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Biomedical subjects

L M Talbert

Publications and source records attributed to L M Talbert.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Oocyte donation.

Use of donor oocytes is becoming an increasingly important facet of assisted reproductive technology programs. Candidates for donor oocytes include women with premature ovarian failure or severe genetic disorders, women who respond poorly to human menopausal gonadotropin, and women older than 40 years who do not conceive with used of other therapies. The coordination of donor and recipient of oocytes is facilitated by pituitary desensitization of both parties using gonadotropin-releasing-hormone agonists. Pregnancy rates are much higher than that achieved with traditional in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer, possibly because of the young age of the donors and better endometrial receptivity.

Embryo Transfer

Abnormal findings on hysterosalpingography: effects on fecundity in a donor insemination program using frozen semen.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate the effect of abnormal baseline hysterosalpingography (HSG) on subsequent fecundity during the first six cycles of treatment. METHODS: Hysterosalpingography was performed on 208 asymptomatic ovulatory women with no history of pelvic disease who were referred for donor insemination. The findings were categorized into five groups: 1) normal study, 2) uterine anomaly or filling defect with bilateral tubal patency, 3) normal uterine anatomy with unilateral tubal patency, 4) normal uterine anatomy with bilateral tubal blockage, and 5) normal uterine anatomy with hydrosalpinx. Subjects in groups 4 and 5 received inseminations only if patency of at least one fallopian tube was demonstrated with laparoscopy. Life-table analysis was performed to calculate the average monthly fecundity and cumulative conception rates for each group. The Mantel-Haenszel test was used to compare group fecundities. RESULTS: A total of 1460 donor insemination cycles were performed. The number of cycles in each group were as follows: group 1, 1173 (80%); group 2, 153 (10%); group 3, 90 (6.2%); group 4, 16 (1.1%); and group 5, 28 (1.9%). None of the patients in group 4 or 5 conceived. The cumulative conception rates in the first three groups were 46, 34, and 40%, respectively, and were not significantly different from one another (P greater than .05). Although a high incidence of uterine filling defects and unilateral tubal blockage was observed (19.2%), the incidence of an abnormal HSG finding that significantly decreased fecundity was only 2.8%. CONCLUSION: In women with no history of tubal or uterine disease, routine HSG before initiation of donor insemination is of limited value for identifying decreased treatment fecundity.

Adult

Fertility rates in men with normal semen characteristics: spermatozoal testing by induction of the acrosome reaction and Wright-Giemsa staining for subtle abnormal forms.

Little is known about the fertility potential of semen from men who fulfill the accepted criteria of normal semen quality. We examined retrospectively the fertility rates of semen donors with normal semen quality. Donor performance was evaluated in women who had no known infertility factors or had only ovulatory dysfunction corrected by clomiphene. Cycles of therapeutic donor insemination were monitored for ovulation, and pregnancy outcome was followed up. Pregnancy resulted from therapeutic donor insemination with 21 donors and did not result in pregnancy with five (the range of the percentage of cycles in which pregnancy occurred was zero to 31). The comparison of donor semen analysis characteristics with pregnancy rates indicated that the total number of motile spermatozoa per ejaculate correlated with pregnancy rate (P = .04). Cox proportional hazard regression analysis showed that when the value for percentage of abnormal forms was combined with the total number of motile spermatozoa, a significant negative association was found between abnormal forms and conception (P = .04). Experiments comparing semen from high-fertility donors (top quartile of pregnancy rate) and low-fertility donors (lowest quartile) demonstrated a greater proportion of spermatozoa with inducible acrosome reactions in the high-fertility group (P less than .05). A Wright-Giemsa stain used to detect subtle abnormal forms in spermatozoa did not discriminate between the groups. These data suggest that differences in fertility potential exist among donors, even though all may exceed the accepted criteria for normal semen quality. Differences in the ability of spermatozoa to capacitate or undergo the acrosome reaction may be a mechanism for diminished fertility in donors with normal semen characteristics.

Acrosome

The effect of age on female fecundity.

To determine the relationship between age and female fecundity, 210 women were studied prospectively. The subjects had negative infertility evaluations and were receiving therapeutic donor insemination. Life-table analysis was performed on 751 donor insemination cycles. For comparison, patients were divided into five separate age groups and into two separate groups, ages 19-34 and 35-45. Monthly fecundity and cumulative conception rates were calculated for each group. A significant difference was found when all age groups were compared (P = .05) and when those at or above age 35 and those below age 35 were compared (P less than .05). Frozen semen was used in 92% of all cycles. The average monthly fecundity of all patients treated with frozen semen was 16%. This study confirms a progressive decline in fecundity with age in a completely evaluated group of women undergoing therapeutic donor insemination and demonstrates that frozen semen can yield acceptable fecundity provided sufficient numbers of motile sperm are used for each procedure.

Adult

A satellite system for assisted reproductive technologies: an evaluation.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Satellite System for Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) was initiated in 1984, and now serves most of North Carolina and parts of two adjoining states. The system was established to enhance the care of infertile couples at the community level, to assure a sufficiently large volume of patients at UNC Hospitals to support appropriate quality control measures, and to allow couples undergoing ART to have most of their care in their own community. This paper reports an assessment of the outcome of this program. Neither pregnancy rates, nor any other measurable result of the program differed between patients managed in the satellites and those cared for at UNC Hospitals.

Delivery of Health Care

Transient hyperprolactinemia during cycle stimulation and its influence on oocyte retrieval and fertilization rates.

Prolactin (PRL) has been shown to have inhibitory effect on follicle-stimulating hormone induced aromatase activity and estrogen biosynthesis in human granulosa cells cultured in vitro. To investigate the validity of the hypothesis that transient hyperprolactinemia during controlled ovarian hyperstimulation might influence follicular steroidogenesis and oocyte maturation, we measured serum PRL, estradiol, and progesterone before aspiration of oocytes in women undergoing ovarian stimulation (n = 108) in in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer. No correlation was detected between PRL and total number oocytes, number mature oocytes, fertilization rate, cleavage rate, and pregnancy rate. Transient elevation of PRL was a common finding in patients (57%) but was not associated with a poor clinical outcome.

Clomiphene

Current management of a donor insemination program.

Substantial evidence now exists to show that considerable maternal-fetal morbidity may result from microbiologic transmitted diseases that can be transmitted through artificial insemination by donor. In the present decade it has become increasingly clear that the use of fresh semen is potentially hazardous and its use has been discouraged by both the CDC and AFS. To minimize this risk, donor insemination programs should establish their own guidelines to thoroughly evaluate potential semen donors via history, physical examination, and laboratory evaluation before the use of donor semen after cryopreservation and quarantine. The management of a donor insemination program in the future requires uniform procedures for rigorous genetic and microbiologic screening before the selection and use of semen donors for artificial insemination.

Female

Lower doses of human menopausal gonadotropin are associated with improved success with in vitro fertilization in women with low body weight.

Since previous data suggested hyperresponsiveness to human menopausal gonadotropin by women with low body weight, the daily dose was reduced to 1.5 ampules in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization weighing less than 55 kg. This allowed the extension of treatment to a minimum of 6 days. These changes were associated with improved results in in vitro fertilization in these women.

Body Weight

Sex hormone effects on personality at puberty.

In this study we use serum steroid hormone assays and Adjective Check List responses from a representative sample of 102 male and 99 female adolescents to examine the relations between hormones, personality, and sexual behavior. We address two questions: (a) Does pubertal testosterone (T) cause sex dimorphism in personality? (b) Do pubertal hormones affect sexual behavior indirectly through effects on personality? Exploratory factor analysis of the Adjective Check List generated a factor common to male and female adolescents that correlated highly with T. However, male and female subjects did not differ in their mean level on this factor or in the correlation of this factor with T. In spite of the large sex difference in T, the girls were much more sensitive than the boys on the extracted factor to differences in T. We conclude that the answer to both questions is probably no.

Adolescent

Semen parameters and fertilization of human oocytes in vitro: a multivariable analysis.

Semen parameters in 195 couples undergoing in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer were studied using multivariable analysis. Semen parameters that correlated most closely with reduced ability to fertilize apparently mature oocytes were a slow rate of foreward progression of sperm and the presence of excess numbers of white cells in semen. In men with semen parameters within the normal range, the hamster egg penetration assay (HEPA) test did not add additional predictive power. In men with suspected semen abnormalities, however, a low attachment rating added some, but minimal, predictive value. None of the predictive methods reported thus far in this or other studies offers sufficient accuracy to reliably identify the men who will prove infertile for in vitro fertilization treatment.

Analysis of Variance

Positive correlation between body weight, length of human menopausal gonadotropin stimulation, and oocyte fertilization rate.

One hundred four normally cycling women were treated with fixed low-dose human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) (2 ampules/day) in preparation for oocyte aspiration for in vitro fertilization. The response rate was related to age, weight, and the ratios weight/height2 and weight/height. The required dose of hMG was related to total body weight, but not to age or either of the weight/height ratios. In patients who required fewer than 5 days of hMG (rapid responders), a significantly higher number (P less than 0.02) of oocytes were harvested, compared with slow responders. However, a smaller percentage of the oocytes from rapid responders fertilized (P less than 0.003) and resulted in a reduced rate of embryo transfer. The difference in pregnancy rates was not statistically significant. The results of the study suggest that patients undergoing in vitro fertilization who weigh less than 55 kg may benefit from treatment with a lower dose of hMG to prolong the stimulation cycle.

Adult

Analysis of deoxyribonucleic acid distribution in noncleaving oocytes from patients undergoing in vitro fertilization.

The purpose of this study was to describe the quantity and distribution of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in oocytes that did not fertilize or did fertilize and failed to cleave, from patients who underwent in vitro fertilization. Patients were selected with at least one cleaving egg, so that the sperm population was known to be fertile, and failure of fertilization or cleavage in the remaining oocytes could be attributed to nonspermatozoan factors. The noncleaving oocytes were classified into five categories, the majority of which (71%) lacked a polar body and any morphologically identifiable nucleus or germinal vesicle. Three general defects were found: failure to replicate the DNA properly; failure to package the DNA properly; and failure to organize the nuclear material properly after sperm penetration. It is concluded that either altered stimulation protocols or altered in vitro maturation conditions are needed to increase the average number of normal embryos available for transfer.

Cleavage Stage, Ovum