Vitamin D is a fat-soluble pro-hormone that plays an important role in bone homeostasis; beside this principal function, vitamin D promotes modulation of cell growth, neuromuscular and immune function, and reduction of inflammation. In addi…
BACKGROUND: Patients, now generally well informed through dedicated websites and support organizations, are beginning to look askance at clinical experimentation. We conducted a survey investigation to verify whether women with endometriosi…
The relationship between rectovaginal-bowel endometriosis and fertility is unclear. Nevertheless, extirpative surgery, including colorectal resection, is being fostered as a fertility-enhancing procedure. Adenomyosis and deep endometriosis …
The laparoscopic excision of ovarian endometriomas appears to increase the chances of spontaneous conception, but the value of this treatment in women selected for IVF–ICSI cycles is debated. Studies recruiting women with unilat-eral diseas…
Research on the effect of adenomyosis on the rate of success of IVF is controversial. Differences in study design, study power, criteria and instrument used to diagnose adenomyosis and choice of controls may explain these discrepancies. To …
STUDY QUESTION: Is the prevalence of blue eye colour higher in women with deep endometriosis? SUMMARY ANSWER: Blue eye colour is more common in women with deep endometriosis when compared with both women with ovarian endometriomas and wome…
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether accidental contamination of follicular fluid with endometrioma content during oocytes retrieval affects IVF outcome. STUDY DESIGN: We set up a retrospective review of women undergoing IVF in our infertility u…
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether the presence of endometriomas affects ovarian function. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Infertility unit of an academic setting. PATIENT(S): Twenty-nine women undergoing an IVF cycle. INTERVENTI…
OBJECTIVE: There is consistent evidence demonstrating that laparoscopic removal of benign ovarian cysts significantly damages the ovarian reserve. In contrast, the pre-operative impact of these cysts on the ovarian reserve is yet controvers…
BACKGROUND: Clinical data suggest that the presence of an ovarian endometrioma may cause per se damage to the surrounding otherwise healthy ovarian tissue. However, the basic research has so far done a limited job in trying to understand th…
Ovarian endometriomas are found in a consistent proportion of patients with endometriosis and are associated with a more severe form of the disease. The endometriotic tissue lining the inside of the endometrioma has been extensively studied…
Several studies aimed to disentangle whether pregnancy influences the growth of uterine fibroids but results were inconsistent. In this study, we speculated that fibroid enlargement during pregnancy may not be linear and we hypothesized tha…
PURPOSE: To compare two embryo grouping strategies. METHODS: Retrospective time-course analysis in two different centres. Two culture protocols were used at the zygote stage: "Random Group" in which zygotes were randomly grouped and "Defin…
STUDY QUESTION: Is adenomyosis associated with IVF/ICSI outcome in terms of clinical pregnancy rate? SUMMARY ANSWER: In a meta-analysis of published data, women with adenomyosis had a 28% reduction in the likelihood of clinical pregnancy a…
Accumulating evidence from animal and human studies suggests that vitamin D is involved in many functions of the human reproductive system in both genders, but no comprehensive analysis of the potential relationship between vitamin D status…
SEVERAL MILLION WOMEN from different ethnic and social groups suffer from pelvic endometriosis, which is a complex disorder characterized by the presence of endometrial tissue in ectopic sites outside the uterus. Endometriosis is a chronic …
Endometriosis is defined as the presence of endometrial-type mucosa outside the uterine cavity. Of the proposed pathogenic theories (retrograde menstruation, coelomic metaplasia and Müllerian remnants), none explain all the different types …
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate IVF outcome in women with unoperated bilateral endometriomas. DESIGN: Multicenter retrospective cohort study. SETTINGS: Two infertility units. PATIENT(S): Thirty-nine women with bilateral endometriomas matched with…
The presence of a primary endometrioma and its surgical excision may be detrimental for future fertility. After removal of the primary tumor, recurrence is common: 30% to 50% after 2 to 5 years of follow-up. The likelihood of conception aft…
The high rate of disease recurrence after surgery is critical and frustrating for women with endometriosis. Adjuvant treatments using a 3- to 6-months course of hormone therapy after surgery have been extensively investigated during the las…
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate physical attractiveness in women with and without endometriosis. DESIGN: Case-control study. SETTING: Academic hospital. PATIENT(S): Three hundred nulliparous women. INTERVENTION(S): Assessment of attractiveness b…
Analysis of published series reveals that no more than a fourth of subfertile patients undergoing surgery for peritoneal endometriotic implants, rectovaginal endometriotic lesions, or recurrent endometriomas achieved conception spontaneousl…
STUDY QUESTION: Does surgical and low-dose progestin treatment differentially affect endometriosis-associated severe deep dyspareunia in terms of sexual functioning, psychological status and health-related quality of life? SUMMARY ANSWER: …
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the oncofetal protein IMP3 is detectable in endometriomas with or without histological atypia and whether IMP3 staining can be used as a triage tool to identify foci of atypical endometriosis in doubtful case…