Infertility Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Infertility, including details on male and female infertility, treatment, causes, pregnancy. | ||||||||
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The serum follicle-stimulating hormone-to-luteinizing hormone ratio at the start of stimulation with gonadotropins after pituitary down-regulation is inversely correlated with a mature oocyte yield and can predict "low responders".Ho JY, Guu HF, Yi YC, Chen MJ, Ho ES Division of Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, 160 Chung-Kang Road Section 3, Taichung 407, Taiwan. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of serum FSH and LH levels at the commencement of stimulation to ovarian follicular development in women undergoing pituitary down-regulation and controlled ovarian hyperstimulation with gonadotropins in IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. SETTING: An IVF program in a tertiary medical center. PATIENT(S): A total of 245 women proven to be pituitary down-regulated by their serum E(2) levels. INTERVENTION(S): Patients treated with a GnRH agonist and FSH and hMG underwent assisted reproductive technique (ART). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Mature oocyte yield, pregnancy rate (PR), and live birth rate. RESULT(S): The serum FSH levels and the FSH-to-LH ratio at the commencement of gonadotropin stimulation were inversely correlated to the number of mature oocytes (r = -0.193 and r = -0.224, respectively). When assessed with receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, there was statistically significant ability for the FSH/LH ratio to differentiate between the "poor response" cycles (with mature oocyte yield < or =4) and the normal response cycles. Using the cutoff value derived from ROC analysis, cycles with the FSH-to-LH ratio > or =3 produced less mature oocytes (8.25 vs. 11.74), lower peak E(2) levels (1,975.3 pg/mL vs. 3,324.8 pg/mL), and higher percentage of poor ovarian response cycles (32.5% vs. 14.3%). CONCLUSION(S): The serum FSH-to-LH ratio at the start of gonadotropin stimulation after pituitary down-regulation provided a practical method for early prediction of mature oocyte yield. Published 11 April 2005 in Fertil Steril, 83(4): 883-8.
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