https://www.jri.ir/ "Journal of Reproduction & Infertility" is owned, published, and copyrighted by ©2009 Avicenna Research Institute. No parts of this journal may be reproduced in any form or by any means unless properly referenced or sent a notification letter through www.jri.ir en Comparing Anxiety, Depression and Sexual Life Satisfaction in Two Groups of Fertile and Infertile Women in Tehran Background: Infertility is a major painful emotional distress that is manifested in the form of psychological disorders such as anxiety, depression and reduction of normal sexual function in affected couples. The purpose of this study was to compare anxiety, depression and life satisfaction between fertile and infertile women admitted to Vali-e-Asr Infertility Clinic in Tehran in 2009. Methods: This descriptive study included 60 participants, being composed of 30 infertile and 30 fertile women. The demographic data including marital status, infertility duration, age and occupation were recorded. Zung’s self-rating Anxiety Scale and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were used for evaluating anxiety and depression, respectively. The Evaluation and Nurturing Relationship Issues, Communication and Happiness (ENRICH) questionnaire was also used for evaluating the participants’ life satisfaction. Results: Anxiety and depression were significantly higher in infertile compared to fertile women (p < 0.05) but life satisfaction was not much different in the two groups. In both groups, anxiety and depression did not relate with age or infertility duration but life satisfaction grew more in infertile women than fertile women by age and marriage duration. In the two groups, anxiety, depression and sex satisfaction did not relate with education but infertility duration was affected by sexual satisfaction despite having no significant relationship with anxiety or depression. Moreover, depression and sexual dissatisfaction in infertile housekeeper women was more prevalent than infertile employed women but anxiety had no relationship with their occupational status. Conclusion: Infertile women need psychiatric care. Considering the results of this study, suggestions addressing the improvement of psychological health of infertile women through supportive measures seem to be of value. https://www.jri.ir/article/443 The Relationship between Soluble Serum HLA-G and ICSI Success Rates Background: Pregnancy is a successful transplantation. Factors evading rejection of the fetus by the mother’s immune system are poorly understood and success rate and maintenance of embryos in assisted reproductive technologies (ART) may also depend on the same factors. The molecules of HLA-G are non-classical major histocompatibility complex class I antigens that have recently attracted attention in regards to pregnancy. The aim of the present study was to determine the concentration of HLA-G and its correlation with success or failure rates of ICSI. Methods: Serum samples of 107 women who were undergoing ICSI (the case group) were collected before and 14 days after embryo transfer, as were serum samples of 24 women with normal pregnancy (the control group) in the first trimester of pregnancy. Soluble HLA-G1 and G5 isoforms and the total sHLA-G were assayed by sandwich ELISA. Nonparametric Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S), Mann Whitney U and Wilcoxon tests were used for statistical analysis. Results: No significant differences were observed in clinical variables including age, infertility duration and treatment regimen between the control and the case groups. Levels of sHLA-G1 and sHLA-G5 and the total sHLA-G prior and after ICSI in the control group, respectively, were 47.4 ± 62.8 U/ml, OD: 1.47 ± 0.58 prior and 59.6 ± 69.5 U/ml, OD: 1.38 ± 0.57 after ICSI. In the non-pregnant group, the values respectively were 35.7 ± 55.2 U/ml, OD: 1.37 ± 0.45 prior and 39.7 ± 57.2 U/ml, OD: 1.31 ± 0.46 after ICSI, corresponding to the control group; 53.16 ± 47.92 U/ml and OD: 1.29 ± 0.49. No significant statistical differences were found between the pregnant, non-pregnant and the control groups. No significant changes in the serum levels of sHLA-G1 and sHLA- G5 isoforms and the total sHLA-G were observed following embryo transfer. Conclusion: No significant correlation was found between sHLA-G and the success of pregnancy in women undergoing ART. It seems that serum HLA-G has no prognostic value in the prediction of ICSI failure. https://www.jri.ir/article/447 Quality Control of Disposable Objects in ART Laboratories Performing Human Sperm Motility Assays Background: ART laboratories are quality controlled to make sure that disposable objects used for the culture of gametes and embryos are toxin-free. To maintain a high standard, all disposable objects in our ART laboratory were tested by human sperm motility assay (HuSMA). HuSMA was used as a measure for QC at the intended ART laboratory. Methods: Eighteen objects that are commonly used in IVF laboratories were tested by HuSMA. The objects included gloves, syringes, culture dishes, pipettes, tips and semen collection dishes. HuSMA was conducted at 10 and 30 minutes and also at 1, 2, 4, and 24 hours of incubation at room temperature. Sperm motility index (SMI) was calculated by dividing the percentage of progressive motile sperms of the test by that of the control at the specified intervals. An SMI value < 0.85 was defined to indicate sperm toxicity. The tests were repeated for three times. Results: QC by HuSMA confirmed the toxicity of three objects, including embryo transfer (ET) gloves A and B, and puncture gloves A. ET gloves A (SMI=0.0) and puncture gloves A (SMI=0.0) were toxic after 10 minutes, but ET gloves B (SMI=0.63) were shown to be toxic after 24 hours (46% progressive motile sperm compared with 68% in the control group). Moreover, two other objects including culture dish (SMI=0.42) and semen collection dish (SMI=0.67) had borderline values after 24 hours; different results in four repeats after 24 hours (twice toxic and twice nontoxic). Conclusion: Some objects which are routinely used in ART laboratories may be toxic and their use should be discontinued as part of QC programs. To increase the efficiency of HuSMA, it seems necessary to do this test more than once for each object. https://www.jri.ir/article/448 Common Techniques for Preserving Fertility in Girls and Young Women Undergoing Cancer Treatment Current protocols for cancer treatment could lead to the failure of ovarian function and subsequent infertility in women. Therefore, utilizing ways to preserve fertility in these individuals seem to be essential. In this review, the full-text of articles which were accessible and had been published during 1976 to 2009 about different methods of female fertility preservation were collected and studied through various online databases such as PubMed, Science Direct, etc. According to the reviewed articles, there are several methods for fertility preservation in women, including ovarian transposition and oocyte, embryo and ovarian cortex cryopreservation. Ovarian transposition is not useful for preserving fertility in women who undergo chemo-therapy. Embryo and oocyte cryopreservations require a delay before starting treat-ment. Metaphase II oocytes are high-volume and fully-differentiated cells which may sustain injury due to the freezing process restricting the number of collected oocytes and reducing the chances of fertility. On the other hand, ovarian stimulation and oocyte collection are not practical in young patients, especially in underage girls. In addition to the restrictions on the number of collected embryos and the raised legal and ethical issues, embryo crypreservation is limited to adults and married women. In comparison to other methods, cryopreservation of the ovarian cortex seems to be more appropriate as ovarian tissue is resistant to cryopreservation and it is easy to be collected by laprascopy, making it practical for use in premature girls. Furthermore, the large number of follicles in the ovarian tissue increases the chances of fertility preservation in women. In general, several parameters including the type, time and duration of treatment, cancer type, age and marital status determine the efficacy of each method. https://www.jri.ir/article/449 Effects of Endosulfan on the Reproductive Parameters of Male Rats Background: Endosulfan is an organochlorine compound with insecticidal and acaricidal properties and also with widespread agricultural use for insect control. The poison could enter the body through respiration, absorption via skin and ingestion in human beings, or grazing by farm animals. The long-term effects of endosulfan EC 35% on sex hormones and sperm morphology were studied in mature male rats. Methods: In this study, 40 male rats were divided into five groups: the control group did not receive any substances while the placebo group received normal saline and the three test groups, respectively received endosulfan 5, 10 and 20 ml/kg of the total body weight every two days for three weeks. At the end of the experiment, the rats were anesthetized by chloroform and blood samples were collected from their heart for sex hormone evaluation. The rats were later sacrificed and their testes and epididymides were harvested for morphological studies of sperm. Results: Following endosulfan administration, LH and FSH concentrations increased significantly (p<0.05) while testosterone underwent a meaningful decrease. Moreover, reproductive parameters such as sperm count, motility and testicular weight decreased significantly compared to the control group (p<0.05). Conclusion: It seems that endosulfan has an undeniably damaging effect on the testis accompanied by its unfavorable effects on the reproductive system which may lead to infertility due to the changes in sex hormones concentration and sperm count and motility. https://www.jri.ir/article/450 Cloning and Interfering Factors Background: The term “Cloning” has originated from “Klon”, a Greek word with the meaning of a small twig that can multiply by itself and turn to a generative tree. Cloning is an asexual reproduction in which a copy or multiple copies of an organism are generated by transferring the nucleus (DNA) of a somatic cell into an enucleated metaphase-II oocyte. Despite the benefits and potentially broad applications of this technology, its low efficiency, especially in the production of viable offspring, has implicated its application with serious challenges. In this article, we will review papers related to its emerging principles, with an emphasis on epigenetic modifications, which appear to govern the efficiency of cloning. Methods: The literature review was carried out by searching through knowledge-based data bases such as ScienceDirect, PubMed and Scopus on the internet. No time limit was considered for literature review of the relevant articles up to the time of submission. Results: Considering the large varieties of factors affecting cloning, improvements in cloning efficiency are dependent on the increment of theoretical knowledge and technical expertise of its procedures. This can be achieved by improving oocyte and cytoplasmic maturation, optimizing synchronization between the nucleus of the donor cell and cytoplasm of MII stage oocyte, minimizing the physical insults to the cytoskeleton of oocyte during enucleation and nuclear transfer, improving the cellular fusion and culture conditions of reconstructed oocytes and in particular and more importantly by employing effective methods to qualitatively alter the epigenetic status of the incoming nucleus to an embryonic or totipotent state, leading to the improvement of donor cell reprogramming. Considering the importance of inherited maternal transcripts and proteins in cytoplasm of fully matured oocytes in supporting the embryos up to the embryonic genomic activation (EGA) and the capability of MII stage cytoplasm in de-differentiating mammalian somatic cells and coincident of EGA with depletion of maternally originated transcripts, reprogramming of the somatic cell nuclei must be completed by the time that the embryonic genome is activated. Since the patterns of epigenetic modification are dynamic and not static during development, the optimum procedure to properly induce nuclear reprogramming should follow the pattern of epigenetic modifications in normal embryo development. Conclusion: Besides the all progresses in reproductive cloning using highly efficient methods, any deviation from the normal pattern of mRNA expression due to epigenetic changes induced by chemical interventions in early preimplantation embryo may persist throughout fetal development. The effects of these aberrations may manifest later in development. Nonetheless, understanding the kinetics of normal molecular events related to epigenetic modifications and identification of the specific factors present in the ooplasm, which are necessary for epigenetic reprogramming, will provide a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms and would improve cloning efficiency and other related technologies. https://www.jri.ir/article/451 The Role of Group Cohesion in Pregnant Women’s Attitude toward Participation in Fitness Classes Background: Group cohesion indices are among important factors that influence human performance and behavior within groups. Group cohesion has also an important role in sports and physical exercise groups. Evidence indicates that sportive exercises during pregnancy have some positive effects, such as anxiety relief, heightened spirit and higher physical and psychological adaptation to pregnancy. The main purpose of this study was to compare group cohesion among pregnant women who participated in fitness classes. Methods: This descriptive-comparative study included 400 women in their second trimester of pregnancy in Isfahan, Iran. They filled a Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ) with four subscales, including attraction to group task, attraction to social group, social group interplay and task group interplay. Physical exercises were performed in twelve 20-30 minutes sessions. Exercises in each session were comprised of side walking, swimming, rhythmic movements and light to medium aerobic exercises. Absenteeism and delays were recorded in each session. In the twelfth session, the GEQ was handed out to the participants and those whose scores were two standard deviations below or above the mean for the group were, respectively, classified into low or high absenteeism or delayed groups. The significance level in the inferential level was 0.05. Results: The mean values for the four domains, i.e. attraction to social group (ATG-S), attraction to group task (ATG-T), social group interplay (GI-S), and task group interplay (GI-I) for the group with low absenteeism were 34.7, 28.3, 17.3 and 25.9, respectively, and for the group with high absenteeism, respectively, were 27.3, 23.4, 16.9 and 24.7. Discriminant analysis showed significant differences between the low and high absenteeism groups in two domains: attraction to social group and attraction to group task (p<0.01). The mean values for groups with low and high delays in the four domains of group cohesiveness (ATG-S, ATG-T, GI-S and GI-I) were 32.6, 22.7, 27.3 and 17.7 and 27.3, 23.1, 26.9 and 18.2, respectively. There was significant differences between the low and high-delay groups in attraction to social group (ATG-S) (p<0.05). Conclusion: Trying to make group physical exercises attractive and forming homogenous groups for the participating women could be a motivating factor for attending such classes with perseverance. https://www.jri.ir/article/452 Effects of Nicotine and Ethanol Administration on the Seminal Vesicle of Adult Rats Background: The effects of cigarette and alcohol on male reproductive system have been studied mainly on the testis and prostate but studies on their co-administration on the seminal vesicle which produces about 70% of the semen volume are scarce. Therefore, the present study evaluated the effects of nicotine and/ or alcohol on the glandular epithelial cells of seminal vesicle in adult rats. Methods: In this study, 50 adult Wistar rats, aged 9 weeks, were randomly divided into five groups, including: sham, control (0.09% normal saline), 20% ethanol (2 ml/kg), nicotine (0.1 mg/kg) and ethanol-nicotine. Ethanol was given via oral gavage but nicotine was administered subcutaneously for 50 days. Blood samples were collected prior to intracardiac perfusion. The seminal vesicles were later dissected and tissue samples were stained by H&E for morphologic and morphometric studies. One-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post-hoc test were used for data analysis. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The height of glandular epithelial cells of the seminal vesicle was reduced remarkably in rats in ethanol versus the control group (p<0.0001). However, testosterone concentrations were not significantly different in the two groups. Semen volume, as well as its acidophilic properties in the lumen of most acini were lower in the ethanol comparative to the control group. Conclusion: Ethanol had the most negative effects on the cells and tissue structure of seminal vesicle compared to nicotine. The minimal effects seen by the simultaneous use of alcohol and nicotine on seminal vesicle structure might be attributed to the reduction of alcohol absorption following nicotine administration. https://www.jri.ir/article/453 Essential Oil of Citrus Sinensis for the Treatment of Premenstrual Syndrome; a Randomized Double-blind Placebo-controlled Trial Background: Premenstrual syndrome is characterized by a set of behavioral, somatic and affective symptoms of varying severity that occur 7-10 days before the onset of menstruation and disrupt personal and social life. The symptoms usually subside by the beginning of menstruation flow. Different causes have been proposed for the syndrome as have been medical and surgical methods for its treatment. A recent approach relies more on the use of food supplements and herbal drugs. Citrus essence contains compounds such as limonene, flounder and citral with proposed sedative and antispasmodic effects in addition to its antidepressant properties. These effects are similar to those of fluoxetine which is an effective medication in the treatment of premenstrual syndrome. Therefore, this research was designed to determine the efficacy of citrus essence on the severity of premenstrual symptoms in dormitory students of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences during 2009-2010. Methods: This study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial done on 80 students suffering from premenstrual syndrome. The students completed a daily symptom rating questionnaire for two consecutive menstrual cycles. Following the definitive diagnosis of PMS, the students were randomly divided into two groups and received, either 10 drops of citrus essence or placebo drops, three times a day during the luteal phase for two cycles. The data collecting tools, a questionnaire and a daily symptom rating form, had been evaluated for content validity and their reliability had been measured by Cronbach's Alpha Reliability Coefficient (0.080). A p-value of 0<0.5 was considered statistically significant. Results: The two groups were similar in terms of demographic characteristics and overall baseline severity of the symptoms. The group on citrus essence witnessed a significant reduction of 46.08% in the symptoms compared to the group on placebo 14.21%, (p<0.001). After the intervention, there were also significant decreases in the severity of physical and psychological symptoms in both citrus essence (respectively, 24.3% and 21.78%) and placebo groups (respectively, 2.07% and 9.21%), (p<0.001). Conclusion: The study showed that citrus essence could reduce the severity of premenstrual syndrome. The essence is suggested to be taken during the luteal phase in two consecutive cycles. https://www.jri.ir/article/454 Fertility Preservation in Men after Cancer Treatment; a Review Article Some cases of male infertility are due to the destructive side-effects of anticancer treatment methods such as chemo and radiotherapies on germ cell lines. The increase in the survival rate of cancer patients who undergo treatment, especially children, has drawn attention to fertility preservation. The most common and effective technique in preserving male fertility is sperm freezing and its subsequent IVF. Children cannot efficiently produce sperm because of their spermatogonial immaturity. One of the strategies to maintain fertility in these patients is to preserve the testes or the germ cells by freezing them for their later maturation and production of fertile sperm, although the state in which the spermatogonia may not undergo maturation is one of the main obstacles faced in this method. Therefore, scientists have attempted to transplant cryopreserved testis tissues or produce in vitro-matured spermatozoa in this group of patients upon anticancer treatment. In this study we reviewed the germ cell biology, the side-effects of chemo and radiotherapies on germ cells and fertility preservation techniques in adults and children undergoing anticancer treatment. https://www.jri.ir/article/455 The Moral Problems of Embryo Donation Embryo donation is one of assisted reproductive technologies used in the past few decades. Application of this technology, like any other novel biomedical service, has raised certain moral, religious, legal and social concerns. This paper deals with moral / philosophical concerns involved in embryo donation technology, taking into account the “general moral challenges concerning embryo donation”, “moral problems arising during the process of donation” and “moral problems appearing after donation”, and attempts to critically evaluate them. As a preliminary conclusion, utilizing embryo donation technology could be morally justifiable provided that certain moral and professional constraints are observed and probable abuses are prevented. https://www.jri.ir/article/456 Letter to Editor https://www.jri.ir/article/464 Response to Editor https://www.jri.ir/article/465