In assisted reproductive techniques, the operator attempts to select morphologically best embryos to predict embryo viability. Development of polarized light microscope, which evaluates the oocytes' spindles according to birefringence of living cells, had been helpful in oocyte selection. The aim of this study is evaluating the relationship between meiotic spindles visualization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outcomes in human oocytes. In this study, 264 oocytes from 24 patients with an average age of 30.5±7.5 years with infertility duration of 1 to 10 years were collected. The oocytes were randomly allocated to the control injection group (n=126) and the oocyte imaging group (spindle-aligned group) (n=138). In the spindle-aligned group, the meiotic spindle was identified by means of polarized light microscope to align the spindle at 6 or 12 o'clock. Then the spindle-aligned group was divided into three sub-groups based on spindle morphology: fine, average, and (poor). After ICSI, embryos were checked every 24 hours and scored; 72 hours later, high-grade embryos were transferred intravaginally to uterus. This study showed that the fertilization rate in the spindle-aligned group was higher than the control group (P<0.05). After cleavage, a positive correlation was observed between spindle morphology and embryo morphology. Among the sub-groups of spindle-aligned group, the embryos' morphology of the fine group was better than the other subgroups and embryos of the poor group had lower quality and more fragmentation. The results revealed that the selection of oocytes based on meiotic spindle imaging can significantly improve the rate of fertilization and embryo cleavage and certainly increase the rate of implantation.
Birefringence ; Embryonic Structures ; Fertilization ; Humans* ; Infertility ; Microscopy, Polarization ; Oocytes* ; Reproductive Techniques, Assisted ; Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic* ; Spindle Apparatus* ; Uterus

We aimed to investigating the effects of metformin (MET) in combination with alpha lipoic acid (ALA) on hormonal and biochemical parameters, in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) women undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). This experimental pilot study with a randomized design was carried out on 40 PCOS women in two groups:(1) MET group, administered 1,500 mg/day MET, and (2) MET (1,500 mg/day)+ALA (1,800 mg/day) group. Drugs were administered from the third day of the previous cycle until the day of oocyte aspiration (six weeks of treatment in total). MET+ALA significantly increased the number of maturated oocytes and the rate of fertilization when compared to the MET group. Combination MET+ALA could increase significantly the number of oocytes retrieval and the number of good-quality embryos. Also, the malondialdehyde (MDA) level decreased significantly in the MET+ALA group and the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) level increased significantly in the MET+ALA group compared to the MET group. Also, fasting blood sugar (FBS), insulin, luteinizing hormone (LH), and LH/follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) levels were significantly lower in the MET+ALA group. The pregnancy outcomes showed no significant difference in the rates of biochemical pregnancy, clinical pregnancy, miscarriage, and live births between the control and study groups. The combination of MET+ALA treatment could moderate the complications of PCOS and subsequently improve oocyte and embryo quality.