The efficacy of aromatase inhibitors incorporated in the ovarian stimulation protocols of poor-responder patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection-embryo transfer cycles was investigated. A total of 70 poor-responder patients were randomized into two groups on day 3 of their menstrual cycle. In Group A, an aromatase inhibitor (letrozole, 5 mg/day) was administered along with a fixed dosage (450 IU/day) of recombinant FSH (rFSH), whereas Group B were treated with the same rFSH dosage alone. A flexible regimen of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone antagonist was administered in both groups. The mean total dose of rFSH (2980 +/- 435 IU versus 3850 +/- 580 IU, P < 0.05) and serum concentrations of oestradiol on the day of human chorionic gonadotrophin administration (1870 +/- 159 pg/ml versus 2015 +/- 175 pg/ml, P < 0.05) were significantly lower in Group A compared with Group B, respectively. The rate of cycle cancellation due to poor ovarian response was lower in Group A (8.6%) than in Group B (28.6%), ( P < 0.05). The costs of achieving a clinical pregnancy were US$11560 and US$17584, and the clinical pregnancy rates per embryo transfer were 25.8% and 20%, in groups A and B, respectively. In conclusion, adjunctive letrozole administration seems to restore an IVF cycle by decreasing the rate of cycle cancellation and seems to reduce the cost by reducing the total gonadotrophin dosage.

Although acute ovarian damage was more in EBC group, ovarian reserve was compensated at 3rd month. Further studies with long-term follow-up will clarify the importance of these findings.

Cryopreservation of human oocytes and embryos is a necessary tool in assisted reproduction treatment that leads to an increased cumulative outcome while decreasing costs. Vitrification is a cryopreservation technique that leads to a glass-like solidification, with rapid cooling of cells or tissues. Nowadays vitrification is claimed to be the future of cryopreservation of human embryos due to improved survival rates and clinical outcomes. This study was conducted at a university clinic to assess the safety and efficiency of vitrification of human zygotes as a routine procedure. A total of 849 pronuclear-stage (PN) zygotes were vitrified between March 2004 and July 2006. During this period, 103 cycles of cryopreserved embryo transfer were completed. In total, 339 PN zygotes were thawed resulting in an 89% survival rate (302 PN zygotes). The mean number of embryos per transfer was 2.2. The pregnancy rate obtained was three times higher (36.9%) than that obtained with the slow-rate freezing method (10.2%) used previously in the same centre. In conclusion, vitrification of human zygotes at the pronuclear stage seems to be a successful and reliable method with favourable outcomes and can be recommended as a routine technique for cryopreservation of human embryos.

Sperm DNA contributes half the offspring's genomic material and abnormal DNA can lead to derangements in the reproductive process. Normal sperm genetic material is required for successful fertilization, as well as for further embryo and fetal development that will result in a healthy child. Thus, the damage to sperm DNA is critical in assisted reproductive techniques which are increasingly used to treat infertile couples. There has been improving data about the effects of human sperm DNA damage or fragmentation. As well, increasing knowledge concerning the effects of DNA damage on embryo and fetal development has been attained. This review aims to summarize the present knowledge on the impact of human sperm cell DNA damage on male infertility and outcome in the context of safety.

Cyproterone acetate containing OCs seem to be more effective to treat clinical hirsutism in patients with PCOS after 12 months of treatment.