مجله زنان مامائی و نازائی ایران
سال نوزدهم شماره 221 (هفته چهارم آذر 1395)

Infertility is defined as the inability of a couple to conceive naturally after one year of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. Regarding to the adverse effects of infertility on couples’ lives and the importance and necessity of counseling in egg donation and the absence of comprehensive counseling in infertility centers; thus, this study was performed with aim to determine the effects of integrated third-party reproduction counseling on egg donation recipients’ attitude towards assisted reproductive techniques.
This field trial study was performed in 2015 on 53 infertile women who were candidates for egg donation and had referred to Isfahan Fertility and Infertility Center. They were randomly allocated to control and experimental groups. The women in the experimental group received integrated third-party reproduction and infertility counseling during six 60-minute sessions. The women’s attitude towards assisted reproductive techniques was assessed before and one month after the intervention using a 32-item questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS software (version 20) and independent t-test, paired t-test, Mann-Whitney test, Fisher’s exact test, and Chi-square test. P In the experimental group, there was a significant difference between the scores of women’s attitude towards assisted reproductive techniques before the counselling and one month after counselling (39.33±5.41 vs. 51.98±5.02) and the mean score of its 7 dimensions (P Integrated third-party reproduction and infertility counseling (egg donation, sperm donation, fetus donation, and gestational carrier) can improve egg donation recipients’ attitudes towards assisted reproductive techniques.

Polycystic ovary syndrome is one of the most common endocrine disorders that affects 5-10% of women of reproductive age. The prevalence of the risk factors for this disorder is very important. This study was performed with aim to investigate the factors affecting polycystic ovary syndrome in Hamadan.
This case-control study was performed on 120 women with polycystic ovary syndrome and 120 women without the syndrome referred to gynecology clinic of Fatemieh Hospital in Hamadan from September 2015 to May 2016. Data collection tools included a researcher-made questionnaire which was related to personal and lifestyle information. Data was analyzed using SPSS software (version 21) and independent t-test and Chi-square test. P Chi-square test showed significant difference between two groups regarding weight, consumption of supplemental drugs, daily exercise, smoking, and level of education (P Weight gain, low level of education, smoking, lack of daily and regular exercise, and no use of daily supplements (zinc, calcium, vitamin D, and iron) was observed more frequently in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome. Thus, modifying dietary intake, daily exercise, and weight loss seem to be necessary for the prevention and treatment of this syndrome.

Disorders caused by sexual hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone are the disorders which can lead to various diseases. Using medicines and chemical hormones along with their therapeutic effects can lead to dangerous side effects such as cancer. According to the approach of World Health Organization to alternative and traditional medicine, using safe and effective herbal remedies can be effective for hormonal disorders. This review article was performed with aim to investigate and introduce some herbal therapies for the treatment of diseases caused by sexual hormones.
The review articles published since 1980 onwards were searched in PubMed, Scopus, SID, and Google scholar databases using the keywords of “endocrine disorders”, “estrogen”, “progesterone”, “testosterone”, and “herbal therapies”. The inclusion criterion for the papers was introduction of at least one herbal drug for the management of mentioned three hormones. A total of 213 articles were found that 97 papers evaluating the direct relationship between herbal therapies and the hormones (not only the disease) were selected. Then, among these 97 articles, 53 studies that in addition to evaluation of how the herbs affect, also had explored the mechanism of effect were selected and discussed in this study.
The main herbal sources of sexual hormones are soy, red clover, and kudzu for estrogen, bupleurum, rehmannia, and passiflora for progesterone, and shatavari, damiana, and ashwagandha for testosterone.
Some herbal medicines may be suggested as the safe selective treatment for the management of problems and diseases caused by sexual hormones.