Serum follistatin and its role in intracytoplasmic sperm injection outcomes

Abstract

Background: progress in assisted reproductive technology (ART) has enabled the clinicians to treat many types of infertility. Objectives: The ultimate goal of all these procedures is to get a viable intrauterine pregnancy as a step to get a healthy baby. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) refers to the technique of assisted reproduction, including injecting a single sperm into the center (cytoplasm) of the egg. Materials and Methods: A prospective study included 45 women who were enrolled in ART programs in infertility center for in-vitro fertilization (IVF) in International Center/Kirkuk, Iraq. All women were subjected to the basic fertility workup at the infertility center which consists of history taking, physical examination, ovulation detection, evaluation of tubal patency, and uterine cavity. The average age of the included women ranged between 20 years and 42 years of age. All women were enrolled in short protocol type of IVF/ICSI cycle, and they had normal menstrual cycles. Serum samples were stored for estimation of follistatin level by ELISA technique and for estimation of luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, estrogen, and progesterone by VIDAS technique. Results: The present study showed that 31.1% of women underwent ICSI technique became pregnant and 68.9% were nonpregnant. The highest mean of age were recorded among pregnant women compared with nonpregnant women (32.21 ± 6.68 vs. 31.80 ± 5.38 years) although the result was nonsignificant (P > 0.05). The highest mean of body mass index were recorded among nonpregnant women compared with pregnant women (23.92 ± 1.55 vs. 25.36 ± 1.99 kg/m2); the result was significant. The study showed highest mean level of serum follistatin present in nonpregnant compared with pregnant women (0.75 ± 0.32 vs. 0.62 ± 0.24 ng/ml) although the result was nonsignificant (P > 0.05). Conclusions: There was no relation of serum follistatin with pregnancy after ICSI.