Uterine Insemination Research Articles

The Vaginal Microbiome Changes During Various Fertility Treatments.

This study aimed to investigate the influence of hormonal treatment on the vaginal microbiome during fertility treatments. Bacterial vaginosis (BV) could affect fecundity, particularly in the in vitro fertilization (IVF) population, where negative effects on pregnancy outcomes have been reported. It is hypothesized that the hormone treatment during fertility treatments could influence the abundance of Lactobacilli, with negative effects on the pregnancy results. A total of 53 couples attending a fertility clinic in the Netherlands between July 2019 and August 2022 were included in this prospective cohort study. Vaginal samples were collected at start of treatment, oocyte retrieval or insemination from subjects undergoing intra uterine insemination (IUI) with mild ovarian stimulation, and IVF or intra cytoplasmatic sperm injection (ICSI) with controlled ovarian hyperstimulation. AmpliSens® Florocenosis/Bacterial vaginosis-FRT qPCR and 16S rRNA gene-based amplicon sequencing were performed on all samples. In total, 140 swabs were analyzed, with a median of two swabs per person. 33 (24%) tested qPCR BV positive. Lactobacilli percentage decreased during fertility treatments, leading to changes in the vaginal microbiome. Shannon diversity index was not significantly different. Of the total of 53 persons, nine switched from qPCR BV negative to positive during treatment. The persons switching to qPCR BV positive had already a (not significant) higher Shannon diversity index at start of treatment. If the vaginal microbiome of persons deteriorates during fertility treatments, timing of following treatments, lifestyle modifications, or a freeze all strategy could be of possible benefit.

Role of Artificial Intelligence in ICSI (Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection) &IUI (Intra-Uterine Insemination)

In contrast to natural intelligence demonstrated by humans, AI (Artificial Intelligence) is the ability of a computer to learn and display intelligence. AI has grown in popularity quickly and gradually, and it is now a part of our personal and social lives. AI has been used in almost every field, including IT companies and many other fields that collect data. AI is also used in a large number of factories. As modern technology advances, artificial intelligence is being used in the medical field. AI technology is being used in a variety of laboratories, including IVF labs. Many treatment techniques, such as ICSI (Intra -Cytoplasm Sperm Injection) and IUI (Intra – Uterine Insemination), are used in IVF laboratories. The techniques are used in the creation of ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology). Because of its high success rate, the ICSI technique is the most commonly used technique. The review focuses on the role of artificial technologies in the IVF lab and how they can be more useful for increasing IVF treatment success rates.The article concludes that AI can be very useful for IVF laboratories and for ART techniques. The role of AI in the future of IVF can be useful and helpful in the treatment increasing rate of IVF (in- vitro fertilization). AI technologies are used in a variety of methods to select high-quality oocytes and sperm. The article discusses how AI can be used to predict the future.

P-482 Bacterial vaginosis in a subfertile population undergoing fertility treatments: a prospective cohort study

Abstract Study question Does bacterial vaginosis (BV) influences pregnancy rates during fertility treatments? Summary answer BV does not significantly impact ongoing pregnancy or live birth rates but could affect miscarriage rates. What is known already BV is known to influence several obstetric outcomes, such as preterm delivery and endometritis. Only few studies investigated the effect of BV in subfertile women, and studies found a negative effect of BV on fecundity especially in the in vitro fertilisation (IVF) population. Study design, size, duration Observational prospective study, 76 couples attending a fertility clinic in the Netherlands between July 2019 and June 2022, undergoing a total of 133 attempts of intra uterine insemination (IUI) or IVF. Participants/materials, setting, methods Participants undergoing IUI, IVF or intra cytoplasmatic sperm injection (ICSI). Vaginal samples taken at oocyte retrieval or insemination were analysed on qPCR BV and 16S rRNA gene microbiome analysis of V1-V2 region. Logistic regression with a Generalized Estimated Equations (GEE) analysis was used to account for multiple observations per couples. Main study outcome was defined as ongoing pregnancy at 12 weeks. Secondary outcomes were miscarriage rate and live birth rate. Main results and the role of chance A total of 26% of the 133 samples tested positive for BV. No significant differences were observed in ongoing pregnancy or live birth rates based on BV-status (OR 0.50 (0.16-1.59), aOR 0.32 (0.09-1.23)) or microbiome community state type (CST). There was a tendency of more miscarriages based on positive BV status (OR 4.22 (1.10-16.21), aOR 4.28 (0.65-28.11)) or microbiome CST group III/IV. Sample outcomes of qPCR BV were in accordance with their microbiome analyses. On baseline groups significantly differed on smoking status and body mass index (BMI). Odds ratios were adjusted for smoking status, BMI and socioeconomic status. Limitations, reasons for caution Numbers of the initial sample size calculation were not met. Therefore, numbers may be too small to draw firm conclusions. Wider implications of the findings This study describes the influence of BV or an abnormal microbiome in a subfertile population undergoing fertility treatments. A possible effect of lifestyle factors on BV-status is shown. Combining qPCR and microbiome results and analysing both IUI and IVF/ICSI treatments can contribute to better generalisability to the consulting room. Trial registration number Z21.031

Comparison of efficiency between two artificial insemination methods using fresh semen in domestic cat (Felis Catus)

The objective of this study was to compare pregnancy rates in domestic cats using fresh semen for the bilateral intrauterine insemination (BIUI) method and the novel uterine body insemination (UBI) method. Queens received a single injection of equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) (200 IU; IM) to induce ovarian follicular development and, after 83 h, an injection of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) (100 IU; IM) for final oocyte maturation and ovulation induction. Thirty-four hours after hCG administration, 3 × 106 fresh spermatozoa were used for insemination by the BIUI (n = 8 queens) or by the UBI (n = 7 queens) techniques respectively. Pregnancy rates were 75.00% (6/8) by BIUI and 42.85% (3/7) by the UBI method. The mean litter size was 3.0 ± 0.86 for the BIUI, and 2.0 ± 1.0 for the UBI method. Spontaneous abortion occurred on day 35 of pregnancy in one queen following the UBI method. Our findings showed that the BIUI of queens with fresh semen resulted in higher pregnancy rates than the novel UBI method; also, acceptable pregnancy rates were achieved following BIUI with fresh semen in the domestic cat.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR INTRAUTERINE INSEMINATION AND TIMED INTERCOURSE

The aim of the study is to investigate whether artificial intelligence (AI) can support physician decision for optimizing the timing for intra uterine insemination (IUI) or intercourse in spontaneous cycles.

Internal validation and comparison of predictive models to determine success rate of infertility treatments: a retrospective study of 2485 cycles

Infertility is a significant health problem and assisted reproductive technologies to treat infertility. Despite all efforts, the success rate of these methods is still low. Also, each of these methods has side effects and costs. Therefore, accurate prediction of treatment success rate is a clinical challenge. This retrospective study aimed to internally validate and compare various machine learning models for predicting the clinical pregnancy rate (CPR) of infertility treatment. For this purpose, data from 1931 patients consisting of in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intra cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) (733) and intra uterine insemination (IUI) (1196) treatments were included. Also, no egg or sperm donation data were used. The performance of machine learning algorithms to predict clinical pregnancy were expressed in terms of accuracy, recall, F-score, positive predictive value (PPV), brier score (BS), Matthew correlation coefficient (MCC), and receiver operating characteristic. The significance of the features with CPR and AUCs was evaluated by Student's t test and DeLong’s algorithm. Random forest (RF) model had the highest accuracy in the IVF/ICSI treatment. The sensitivity, F1 score, PPV, and MCC of the RF model were 0.76, 0.73, 0.80, and 0.5, respectively. These values for IUI treatment were 0.84, 0.80, 0.82, and 0.34, respectively. The BS was 0.13 and 0.15 for IVF/ICS and IUI, respectively. In addition, the estimated AUCs of the RF model for IVF/ICS and IUI were 0.73 and 0.7, respectively. Some essential features were obtained based on RF ranking for the two datasets, including age, follicle stimulation hormone, endometrial thickness, and infertility duration. The results showed a strong relationship between clinical pregnancy and a woman's age. Also, endometrial thickness and the number of follicles decreased with increasing female age in both treatments.

The physiology of polar bear mating (Ursus maritimus)

The well‐being of any species depends on successful reproduction, so the study of mating is essential, mainly to prevent the extinction of rare animals. In the process of evolution, each new species has adapted to environmental conditions in the struggle for survival through the morphological and physiological characteristics of the reproductive anatomy. Polar bear mating lasts 10‐20 minutes and corresponds to uterine insemination, but the description of the physiology of polar bear mating is lacking due to technical difficulties. Studies of the penis of a polar bear during an erection caused by the impact of electrical impulses of an electro‐ejaculator on the pudendal and external spermatic nerves and smooth muscles of the genital organs before reaching ejaculation to obtain sperm suggest how this happens. We studied the manifestation of sexual reflexes in a male polar bear (Ursus maritimus), age 10 years. The bear was kept in the Kazan Zoo from birth and did not participate in mating. An electro‐ejaculator was used to collect sperm. We have established the following features: the penis was covered entirely with a prepuce (praeputium) in a not erect state. The length of the penis is 19 cm. It practically does not change due to the presence of the os penis, which is 18.6 cm long and extends into the head of the penis. The diameter of the body of the penis is 1.5 cm. Initially, the head was 2 cm in diameter, two plates stood out on it, filling with blood during an erection. The opening of the urogenital canal (canalis urogenitalis) extends with its free end outside the head and has soft processes at the end of the canal. The length of the processes of the free end of the canal is 6 mm, and the width of their bifurcation is 4 mm. During an erection, the shape and size of the body of the penis (corpus spondiosum glandis) change and increase. The spongy body of the glans penis swells like a conus from the main shaft with the broadest part at the end. It has a length of 4 cm. The upper part is like an ellipse inclined at an angle of 45 degrees to the plane of the cone. Further, the head of the penis (glans penis) increases and takes the form of a straight cone with swollen urogenital canal sponges about 20 mm long, 10 mm in diameter at the base, 15 mm at the end. In the upper part, the funnel has an outer diameter of 40 mm, takes an angle of almost 90 degrees to the shaft of the penis, looks like a hand pump cuff. It can be assumed that the function of the swollen sponges is to ensure maximum passage of seminal fluid through the cervix, which is 15 mm long and opens during mating, and to prevent sperm leakage during insemination. They close the backflow of seminal fluid from the body of the uterus. During intercourse, the ejaculate pours into the vagina and partly irrigates the cervix. During coitus, it occurs from 3 involuntary muscle contractions of the body, which indicate stepped ejaculation (in portions). However, polar bears should be regarded as animals with uterine type of insemination, the highly swelling glans of the male penis, poorly covered by the walls of the vagina, acts on the principle of a piston. The penis pushes ejaculate from the vagina into the uterus.

Recent development in freezing strategies of pig semen-A review

Of late studies on frozen thawed boar semen have dramatically improved boar semen cryopreservation technique, albeit the commercial application of cryopreserved boar semen has not yet been popular. Some studies claimed successful fertility/ fertilization with frozen boar semen. Multiple researches are being carried out to evolve a suitable freezing protocol for cryopreservation of boar semen. In general, freezing protocol adopts freezing rates of either 20°, 40° or 60°C/min in lactose egg yolk extender with 2–3% glycerol using medium straw (0.5 ml) for freezing of boar semen. The supplementation of vitamin E or its analogues Trolox, butylated hydroxytoluene, reduced glutathione, catalase, superoxide dismutase, ascorbic acid, and alpha-lipoic acid to the freezing media of boar semen increase the cryosurvival of frozen-thawed boar spermatozoa. Treating sperm with cholesterol-loaded methyl-β-cyclodextrin increases sperm cryosurvival rates and sperm quality after thawing by partly decreasing membrane damage induced during phase transition from fluid to the crystalline-gel state. High fertility rates with cooled, frozen-thawed or sex-sorted boar semen are feasible to achieve by using appropriate insemination procedures. Post-cervical intra-uterine insemination allowed a three-fold reduction of spermatozoa to be inseminated, whereas deep uterine insemination allowed a substantial reduction in the number of cooled (5–20 folds) or frozen-thawed (6-folds) spermatozoa. With combination of different approaches, acceptable fertility with cryopreserved boar semen can be achieved facilitating its use in routine and commercial application. This review depicts best ways possible to adopt suitable freezing strategies for cryopreservation of boar semen.

174 The impact of human pappiloma virus (HPV) on intra uterine insemination (IUI) outcome

Introduction and aims of the study: Human Pappiloma Virus is a nonenveloped, circular, double stranded DNA virus. HPVs are generally classified as low and high risk, according to their potential to cause genital cancer. The virus pathogenesis process includes either an infectious virion-producing pathway or a non infectious cell-transforming, cancer-inducing pathway. HPV virus presence in spermatozoa is associated with detrimental effects on sperm parameters and gametes interaction, causing also temporal subfertility.

Intra uterine insemination

Intrauterine insemination is a simple, non-invasive and safe initial treatment option, especially in low resource settings for selected group of patients before initiating assisted reproduction technology treatment. A wise selection of patients and timing are key to its success. Detailed assessment of the infertile couple, controlled ovarian stimulation with follicular development monitoring, appropriate processing the seminal fluid, trigger with hCG at a correct time, single IUI in strict aseptic condition followed by 10-15 minutes of immobilization are currently considered vital elements of Intrauterine insemination to improve its outcome. Intrauterine insemination can be considered as a bridge between basic and advanced fertility treatment for selected infertile couples especially in countries with limited resources for assisted reproductive technologies.

Case Report on Primary Infertility with Hypothyroidism and Diabetes Mellitus

Introduction: Infertility is the inability, by natural means, of an animal to reproduce. Typically, adult species are not in their normal state of health. A woman who is unable to conceive well will define infertility as unable to bear a full-term pregnancy. Because of any ejaculating disease, and any declining sperm count, men are directly liable for 30-40% infertility. The WHO estimates the overall prevalence of primary infertility in India at 3.9% and 16.8%. Fertility estimates differ widely between India and 3.7% in Utter Pradesh and Maharashtra.
 Case Presentation: On 9/12/2020, a 38-year-old female came for In Vitro Fertilization with a known case of primary infertility in AVBR Hospital, Wardha. Her complaint was inability to conceive for 4 years, irregular menses, headache, sleep disturbance, loss of appetite. She was admitted for in-vitro fertilization therapy for the 2nd cycle. She had a history of hypothyroidism for 8 years for which she has been taking Thyrox 50mg OD tablet and has Diabetes Mellitus for one year since she is taking Metformin 500mg BD tablet. Instead, she has no concerns about asthma, tuberculosis, epilepsy, etc. On 9/12/2020, she underwent an embryo transfer.
 Diagnostic Evaluation: The diagnostic hysteroscopy was conducted at the private hospital in Amravati 2 years ago. She has been diagnosed with nullipara for 4 years as a primary infertility. She has already undergone 2 cycles of Intra Uterine Insemination (IUI) and 1 cycle of in vitro fertilization.
 Hysterosalpingography: Both fallopian tubes are normal & patent uterus is normal.
 Conclusion: There is multifactorial infertility. In both men and women, anatomy, physiology, the environment, hormones and genetics all play a role in causing infertility. Therefore, in the coming years, it is a very important problem and research in this zone is very essential.

Effect of Sperm Dna Fragmentation Index on Clinical Outcomes of Intra-Uterine Insemination Patients

Objective: To study the effect of sperm chromatin condensation (DNA fragmentation index (DFI)) using aniline blue-eosin (AB-E) staining on pregnancy outcomes in patients facing unexplained infertility undergoing intra- uterine insemination (IUI). Our initial hypothesis states that if DNA fragmentation is high then chances of pregnancy are low/NIL hence these patients should be recommended with advanced ART procedures like IVF and ICSI. Design: Prospective study Setting: Tertiary care infertility centre Method: A total of 185 patients with age less than 40 years, non-smokers and without history of any pathogenic infection in the past 2months facing unexplained infertility i.e., males with normal semen analysis reports and females with normal ovulation and hysterosalpingography (HSG) reports were selected for the study. Patients were undergoing their first or second IUI treatment cycle between the period of June 2016 to December 2016. DNA fragmentation index (DFI) using aniline blue- eosin staining method was studied in semen samples provided on the day of IUI procedure. The patients were separated into 3 groups: low DFI (DFI<= 10%), medium DFI (DFI=11 % - 20%), and high DFI (DFI >= 21%) and clinical pregnancy outcomes of IUI were recorded. Statistical analysis was performed using Pearson correlation co-efficient, ANOVA and Shapiro Wilk Test on the above groups. Main Outcome Measures: DNA fragmentation index (DFI) (%), Clinical pregnancy rate (%) Result: The overall clinical pregnancy rate for the selected patient pool was 21.08% with an average DFI of 8.84% in the pregnant female group and 14.65% in the non-pregnant female group. Sperm DFI % and clinical outcomes in IUI treated patients were statistically significant and negatively correlated with correlation coefficient (r) of -0.1, -0.3 and -0.3 in low DFI%, medium DFI and high DFI% groups respectively. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that DFI (%) and clinical pregnancy rate (%) are significantly and negatively correlated in patients with normal semen parameters undergoing IUI. The higher the DFI% the chances of clinical pregnancy become very low, therefore, these patients should not be recommended IUI but with advanced ART procedures like IVF and ICSI.

O-017 Appeased embryo transfer with hypnosis

Abstract text Objective , We report in this presentation the use for couples undergoing infertility treatment of a new way of accompaniment. Hypnosis associated with learning of self-hypnosis is a solid support to valid an appeased uptake of an infertility program and lower the emotional charge associated with such treatments. Main enhance emotional comfort in couples undergoing infertility treatment. Secondary patients feelings after results of the attempt (whether failure or success), pregnancy rates. Contains During a first meeting family and historical back ground is analyzed as well as medical file and causes for infertility. Then a first specific session is proposed in relation with underlying problems using ericksonian hypnosis. For example sessions using amnesia can be used in patients having had traumatic experiences. Comfort and wellbeing suggestions are used after each hypnosis session. Two other sessions can be proposed at office, one called “the two chests” first one to pack all past failures and second to collect present or past successes regarding all fields. These successes will be resourceful to refer to. The second session will be to enhance self-confidence using contes. In order to enhance autonomy patients are given 4 audio sessions prerecorded to home practice. Three of them are specific to intra uterine insemination or embryo transfer. One is called FIVETE to listen the day before medical procedure, one is called SIMPLE INDUCTION to start just before and throughout the procedure. One to do after procedure at home called DO NOTHING. Patients are called few weeks after the attempt for debrief and results.

Improvement of pregnancy rate after deep uterine artificial insemination with frozen-thawed cauda epididymal spermatozoa in Hanwoo cattle

In the present study, we examined if deep uterine artificial insemination (DUAI) can improve the pregnancy rate of artificial insemination (AI) using epididymal spermatozoa (ES) in Hanwoo cattle. The estrus cycles of 88 Hanwoo cows were synchronized, and 17 cows were artificially inseminated using the DUAI method with ES, 20 cows were artificially inseminated via the uterine body (BUAI) method with ES, and as a control, 51 cows were inseminated by using the BUAI method with ejaculated spermatozoa from 1 proven bull after frozen thawing. The pregnancy rate of the DUAI method (58.8%) was higher than that of the BUAI method (25.0%, p = 0.0498). The motility of ES was examined immediately after thawing and after 3 and 6 h of incubation. The rapid progressive sperm motility of the control group was significantly higher than that of the ES group immediately after thawing and after 3 and 6 h of incubation (p < 0.05). The straight line velocity and average path velocity of the ES group after 6 h of incubation were significantly lower than those in the control group (p < 0.05). The linearity and amplitude of lateral head of ES were lower than those at 6 h (p < 0.05). The flagellar beat cross frequency and hyperactivation of ES were lower than the control spermatozoa immediately after thawing and at 3 h (p < 0.05). These motility parameters suggested that ES had a low motility and fertilization ability compared to the control spermatozoa. After frozen-thawing and 3 h of incubation, the percentage of live spermatozoa with intact acrosomes in the ES was significantly lower than that in ejaculated spermatozoa (p < 0.05). Our findings suggested that the DUAI method can overcome the low pregnancy rate of ES, despite the low motility, viability, and fertilization ability of ES.

Study the effect of mixing platelet activating factor with sperm preparation medium of normozoospermic men on intra uterine insemination outcome

Intrauterine insemination (IUI), it is a type of artificial insemination, used to treat infertility by which the Sperm that have been prepared and placed directly into the woman’s uterus around the time of ovulation. The main purpose of this procedure is to enable the sperm to swim into the fallopian tubes and fertilize a ready egg in order to lead to a natural pregnancy. IUI can be coordinated with the normal cycle with fertility or medications depending on the reasons for infertility The IUI outcome still low about 20-25% so adding number of biochemical factors to the culture medium which are essential to regulate the fertility potential of spermatozoa, for example, platelet-activating factor (PAF) which is a unique and novel signaling phospholipid that has multiple biologic properties have been tried. To determine the effect of adding the PAF into the culture medium to prepare and activate the semen samples of non-male factor infertility (normal semen analyses). This study was carried out in the Infertility Unit, AL-Hussein Teaching Hospital, Al-Nassirya City, through the period from 30th of October 2020 till 17th of April 2021. The study included thirty couples who are complaining from infertility (they failed to conceive after one year at least of regular unprotected intercourse. The frequency distribution of enrolled infertile men with normozoospermia Baseline characteristics of seminal fluid analysis of males with normozoospermia those with PAF are Semen volume ml, pH, Sperm concentration before million/ml, Sperm motility %, morphologically normal sperm % , were Mean ±SD (3.10 ±1.23, 7.39 ±0.03, 46.67 ±15.31, 1.33 ±3.52, 36.00 ±5.07) respectively. Certain sperm parameters were highly improved after in vitro activation by PAF medium of normozoospermic samples.

Study the effect of mixing platelet activating factor with sperm preparation medium of normozoospermic men on intra uterine insemination outcome

Intrauterine insemination (IUI), it is a type of artificial insemination, used to treat infertility by which the Sperm that have been prepared and placed directly into the woman’s uterus around the time of ovulation. The main purpose of this procedure is to enable the sperm to swim into the fallopian tubes and fertilize a ready egg in order to lead to a natural pregnancy. IUI can be coordinated with the normal cycle with fertility or medications depending on the reasons for infertility The IUI outcome still low about 20-25% so adding number of biochemical factors to the culture medium which are essential to regulate the fertility potential of spermatozoa, for example, platelet-activating factor (PAF) which is a unique and novel signaling phospholipid that has multiple biologic properties have been tried. To determine the effect of adding the PAF into the culture medium to prepare and activate the semen samples of non-male factor infertility (normal semen analyses). This study was carried out in the Infertility Unit, AL-Hussein Teaching Hospital, Al-Nassirya City, through the period from 30th of October 2020 till 17th of April 2021. The study included thirty couples who are complaining from infertility (they failed to conceive after one year at least of regular unprotected intercourse. The frequency distribution of enrolled infertile men with normozoospermia Baseline characteristics of seminal fluid analysis of males with normozoospermia those with PAF are Semen volume ml, pH, Sperm concentration before million/ml, Sperm motility %, morphologically normal sperm % , were Mean ±SD (3.10 ±1.23, 7.39 ±0.03, 46.67 ±15.31, 1.33 ±3.52, 36.00 ±5.07) respectively. Certain sperm parameters were highly improved after in vitro activation by PAF medium of normozoospermic samples.

The Fertility Outcome of Royal Jelly versus Intra Uterine Insemination: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial Study

Background: The popularity of complementary and alternative medicine is on the rise. Objectives: The current study aimed to compare the effect of vaginal royal jelly with intrauterine insemination (IUI) on sub-fertility in men. Methods: The sample size was estimated as 27 subjects, based on a study power and confidence interval of 80% and 95%, respectively. The study was conducted in Mashhad, in the Northeast of Iran, from 2015 to 2017. Men with sub-fertility (asthenozoospermia, defined as total sperm motility below 40% and sperm concentration below 20 million/mL), with healthy wives, based on salpingography, participated in this study. Patients were assigned to the royal jelly group, which received 5 grams of royal jelly, and the IUI group, which received 75 units of Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) from the second day of the menstrual cycle. Semen samples were collected in sterile plastic caps after 72 hours of sexual abstinence by normal sexual intercourse. Samples were prepared using the standard swim-up technique. Results: This study showed no significant difference between groups concerning spousal age, occupation, education (husband and wife), and social class (P = 0.745). Also, no significant difference was found between groups concerning fertility success rate (P = 0.573). Conclusions: Based on similar treatment success rates of royal jelly and IUI, it seems that royal jelly can be considered as an alternative to IUI.

287 Effects of Number of Sperm and Site of Uterine Semen Deposition on Conception Rate and Number of Embryos in Weaned Sows Receiving a Single Fixed Time Insemination

Abstract Induced ovulation with single fixed time artificial insemination (SFTAI), combined with uterine (IUI) or deep uterine insemination (DUI), could improve fertility with low numbers of sperm and allow greater use of high genetic merit boars. At weaning (0 h), sows (n = 534) were assigned by parity and estrus induction method (eCG or Control) to receive 1200 × 106 sperm by IUI, 600, 300, or 150 × 106 sperm by IUI or DUI, or 75 × 106 sperm by DUI. At 80 h post weaning, sows received OvuGel and 26 h later a pooled semen SFTAI. Ultrasound was performed to determine follicle size and time of ovulation (OV). Sows were slaughtered 27 d after AI to determine pregnancy and litter traits. There was no effect (P &amp;gt; 0.05) of eCG on estrus (93%) within 5 d of weaning or follicle size (6.1 mm) at OvuGel, but wean-to-estrus (3.8 vs. 4.0 d,P &amp;lt; 0.01) and AI-to-OV (15.9 vs. 17.0 h, P = 0.04) intervals and AI-to OV were slightly reduced. eCG did not affect pregnancy rate (78.6%), number of CL (21.7), or number of viable embryos (12.2). There was no effect of number of sperm or site of insemination (P &amp;gt; 0.05) on pregnancy rate (range: 80.9% to 70.5%), but AI occurring after ovulation reduced pregnancy rate (P &amp;lt; 0.02). Total number of embryos (range: 16.5 to 10.3) increased with CL number (P &amp;lt; 0.001) but was not affected by number of sperm or site of insemination (P &amp;gt; 0.05). Higher sperm treatments (1200 and 600 x 106) had more embryos compared to lower sperm treatments (P &amp;lt; 0.01), suggesting that lower sperm numbers effects litter size more than the pregnancy status. Acceptable fertility can be achieved with low sperm numbers when using SFTAI and uterine deposition, but AI-to-OV interval and ovulation rate influence final fertility.

An acute oral administration of Sildenafil in asthenozoospermic patients improves sperm motility after density gradient centrifugation.

Objective:Investigate the possible effect of an acute sildenafil dose in asthenozoospermic patients.Methods:We ran this experimental, descriptive, prospective and non-blinded study in 32 patients diagnosed with asthenozoospermia according to the WHO criteria, after two consecutive semen analyses (samples 1 and 2), and we asked them to provide a new semen sample two weeks after the initial exams (sample 3). One hour prior to the semen collection, we gave the patients 100mg oral sildenafil. Samples 2 and 3 were allowed to liquefy and density gradients centrifugation was performed. We assessed sperm motility by Computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA).Results:There were no significant differences between the samples obtained before (sample2) or after sildenafil administration (sample3). However, a single oral 100 mg sildenafil dose in asthenozoospermic patients increase the percentage of motile sperm recovered after density gradient centrifugation.Conclusions:An acute administration of sildenafil enhances sperm recovery after density gradient centrifugation in asthenozoospermic patients, and it may produce more available mobile sperm to perform intra uterine insemination or to improve the chances of success in this procedure. This approach may be used as an alternative strategy in assisted reproductive programs. Sildenafil was well tolerated and no patient was withdrawn from the study due to adverse events attributed to sildenafil.

Relationship between sperm parameters and clinical outcomes of Intra Uterine Insemination (IUI).

Background:Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is a widely utilized method for treating the infertile couples. The aim of the present study was to determine the pregnancy and abortion rates after IUI and to examine the relationship of sperm parameters with these rates.Methods:This retrospective study was performed on 911 infertile couples undergoing IUI treatment in Shahid Akbarabadi IVF Centre from May 2017 to May 2019. To evaluate the correlation of sperm parameters with the clinical pregnancy and abortion rates, odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) was calculated.Results: In this study, the pregnancy rate following IUI was 15.7% (143/911), and among women who achieved pregnancy, the abortion rate was 42.0% (60/143). According to the multiple logistic regression analysis, none of the sperm parameters was associated with the pregnancy rate. Couples with either male or female factor infertility etiologies were more likely to get pregnant than those with unexplained infertility. Regarding the abortion rate, multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that normal sperm count was related to a lower abortion rate (adjusted OR=0.25, 95% CI=0.07–0.91).Conclusion:The present study did not reveal a significant relationship between none of the sperm parameters and pregnancy rate after IUI treatment. However, among women who got pregnant, continuation of the pregnancy was associated with the normal sperm count. Furthermore, analysis of all semen parameters together in comparison to one parameter alone might be more accurate to predict pregnancy or abortion. Further prospective cohort studies with a large number of couples are required.