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Background and Objectives: Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is the embryonic hormone and one of the most important factors for implantation. The present study aimed to evaluate effect of intra-uterine injection of hCG before embryo transfer on the pregnancy outcome in IVF.Methods: In this study, 180 infertile patients were randomly allocated into an experiment and a control group. In the experiment group, before embryo transfer, 500 IU hCG were injected into the endometrium cavity in puncture stage. Equal amount of phosphate buffer (placebo) was injected to the subjects in the control group. Pregnancy test was done two weeks after the intervention. In case of positive results, ultrasound scan was done for detecting the gestational sac and numbers of sacs.Results: Mean age of the patients was 30±3.41 years and 31±4.12 years in the experimental and control group, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the duration of infertility between the two groups (4.77±3.67 years vs. 4.87±3.74 years). Based on the hCG level, the pregnancy rate was 35.5% in both groups. However, based on ultrasound findings, the pregnancy rate was 35.5% and 28.8% in the experiment group and the control group, respectively (P=0.33). In addition, there was no significant difference in the pregnancy rates between different age groups. Conclusion:Our results indicate that the intra-uterine injection of β-hCG has no significant effect on the pregnancy rate in IVF.

Introduction: Toxoplasmosis is a widely prevalent zoonotic disease, caused by T. gondii. Chickens, consumed widely in many countries, are considered as one of the most important hosts in the epidemiology of T. gondii infection because they could be a main source of infection for both cats and humans. There was no information regarding T. gondii infection in chickens in this area, therefore, this investigation carried out to determine the prevalence of T. gondii infections in poultry in Hamadan. Methods: A total of 203 birds including free-ranged, caged chickens and 2 turkeys were studied. The poultries' sera tested by indirect hemagglutination test (IHA) for T. gondii antibody. The birds' brain tissue used for testing for T. gondii tissue cyst. Brain of each bird grinded and suspension were made by normal saline and inoculated to peritoneal cavity of five mice. Peritoneal aspirate examined for tachyzoites after 5-10 days. Data regarding kind of bird, age, gender and raising type were recorded and analyzed. Results: Tissue cyst of T. gondii was detected by bioassay in the brain of 3 out of the 203 samples (one FR and one caged) by peritoneal inoculation (1%). Seropositivity for T. gondii antibody was 6.1% (12.196). Positive cases were 6 FR hens, 1 caged chicken and 5 roosters. No positive case found in the turkeys. Conclusion: This study indicates that, both FR and caged chickens may have similar risk of infection to T. gondii and can transmit the parasite to humans.