Endometrial injury in the cycle preceding the stimulation cycle improved implantation and pregnancy rates during ICSI. CLINICALTRIALS.GOV: NCT02660125.

We evaluated the prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) in a cross-sectional community-based random sample of Egyptian men. ED was correlated with the socioeconomic status, risk factors and quality of life. Married men in Ismailia province were interviewed at home. Data were processed for 805 men with mean age of 43.58 y (s.d. 11.03). There is a fair correlation between ED and increasing age (Po0.001). Males with complete ED comprised 13.2% of the sample, 26% of men in their 50s, 49% of men in their 60s and 52% of those 70 y or older. The state of better erection correlated fairly with sexual desire and sexual satisfaction (Po0.01). ED was associated with living in rural areas and lower socioeconomic level (Po0.01), with smoking, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, liver disease, arthritis, peptic ulcer and renal disease (Po0.05). ED was negatively associated with good quality of life (Po0.001). These results indicate that ED is a common problem among married Egyptian men.

Seminal cytokines were previously reported to adversely affect process of spermatogenesis and ultimately induce poor semen quality. However, association between both IL-6 and TNF-α and leukocytospermia was not yet settled. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between leukocytospermia and levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in semen of infertile men. This cross-sectional study included 100 age-matched (≥18-45 years.) men. Participants were divided into four groups with 25 patients in each group: Group (A) - infertile patients with leukocytospermia and normal other semen parameters; Group (B) - infertile patients with leukocytospermia and abnormal semen parameters; Group (C) - infertile patients with oligospermia and/or asthenospermia and/or teratospermia but with no leukocytospermia; Group (D) - fertile patients with normal semen parameters and without leukocytospermia. All patients were assessed by detailed medical, sexual, fertility history, and complete physical examination. Laboratory assessment included hormonal and semen analysis and assessment of IL-6 and TNF-α in semen plasma. There were significant differences among the study groups regarding total sperm count, sperm concentration, and progressive motility (p < 0.05 for each). There was significant increase in semen WBC counts in groups A and B vs. groups C and D (p = 0.003). There were significant associations between increase levels of WBCs ≥ 5/HPF and decrease levels of total sperm count (p = 0.023), sperm concentration (p = 0.001), and sperm progressive motility (p = 0.02). There were significant upregulations in mean level of IL-6 (p = 0.001) and mean level of TNF-α (p = 0.003) in groups A and B vs. groups C and D. Overall, leukocytospermia is associated with reduction in sperm count, progressive motility and further upregulation of seminal IL-6 and TNF-α. The effect of treatment of leukocytospermia on the level of seminal cytokines is important point of future research.

Intracavernous injection of Trimix (Tx) is indicated for patients unsuitable for prostaglandin E 1 (PgE 1 ) injection due to lack of response, pain or cost. We believe that the ideal ratio of ingredient doses in Tx is yet to be found. We postulated that increasing the doses of individual drug components in an orderly manner would convey important data on penile hemodynamic response. Such information is needed to choose an effective and less costly alternative to PgE 1 with least side effects. We set out to evaluate the impact of varying the ingredient dosage on response and shortterm safety of Tx compared with PgE 1 . We prospectively randomized 180 consecutive patients with erectile dysfunction into nine equal groups and each group received a different dose of Tx, namely phentolamine (1 mg) plus one dose of PgE 1 (2.5, 5 or 10 lg) and one dose of papaverine (5, 10 or 20 mg). Each patient was injected with 20 lg PgE 1 and one dose of Tx in two clinic visits 1 week apart. Following injection, duplex ultrasound of cavernous arteries and axial rigidometry were carried out. Patients ranked the quality of erection, estimated overall satisfaction and reported time to detumescence and side effects. Patients' mean age was 50.5711.7 y with underlying organic condition in 91.1%. There were no significant differences between PgE 1 and Tx with regard to peak cavernous artery flow, time to erection, patients' satisfaction, average axial rigidity and pain. PgE 1 produced higher end diastolic velocity, shorter duration of erection and less priapism. Patients did not show a preference for either drug or any particular dosage. We conclude that even at the smallest dose of ingredients of Tx, there are no significant differences in hemodynamic effects, rigidity, pain and self-satisfaction between the two drugs. However, Tx produces a longer duration of erection and more priapism than PgE 1 .

Patterns in labor progress, including cervical dilatation rate and labor duration, differed among patients with different BMI. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02686073.

Objective To assess the effects of body mass index (BMI) on the outcome of IVF cycles among poor responders. Methods A prospective cohort study in Egypt enrolled 185 poor responders who underwent intracytoplasmic sperm injection via an antagonist protocol between 2012 and 2017. Participants were classified into three groups by BMI (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters): 18.5–24.9 (normal, n=48); 25–29.9 (overweight, n=54); 30 or higher (obese, n=83). Outcomes were clinical pregnancy rate, implantation rate, chemical pregnancy rate, gonadotropin dose, number of oocytes and embryos, and cancellation rate. Results There was no significant difference among the three groups in gonadotropin dose; duration of stimulation; endometrial thickness on trigger day; number of oocytes retrieved, injected, or fertilized; number of embryos, transferred embryos, or frozen embryos; or day of embryo transfer. Frequency of implantation (11/81 [14%] vs 6/96 [6%] or 5/155 [3%]), chemical pregnancy (20 [42%] vs 14 [30%] or 12 [14%]) and clinical pregnancy (15 [31%] vs 12 [22%] and 9 [11%]) was significantly higher for normal than for overweight or obese women, respectively. Conclusion Implantation, chemical pregnancy, and clinical pregnancy rates were inversely related to increasing BMI. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03457233

Prolonged GnRH agonist downregulation improves the pregnancy rates in patients with small endometriomas undergoing ICSI.

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