Many risk factors can potentially influence sperm quality. Telomeres confer stability on the chromosome and their dysfunction has been implicated in conditions such as cancer, aging, and lifestyle. The impact of lifestyle on sperm cell telomeres is unclear. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the impact of lifestyle behaviors on telomere length in sperm and to follow the correlation with pregnancy outcomes in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). In this prospective observational study, sperm was analyzed for telomere length (TL). Men were asked to report lifestyle behaviors including occupation (physical or sedentary), smoking duration and amount, physical activity, dietary habits, and where they keep their cellular phone (bag, pants, or shirt pocket). Correlations among semen analysis, TL, men’s habits, and embryo quality and pregnancy outcomes were evaluated. Among 34 patients recruited, 12 had longer TL and 13 shorter TL. Sperm motility was negatively correlated with TL (Pearson correlation = −.588, p = .002). Smoking adversely affected native sperm motility (53% motility in nonsmokers vs. 37% in smokers; p = .006). However, there was no significant impact on TL. The group with longer telomeres demonstrated significant association with healthy diet (10/12 vs. 6/13; p = .05) and a trend toward more sports activity, weekly (16/84 vs. 7/91; p = .04) compared with the shorter telomeres group. This study suggests that lifestyle, healthy diet, and sports activity are associated with long telomeres in sperm. Sperm quality is also influenced by patients’ habits. The study strongly recommends maintaining a healthy lifestyle to preserve general health and fertility.
Pregestational genetic testing of embryos is the conventional tool in detecting genetic disorders (fetal aneuploidy and monogenic disorders) for in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures. The accepted clinical practice for genetic testing still depends on biopsy, which has the potential to harm the embryo. Noninvasive genetic prenatal testing has not yet been achieved. In this study, embryos with common genetic disorders created through IVF were tested with an artificially intelligent nanosensor array. Volatile organic compounds emitted by the culture fluid of embryos were analyzed with chemical gas sensors. The obtained results showed significant discrimination between the embryos with different genetic diseases and their wild-types. Embryos were obtained from the same clinical center for avoiding differences based on clinical and demographical characteristics. The achieved discrimination accuracy was 81% for PKD disease, 90% for FRAX disease, 85% for HOCM disease, 90% for BRCA disease, and 100% for HSCR disease. These proof-of-concept findings might launch the development of a noninvasive approach for early assessment of embryos by examining the culture fluid of the embryos, potentially enabling noninvasive diagnosis and screening of genetic diseases for IVF.
Background Impaired paternal genome expression may cause poor embryonic development after in vitro fertilization (IVF). Objective To evaluate the expression of male infertility on embryo morphokinetics using a time‐lapse incubator and its impact on IVF cycles. Materials and methods This retrospective cohort study followed patients from January 2017 to August 2019. Patients were divided according to the cause of infertility to male factor (study group) and unexplained infertility (control group) and further subdivided according to the severity of male infertility. Results A cohort of 462 patients who underwent IVF cycles, with a total of 3,252 embryos was evaluated. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) was conducted more often in the study group compared to the control group (94% vs. 47%, p < 0.0001) and more embryos were discarded (47% vs. 43%, p = 0.016). Treatment outcomes were comparable in both groups regardless of the severity of male infertility. T3–T5 had a significant impact on embryo quality and more transfer and freeze compared to discard. Maternal age, number of aspirated oocytes, BMI, protocol used, and faster time to T3, T6 were significant in increasing chances of achieving pregnancy. Conclusion The paternal genome may have an earlier impact on embryo development than previously surmised and may also account for faster morphokinetics. Faster embryo cleavage in male infertility IVF‐ICSI cycles may contribute to outcomes comparable to other causes of infertility, in terms of embryo quality and clinical pregnancy rate, despite lower sperm quality, even in cases of severe Oligo‐terato‐Astheno spermia (OTA).
This study evaluated β-hCG changes during the early period of pregnancy in an attempt to predict successful pregnancy outcomes in ART. It determined the median values of the β-hCG and the 2-day β-hCG increments of clinical vs. biochemical pregnancies. The results of fresh day 3 embryo, frozen day 3 embryo and frozen day 5 embryo transfers were evaluated. The cutoff values of β-hCG and the 2-day increments predicting clinical pregnancy and delivery were determined. All women who underwent embryo transfer and had a singleton pregnancy from January 2017–December 2019 were included. As expected, clinical pregnancies had higher initial median β-hCG values compared to biochemical pregnancies (fresh day 3 (400 vs. 73 mIU/ml), frozen day 3 (600 vs. 268.5 mIU/ml) and frozen day 5 (937 vs. 317 mIU/ml). Nonetheless, the abortion rate was significantly lower in the group with β-hCG above the cutoff values in fresh (141 mIU/ml), and frozen (354.5 mIU/ml) cleavage stage transfers (17.2% vs. 44%, P<0.001 and 18.5% vs. 38%, P=0.003, respectively). Blastocyst transfers resulted in higher median initial β-hCG compared to cleavage embryo transfers (937 vs. 600 mIU/ml), and the initial β-hCG values from frozen cleavage embryos were higher compared to fresh cleavage embryos (600 vs. 400 mIU/ml). Earlier implantation in frozen cycles may be caused by freezing-thawing procedures. Moreover, in fresh cycles, negative effects of the hormonal milieu of fresh cycles may delay implantation. Results indicate that high initial β-hCG and high 2-day β-hCG increments demonstrated better outcomes, including more clinical pregnancies and fewer abortions.
Current methods for embryo selection are limited. This study assessed a novel method for the prediction of embryo developmental potential based on the analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by embryo samples. The study included mice embryos monitored during the pre-implantation period. Four developmental stages of the embryos were tested, covering the period from 1 to 4 days after fecundation. In each stage, the VOCs released by the embryos were collected and examined by employing two different volatolomic techniques, gaschromatography coupled to mass-spectrometry (GC−MS) and a nanoarray of chemical gas sensors. The GC−MS study revealed that the VOC patterns emanating from embryo samples had statistically different values at different stages of embryo development. The sensor nanoarray was capable of classifying the developmental stages of the embryos. The proposed volatolomics analysis approach for embryos presents a promising potential for predicting their developmental stage. In combination with conventional morphokinetic parameters, it could be effective as a predictive model for detecting metabolic shifts that affect embryo quality before preimplantation.
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