Paul Devroey

STUDY QUESTION: What is the effect of natural cycle IVF in women with poor ovarian response according to the new ESHRE definition for poor ovarian responders: the Bologna criteria?

SUMMARY ANSWER: Although natural cycle IVF is a promising treatment option for normal responders, poor ovarian responders, as described by the Bologna criteria, have a very poor prognosis and do not appear to experience substantial benefits with natural cycle IVF.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: Previous trials have ...

BACKGROUND: Since the introduction of ICSI in 1991, medical outcome studies on ICSI children have been performed, but few have addressed developmental outcome. Hence, this outcome was assessed by performing a standard developmental test on children born after ICSI as compared with children born after IVF, at the age of 2 years.

METHODS: In a prospective study, the medical and developmental outcome of 439 children born after ICSI (378 singletons, 61 twins) were compared with those of 207 ...

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the safety of cryopreservation in combination with IVF and ICSI, prenatal diagnosis and neonatal outcome were investigated in children conceived from frozen-thawed ICSI embryos (cryo ICSI) and frozen-thawed IVF embryos (cryo IVF). Data were also compared with earlier published results from fresh ICSI and IVF embryos.

METHODS: Questionnaire data and results of physical examination at 2 months of 547 cryo ICSI children and 390 cryo IVF children were compared, and ...

STUDY QUESTION: Do differences in endometrial gene expression exist after ovarian stimulation with four different regimens of triggering final oocyte maturation and luteal phase support in the same patient?

SUMMARY ANSWER: Significant differences in the expression of genes involved in receptivity and early implantation were seen between the four protocols.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: GnRH agonist triggering is an alternative to hCG triggering in GnRH antagonist co-treated cycles, resulting in ...

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the safety of ICSI, this study compared data of IVF and ICSI children by collecting data on neonatal outcome and congenital malformations during pregnancy and at birth.

METHODS: The follow-up study included agreement to genetic counselling and eventual prenatal diagnosis, followed by a physical examination of the children after 2 months, after 1 year and after 2 years. 2840 ICSI children (1991-1999) and 2955 IVF children (1983-1999) were liveborn after replacement ...

STUDY QUESTION: Which baseline patient characteristics can help assisted reproductive technology practitioners to identify patients who are suitable for in-vitro maturation (IVM) treatment?

SUMMARY ANSWER: In patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) who undergo oocyte IVM in a non-hCG-triggered system, circulating anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), antral follicle count (AFC) and total testosterone are independently related to the number of immature oocytes and hold promise as outcome ...

BACKGROUND: Ovarian stimulation for IVF profoundly alters the early luteal phase endometrial development. It has been hypothesized that this process has already started in the late follicular phase, as the endometrium has already been exposed to high steroid concentrations since that phase. The aim of the present study was to prospectively investigate the effect of multi-follicular ovarian stimulation for IVF on the late follicular phase endometrium histology and the expression of ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine if premature luteinization can occur in GnRH agonist (GnRH-a) and FSH (recombinant FSH and human urinary FSH) IVF cycles and whether premature luteinization affects IVF and clinical outcome.

DESIGN: Retrospective evaluation of 171 IVF-ET cycles. The cycles were divided into two groups according to the P level on the day of hCG: group I (serum P /= 1.1 ng/mL).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Comparison of cycles characteristics and of cumulative exposure of follicular serum ...

BACKGROUND: Highly purified menotrophin (HP-hMG) has been associated with fewer oocytes retrieved and a higher proportion of top-quality embryos compared with recombinant FSH (rFSH).

METHODS: A randomized, assessor-blind, multinational trial in 731 women undergoing IVF after stimulation with HP-hMG (MENOPUR) (n = 363) or rFSH (GONAL-F) (n = 368) following a long GnRH agonist protocol was conducted. Blood was collected before, during and after stimulation. Fluid was collected from ...

The present review describes, on the basis of the currently available evidence, the consensus reached by a group of experts on the use of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonists in ovarian stimulation for IVF. The single or multiple low-dose administration of GnRH antagonist during the late-follicular phase effectively prevents a premature rise in serum luteinizing hormone (LH) levels in most women. Although controversy remains, most comparative studies suggest a slight, not ...

BACKGROUND: Eliciting an endogenous LH surge by GnRH-agonist for the induction of final oocyte maturation may be more physiological compared with the administration of HCG. However, the efficacy of this intervention in patients treated for IVF with GnRH antagonists remains to be assessed.

METHODS: 106 patients were randomized to receive either 10 000 IU urinary HCG or 0.2 mg Triptorelin for triggering final oocyte maturation. Ovarian stimulation for IVF was performed with a fixed dose of ...

STUDY QUESTION: What is the threshold for the prediction of moderate to severe or severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) based on the number of growing follicles ≥ 11 mm and/or estradiol (E2) levels?

SUMMARY ANSWER: The optimal threshold of follicles ≥11 mm on the day of hCG to identify those at risk was 19 for both moderate to severe OHSS and for severe OHSS. Estradiol (E2) levels were less prognostic of OHSS than the number of follicles ≥ 11 mm.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: In ...

OBJECTIVE: To describe the preparation of fresh or frozen-thawed epididymal and testicular sperm for intracytoplasmic single sperm injection and to compare the fertilization, embryo quality, and pregnancy rates (PRs) obtained after using these spermatozoa to the results when freshly ejaculated sperm was used for microinjection.

DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of 1,034 consecutive microinjection cycles. Ejaculated (965 cycles), fresh epididymal (43 cycles), frozen-thawed epididymal (9 ...

The objective of this prospective randomized study was to assess whether spontaneous triggering of ovulation by detecting LH rise with serial serum testing, results in higher pregnancy rates as compared with administration of human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) in patients undergoing intrauterine insemination (IUI) in natural cycles. The trial was registered in clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01414673. Three hundred patients treated by IUI in natural cycles at the Centre of Reproductive ...