فهرست مطالب soudabeh sabetian

COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has been associated with damage to multiple organ systems. One of the noteworthy aspects of the virus is its effect on male fertility and the reproductive system. We aimed to overview the involved molecular pathways to prospect the virus's effects on male reproductive tissue, spermatogenesis, and semen parameters.

PubMed and Scopus databases (papers published from 2020 to 2023) were searched for studies reporting the impact of COVID-19 on the related pathways associated with the male reproductive system at the level of cells, and 98 articles were reviewed.

The effects of COVID-19 may arise directly due to the virus's attacks on the male reproductive system or may be due to an undesirable overreaction of the immune response, such as cytokines storm or fewer. Renin-Angiotensin System and PI3K/AKT signaling pathway are also involved; counts and sperm motility were decreased, although approximately recovery was observed in survivals within months. Contrasting the drugs used for treating COVID-19 that had contradictory effects regarding vaccines, it seems there is no tangible adverse effect on male fertility.

The impact of SARS-CoV-2 on male fertility and the reproductive system is notable due to the presence of two major host factors, ACE2 and TMPRSS2, and involving the related pathways. It is possible that these organs could be involved, leading to effects on future generations. Understanding the process may provide a clue for managing the efficacies.

The endometriosis treatment was critical due to complications associated with current drug delivery system. The present study was conducted with aim to compare the curative effect of Vitamin D3 (VTD3) and Omega–3 (OG3) with Diphereline during the treatment of endometriosis.

In this study, endometriosis was induced in different groups containing 60 adult female rats. The rat model was categorized into 6 groups untreated and treated (Olive Oil (solvent), VTD3 (42 mcg/kg/day), OG3 (450 mg/kg/day), VTD3+OG3, Diphereline (3 mg/kg/day)). The suspension containing combination of Diphereline and supplements was injected and treated for 4 weeks to analyze the effect of supplements. The interleukin -6 (IL-6) and Tumor necrosis factor – alpha (TNFα) inflammatory responses were measured from the serum samples while endometrial implants was dissected and histopathological investigation was done.

At the end of four weeks, pathologic score decreased significantly with simultaneous measurement of inflammation score of endometriotic lesion, size of implant area, IL-6, TNFα response and compared with untreated female rat. No significant different was observed in groups undergoing treatment of VTD3, OG3 and Diphereline. The combined effect of VTD3+OG3 has similar responses with Diphereline treated endometrial implants.

treatment of VTD3 deficiency and making a change in dietary habits of high-risk population for endometriosis from adolescence may also play a preventative role in adulthood.

Ectopic pregnancy (EP) is one of the major causes of maternal mortality during the first trimester of pregnancy.

Four treatment methods for EP including single-dose methotrexate (SD-MTX), double-dose methotrexate, expectant and surgical management were considered.

In this cross-sectional study, the clinical characteristics of 365 women aged 15-44 yr who had been diagnosed with EP were reviewed from March 2017 to March 2019 in hospitals affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. Receiver operating characteristics curves were plotted to determine the cut-off points for size of ectopic mass and beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) that suitably discriminated between double-dose methotrexate and surgery management.

The most common site of EP was adnexa. According to the receiver operating characteristics analysis, surgery was the best plan for the women with an ectopic mass > 34.50 mm in diameter or with an initial β-hCG level > 6419 mIU/ml. The β-hCG levels in the women successfully treated with SD-MTX were significantly lower than in those with failed treatment (p = 0.02). The SD-MTX group had a higher success rate and significantly shorter duration of hospitalization, and so this was a more effective medical treatment in comparison with the DD protocol.

Surgery is proposed as the best option for the cases with large ectopic mass or high β-hCG level. SD-MTX had a higher success rate and shorter hospital stay than the DD protocol, and so was found to be an efficient and safe alternative. Further randomized clinical trials with larger sample sizes are recommended to validate the current results.

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), caused by a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is now spread  worldwide. Therefore, informative and reliable data related to the exact effects of COVID-19 on fertility and pregnancy is still of great interest until the pandemic is declared over. General guidelines regarding the protection and management of COVID-19 have been published and new information will continue to be updated daily.

In this review, we summarized clinical health guidelines for reproductive and infertility centers to improve quality management in assisted reproductive technology and minimize the potentially harmful consequences of COVID-19 on pregnancy and fertility.

As specified in the literature, protocols consist of five categories, including protocols for couples, protocols for women, protocols for men, labor and delivery, and postpartum and breastfeeding.

General protocols for patients and staff may vary depending on specific conditions. However, this review provides some rules to ensure their safety against the disease during the pandemic.

Insulin resistance (IR) occurs in 50-70% of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and can be applied as a pre-diabetic feature in PCOS.

In this study, indirect methods including fasting blood sugar (FBS), fasting insulin (FI), FBS/FI ratio, and quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI) were compared with the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) as a standard technique. The association of IR to sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and several hormones was also analyzed.

This cross-sectional study was performed on 74 PCOS women. Sensitivity and specificity of each IR method was calculated based on HOMA-IR. Hormonal profiles of the patients were compared between the groups with defined normal and abnormal values of IR.

Triglyceride levels had a positive association with FBS and HOMA-IR (p = 0.002 and p = 0.01, respectively) with a negative association to QUICKI and SHBG (p = 0.02 and p = 0.02, respectively). SHBG showed a significant negative association with FBS (p = 0.001). Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate showed a positive association with FI (p = 0.002). Seven PCOS women showed abnormal SHBG levels (< 36 nmol/L) while expressed normal values of the rest of the studied variables. FI and QUICKI had the highest sensitivity while FBS/FI and QUICKI had the highest specificity when HOMA-IR was applied as a standard test.

SHBG and Triglyceride had a significant negative and positive association with IR, respectively. HOMA-IR followed by FI and QUICKI is the most sensitive test for the detection of IR. SHBG levels can be a helpful biomarker for the diagnosis of PCOS.

Azoospermia affects more than 10% - 15% of infertile male subjects attending infertilty clinics. At present, testicular biopsy is the golden standard procedure for evaluating spermatogenesis status in men with azoospermia. Semen collection and analysis is a non-invasive method and has proven to be valuable in the evaluation of spermatogenesis. Identification of seminal plasma markers with testicular or extra-testicular origins have a great value in predicting the prescence of sperm in testicular tissue and presumptive cause of azoospermia. The aim of this study was to find such markers by comparing the content of seminal plasma using different methods in normospermic and azoospermic men.Matherials and

Semen samples were collected from 200 men attending Avicenna Infertility Clinic (AIC) in Tehran, Iran. Semen samples were analysed according to WHO guidlines. The subjects were divided into two groups: normospermic (n = 100; group one) and azoospermic men (n = 100; group two) according to semen analysis results. Seminal plasma was separated by high speed centrifuagation and stored in -20° C. Four markers including fructose, neutral alpha glucosidase (NαG), inhibin B and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) were measured in seminal plasma. Fructose and NαG were evaluated by spectrophotometry, while inhibin B and AMH were assessed by ELISA method. The spermatogenesis status in the azoospermic group was evaluated by histopathological method following testicular biopsy.

Fructose concentration showed no difference between the two groups. However, it was significantly correlated with sperm count (p < 0.01, r = -0.408). Seminal plasma inhibin B (OR: 1.01; 95%: CI: 1.005 - 1.016), AMH (OR: 1.63; 95% CI: 1.17 - 2.28) and NαG, (OR: 1.07; 95% CI: 1.04 - 1.1) levels were higher in normospermic subjects compared to azoospermic men. There were significant differences in inhibin B and AMH concentrations between the two groups based on the presence or absence of mature sperm in testicular biopsies (p < 0.01). Inhibin B concentration was positively correlated with sperm count in the normospermic group, however, NαG concentration correlated with sperm count of normospermic men (p < 0.01, r = 0.345) and the subjects’age in both groups.

Inhibin B and AMH were correlated with the presence of sperm in testicular tissue samples. According to non-specific changes in inhibin B and AMH concentrations, identification of more specific molecular markers in seminal plasma to definitely evaluate the status of spermatogenesis is recommended.