pregnancy rate of 15.2% was obtained, but with a high miscarriage rate, 28% of the total with a positive HCG test assessed after embryo transfer. Cytogenetic and DNA fragmentation analysis of the embryos was not fundamentally different from what is classically observed in routine IVF. This observation implies that the results are not necessarily due to compromised oocyte quality after IVM, and that endometrial receptivity should also be considered, especially in IVM cycles where the follicular phase is dramatically shortened.

Reproductive BioMedicine Online 2008 http://www.rbmonline.com/Article/3465 [e-pub ahead of print on 14 November 2008]

Reproductive BioMedicine Online 2009 Vol. 18 No.1. 29–36