In 26 patients with severe factor infertility (total spermatozoa per ejaculate 0.8-6.3 million) in vitro fertilisation was performed using a capillary tube culture system. Spermatozoa were concentrated and incubated with oocytes in a very small volume (10-20 microliters) within capillary tubes. In seven out of 26 patients (27%) at least one oocyte could be successfully fertilised (overall fertilisation rate 11.6%, 22/190 oocytes) and in two patients a pregnancy with the birth of a healthy child could be observed. If sperm progression was only of grade 2 or less no fertilisation could be observed in 10 patients with a total of 75 oocytes. The described capillary technique for in vitro fertilisation using very small volumes for sperm-oocyte culture may be useful in cases of severe oligozoospermia or before considering extreme therapies such as donor insemination of sperm microinjection.
Fertilization in Vitro ; instrumentation ; methods ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; etiology ; therapy ; Male ; Oligospermia ; complications

Water is an important component in liquid medical device products for human assisted reproductive technology. Water traits, conductivity, microbial limits, total organic carbon, easy oxides, heavy metal content, bacterial endotoxin and other indicators have an important impact on sperm, egg and embryo development in vitro, so for such products, the quality of water control is extremely important. The production water for producing such products is generally prepared by MilliQ purification system. In this research, we used four different types of water to fabricate the IVF liquids. It included deionized reverse osmosis water, ultra purified water and ultra purified water without endotoxin or nucleic acid, and compared with tap water. The in vitro rat embryo test system was used to study the embryotoxicity of this four different culture liquid production waters. From the result, the group of the super purified water without endotoxin and nucleic acid has the best result of the embryo formation rate, the number of total cell number and the inner cell number. This study proved the importance of removing endotoxin and nucleic acid from the water used for the preparation of the liquid products for assisted reproduction, and provided the basis for the selection of water quality for the liquid products for assisted reproduction.
Animals ; Embryonic Development ; Equipment Contamination ; Fertilization in Vitro/instrumentation* ; Humans ; Rats ; Reproductive Techniques, Assisted ; Research ; Technology ; Water

This study was performed to evaluate the efficiency of simplified EM grid vitrification, skipping the step of removing the cryoprotectant (5.5M EG + 1.0M sucrose) droplet on the grid after loading oocytes, compared to conventional cryopreservation protocols for mouse mature oocytes. Firstly, the recovery, survival, fertilization and hatching rates of simplified EM grid vitrification were compared with those of the slow freezing method using 1.5M DMSO. Then, conventional EM grid vitrification was compared with simplified EM grid vitrification. Simplified EM grid vitrification showed higher survival, fertilization and hatching rates than those of the slow freezing method (85.6% vs. 63.2%; 51.0% vs. 22.3%; 38.7% vs. 12.5%, p < 0.01, respectively). Moreover, simplified EM grid vitrification showed higher recovery, survival and fertilization rates than those of conventional EM grid vitrification (100% vs. 95.0%, p=0.024; 90.0% vs. 78.9%, p=0.033; 56.7% vs. 38.7%, p=0.021, respectively). Hatching rate tended to be higher for simplified EM grid vitrification compared to conventional EM grid vitrification (41.1% vs. 24.1%). In conclusion, simplified EM grid vitrification is a convenient and efficient method for cryopreservation of mouse mature oocytes, compared to conventional EM grid vitrification and slow freezing methods.
Pregnancy ; Oocytes/*cytology ; Mice, Inbred DBA ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice ; Male ; *Fertilization in Vitro ; Female ; Cryopreservation/*instrumentation/*methods ; Cell Survival ; Animals

OBJECTIVETo investigate the efficacy, convenience and costs of recombinant follitropin alpha administered by a prefilled pen device and conventional syringe in Chinese women undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation for in vitro fertilization (IVF).

METHODSA total of 184 patients undergoing IVF treatment were enrolled in this study. According to a long-term recombinant follicle-stimulating hormone (rFSH) protocol, ovarian stimulation was performed with the prefilled pen and conventional syringe at random in these subjects, and the dose of follitropin, number of oocytes and embryo parameters and IVF-ET outcome were compared between the two groups.

RESULTSThe total rFSH dose, cost, and frequency of hospital visits were significantly lower in the pen protocol group, but the residual rFSH amount was higher. Compared with conventional injections, the prefilled pen was associated with significantly lowered rate of local redness, high rate of local bruise, more frequent follitropin dose modulation and lower serum oestradiol levels on HCG day. No significant difference was found in the endometrial thickness, numbers of oocytes retrieved, MII oocytes, transferred embryo, or the clinical pregnancy rates between the two groups. The ratio of MII oocytes, good quality embryo rates and implantation rates was significantly higher in the pen group with lower incidences of moderate and severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.

CONCLUSIONThe prefilled pen provides an easy, safe, effective and more patient-friendly means for controlled ovarian stimulation procedure in Chinese women, but more attention should be given to protocol optimization and patient education.

Adult ; Embryo Transfer ; Female ; Fertilization in Vitro ; methods ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone ; administration & dosage ; Humans ; Infertility, Female ; therapy ; Ovulation Induction ; instrumentation ; methods ; Recombinant Proteins ; administration & dosage