Ask Our Doctors
Dear Patients,
I created this forum to welcome any questions you have on the topic of infertility, IVF, conception, testing, evaluation, or any related topics. I do my best to answer all questions in less than 24 hours. I know your question is important and, in many cases, I will answer within just a few hours. Thank you for taking the time to trust me with your concern.
– Geoffrey Sher, MD
Fill in the following information and we’ll get back to you.
Name: Alicia C
I had my first egg donor transfer at 43 years old and it was successful. Had a c-section with no complications. Now I am 47 years old and wanted to try once more. This time I have had 4 transfer cycles canceled because my endometrium will not get above 6mm. I had an ultrasound at my OBGYN and it showed no polyps or fibroids. I have been having hot flashes for 6 months and am probably in menopause. My body is naturally making very little estrogen. My level was 8.8 back in October. During the past cycle attempts, I was given 2mg estradiol 3 times daily with an added estradiol pill vaginally every 3rd night. I asked the doctors about Viagra. One doctor recommended 50 mg every other night another doctor recommended 25mg 4 times daily with an estradiol vaginal pill every day. I have been doing yoga and fertility massages in case it could be a blood flow issue. Also taking vitamin E supplements. What would be your recommendation? Also, do you believe in acupuncture? Thanks- Alicia
It is possible that with established menopause, the chronically low estradiol has suppressed endometrial estrogen receptors, rendering the lining refractory to short-term estrogen stimulation.
In my opinion you s might try a few months of cyclical estrogen/progesterone therapy to try and prime the endometrium (reawaken estrogen receptor response). I have seen this work in many cases such as yours.
Feel free to call my assistant, Patti Converse at 702-533-2681 and set up an online consultation with me to discuss.
Geoff Sher
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
I am attaching online links to two E-books which I recently co-authored with my partner at SFS-NY (Drew Tortoriello MD)……. for your reading pleasure:
1.From In Vitro Fertilization to Family: A Journey with Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) “
http://sherfertilitysolutions.com/sher-fertility-solutions-ebook.pdf
- “Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and Unexplained IVF Failure: The Immunologic Link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iYKz-EkAjMqwMa1ZcufIloRdxnAfDH8L/view
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Name: Yasmin G
n online consultation with me to discuss.Hello, I’m almost 39yo with an amh of 0.3 and 6 follicles at baseline. Trying for a second child. Started a max dose ivf antagonist protocol and responded really fast, 7 days of stim and I only had 3 follicles but they were all over 22mm. Ended up in a chemical.
In the past I had 4 follicles after a 150 clomid, so we decided to try a mini ivf with a similar dose. After 5 days I got 2 follicles 14 and 15mm. We converted to an iui without any additional medication (they were 19 and 20 two days later). The RE was happy with it and want to try again with the same protocol.
My questions are
1. Why so little follicles are responding no matter the protocol and can anything be done to improve response?
2. Why my follicles are responding so fast?
3. I’ve heard comid is not a good option for an older poor responders. But it seems that it yield the same amount of follicles as max stim. What is your opinion?
Thank you!
Respectfully,
In my opinion neither mini-IVF nor clomiphene is good in women with diminished ovarian reserve.
It is primarily the egg (rather than the sperm) that determines the chromosomal integrity (karyotype) of the embryo, the most important determinant of egg/embryo competency”. A “competent” egg is therefore one that has a normal karyotype and has the best potential to propagate a “competent” embryo. In turn, a “competent embryo is one that possesses the highest potential to implant and develop into a normal, healthy, baby.
When it comes to reproductive performance, humans are the least efficient of all mammals. Even in young women under 35y, at best only 2 out of 3 eggs are chromosomally numerically normal (euploid). The remainder will have an irregular number of chromosomes (aneuploid) and are thus “incompetent”. The incidence of egg aneuploidy increases with age such by age 39 years, 3 in 4 are “competent”, and by the mid-forties, at best one in 10 are likely to be aneuploid. The fertilization of an aneuploid egg will inevitably lead to embryo aneuploidy (“incompetence”). As previously stated, an aneuploid embryo cannot propagate a normal pregnancy
Within 38-42 hours of the initiation of the spontaneous pre-ovulatory luteinizing hormone (LH) surge (and also following administration of the human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) “trigger” shot, given to induce egg maturation after ovarian stimulation with fertility drugs), the egg embarks on a rapid maturational process that involves halving of its 46 chromosomes to 23. During this process, (known as meiosis) 23 chromosomes are retained within the nucleus of the egg while the remaining 23 chromosomes are expelled in a membrane envelopment, from the egg nucleus. This small structure known as the polar body, comes to lie immediately below the “shell” of the egg (the zona pellucida) and is known as the 1st polar body or PB-1. The sperm, in the process of its maturation also undergoes meiosis divides into two separate functional gametes, each containing 23 chromosomes (half its original number of 46 chromosomes). With subsequent fertilization, the 23 chromosomes of the egg now fuse with the 23 chromosomes of the mature sperm resulting in the development of an embryo with 46 chromosomes (the normal human genome) comprising a combination of the genetic material from both partners. For the embryo to have exactly 46 chromosomes (the euploid number), both the mature egg and mature spermatozoon must contain exactly 23 chromosomes. Only such euploid embryos are “competent” (capable of developing into healthy babies). Those with an irregular number of chromosomes (aneuploid embryos) are “incompetent” and are incapable of propagating healthy babies. While embryo “incompetence” can result from either egg or sperm aneuploidy, it usually stems from egg aneuploidy. However, in cases of moderate or severe male factor infertility, the sperm’s contribution to aneuploidy of the embryo can be significantly greater.
While embryo ploidy (numerical chromosomal integrity) is not the only determinant of its “competency, it is by far the most important and in fact is a rate-limiting factor in human reproduction. It is causal in the vast majority of cases of “failed nidation which in turn is responsible for most cases of a failed pregnancy (natural or assisted) and causes most sporadic early pregnancy losses (both chemical gestations and miscarriages) as well as many chromosomal birth defects such as Turner syndrome (X-monosomy ) Down syndrome (trisomy 21) and Edward syndrome (trisomy 18) .
In most cases, embryos that develop too slowly as well as those that grow too fast (i.e. ones that by day 3 post-fertilization comprise fewer than 6 cells or more than 9 cells) and/or embryos that contain cell debris or “fragments” are usually aneuploid and are thus unable to propagate a healthy pregnancy (“incompetent”). Additionally, embryos that fail to survive in culture to the blastocyst stage are also almost always aneuploid/”incompetent”.
At a certain point in the later stage of a woman’s reproductive career, the number of remaining eggs in her ovaries falls below a certain threshold, upon which she is unable to respond optimally to fertility drugs. Often times this is signaled by a rising day 3 basal blood follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) level (>9.0MIU/ml) and a falling blood anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) level (<2.0ng/ml or <15nmol/L). Such women who have diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) produce fewer eggs in response to ovarian stimulation. While DOR is most commonly encountered in women over 40 years of age it can and indeed also can occur in much younger women.
A few important (but often overlooked concepts should be considered in this regard:
- Age: It is advancing chronologic age and NOT declining ovarian reserve (as evidenced by abnormal blood AMH or FSH that results in an increased incidence of egg/embryo “incompetence” due to aneuploidy
- The ovaries and developing eggs of women with DOR (regardless of age) are highly susceptible to the adverse effect of excessive Luteinizing Hormone (LH)-induced, ovarian overproduction of male hormones (e,g. testosterone and androstenedione). While a little testosterone produced by the ovary promotes normal follicle growth and orderly egg development excessive testosterone has a converse effect. That is why in older women and those who regardless of their age have DOR (and thus excessive LH bioavailability and increased ovarian testosterone production), the use of ovarian stimulation protocols that fail to down-regulate LH activity prior to initiating ovarian stimulation with gonadotropins, often prejudices egg/embryo quality and IVF outcome.
- Simply stated, while age is certainly the most important factor in determining the incidence of egg/embryo aneuploidy, women with DOR (regardless of their age), are less likely to propagate euploid (competent) eggs/embryos. While virtually nothing can be done to lower the incidence of age related aneuploidy, it is indeed possible to avoid a further decrease in egg/embryo “competency” by individualizing the protocols of ovarian stimulation used.
- My preferred protocols for women who have relatively normal ovarian reserve:
- The conventional long pituitary down regulation protocol: BCP are commenced early in the cycle and continued for at least 10 days. Starting 3 days before the BCP is to be discontinued, it is overlapped with an agonist such as Lupron 10U daily for three (3) days and continued until menstruation begins (which should ensue within 5-7 days of stopping the BCP). At that point an US examination is done along with a baseline measurement of blood estradiol to exclude a functional ovarian cyst. Daily Lupron (10U) is continued and an FSH-dominant gonadotropin such as Follistim, Puregon or Gonal-f daily is administered daily falong with 37.5U of Menopur (an FSH/LH combination) for 2 days. On the 3rd day the gonadotropin dosage is reduced by about one half and the dosage of Menopur is increased to 75U daily. Daily ultrasound and blood estradiol measurements are conducted starting on the 7th or 8th day of gonadotropin administration and continued until daily ultrasound follicle assessments indicate that most follicles have fully developed. At this point egg maturation is “triggered” using an intramuscular injection of a recombinant hCGr (Ovidrel) 500mcg or urinary derived hCGu (Pregnyl/Profasi/Novarel) 10,000U. And an egg retrieval is scheduled for 36h later.
- The agonist/antagonist conversion protocol (A/ACP): This is essentially the same as the conventional long down regulation protocol (see “a”-as above), except that with the onset of post-BCP menstruation, the agonist is supplanted by daily administration of a GnRH antagonist (e.g. Ganirelix, Cetrotide or Orgalutron) at a dosage of 125-250mcg daily until the day of the “trigger”. When it comes to women who have DOR I favor the use of the A/ACP, adding supplementary human growth hormone (HGH). In cases where the DOR is regarded as severe (AMH=<0.2), I often augment the AACP protocol by using estrogen priming for 7-9 days prior to or with the commencement of gonadotropin therapy; For this I prescribe E2 skin patches or intramuscular estradiol valerate (Delestrogen), prior to or sometimes concurrent with, the commencement of the GnRH antagonist administration.
- The following Ovarian stimulation protocols are in my opinion best avoided in stimulating olderf women and /or thosed who regardless of age , have DOR :
- Microdose agonist (e.g. Lupron) “flare” protocols which result in an out-pouring of pituitary-LH at the critical time that ovarian follicles and eggs start developing/growing.
- High dosages of LH -containing fertility drugs (e.g. Menopur).
- Supplementation with preparations that are testosterone-based
- Supplementation with DHEA (which is converted to testosterone in the ovaries.
- Clomiphene citrate or Letrozole which cause increased release of LH and thus increase ovarian male hormone (testosterone and androstenedione output.
- “Triggering” egg maturation using too low a dosage of hCG (e.g. 5,000U rather than 10,000U) or Ovidrel (e.g. 250mcg of Ovidrel rather than 500mcg)
- “Triggering” women who have DOR, with an agonist (alone)such as Lupron Superfact/ Buserelin/Aminopeptidyl/Decapeptyl.
- Preimplantation Genetic Screening (PGS):
The introduction of preimplantation genetic testing/screening (PGT/PGS) for e permits identification of all the chromosomes in the egg and embryo (full karyotyping) allowing for the identification of the most “competent” (euploid) embryos for selective transfer to the uterus. This vastly improves the efficiency and success of the IVF process and renders us fare better equipped us to manage older women and those who regardless of their age, have DOR.
Please visit my new Blog on this very site, www. SherIVF.com, find the “search bar” and type in the titles of any/all of the articles listed below, one by one. “Click” and you will immediately be taken to those you select. Please also take the time to post any questions or comments with the full expectation that I will (as always) respond promptly
- Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) for IVF: Selecting the ideal protocol
- IVF: Factors Affecting Egg/Embryo “competency” during Controlled Ovarian Stimulation(COS)
- The Fundamental Requirements For Achieving Optimal IVF Success
- Ovarian Stimulation for IVF using GnRH Antagonists: Comparing the Agonist/Antagonist Conversion Protocol.(A/ACP) With the “Conventional” Antagonist Approach
- Anti Mullerian Hormone (AMH) Measurement to Assess Ovarian Reserve and Design the Optimal Protocol for Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) in IVF.
- The “Biological Clock” and how it should Influence the Selection and Design of Ovarian Stimulation Protocols for IVF.
- A Rational Basis for selecting Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) protocols in women with Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR)
- Diagnosing and Treating Infertility due to Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR)
- Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) in Older women and Women who have Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR): A Rational Basis for Selecting a Stimulation Protocol
- Human Growth Hormone Administration in IVF: Does it Enhances Egg/Embryo Quality and Outcome?
- The BCP: Does Launching a Cycle of Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS). Coming off the BCP Compromise Response?
- Blastocyst Embryo Transfers Should be the Standard of Care in IVF
- Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) versus “Fresh” ET: How to Make the Decision
- Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET): A Rational Approach to Hormonal Preparation and How new Methodology is Impacting IVF.
- Staggered IVF: An Excellent Option When. Advancing Age and Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR) Reduces IVF Success Rate
- Embryo Banking/Stockpiling: Slows the “Biological Clock” and offers a Selective Alternative to IVF-Egg Donation.
- Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGS) in IVF: It Should be Used Selectively and NOT be Routine.
________________________________________________________________
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
I am attaching online links to two E-books which I recently co-authored with my partner at SFS-NY (Drew Tortoriello MD)……. for your reading pleasure:
1.From In Vitro Fertilization to Family: A Journey with Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) “
http://sherfertilitysolutions.com/sher-fertility-solutions-ebook.pdf
- “Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and Unexplained IVF Failure: The Immunologic Link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iYKz-EkAjMqwMa1ZcufIloRdxnAfDH8L/view
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I think we should talk. Please call my assistant Patti, at 702-533-2691 and set up an online consultation with me to discuss in depth.
Geoff Sher
Name: Aradhna S
Hello Dr Sher. I am a 34 yo F with spouse 43 yo M. G0P0, dx with unexplained infertility. BMI 22, no PMH and no male factors based on SA. Placed on levothyroxine during initial work up to bring TSH 7 mature —> 6 fertilized with ICSI –1 day 5 blast with PGT-A showing trisomy 16. We were told majority of embryos arrested at 8-10 cells pointing to an egg quality issue. IVF cycle 2 also 75 IU Menopur, 225 IU Follstim, Ganirelix CD7, dual trigger (Lupron with Pregnyl) with retrieval CD16. US day prior to trigger showed 36 follicles over 10 mm including 18 follicles over 15 mm with lead follicle 24.5 mm. 34 eggs retrieved–> 14 mature –> 11 fertilized w/ ICSI. Only two made it day 5 blast pending PGT-A. Husband & I are meeting with our REI to f/u this week. We are both physicians & willing to keep going with a few more cycles but I also want to be realistic on how many options there truly are for individuals with poor egg quality as we tried stimming longer and dual trigger and still only 2 made it to blast. Thank you in advance.
I think we should talk! Please consider calling my assistant, Patti Converse at 702-533-2691 and setting up an online consultation with me to discuss your case in detail.:
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One of the commonest questions asked by patients undergoing IVF relates to the likelihood of their eggs fertilizing and the likely “quality of their eggs and embryos. This is also one of the most difficult questions to answer. On the one hand many factors that profoundly influence egg quality; such as the genetic recruitment of eggs for use in an upcoming cycle, the woman’s age and her ovarian reserve, are our outside of our control. On the other hand the protocol for controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) can also profoundly influence egg/embryo development and this is indeed chosen by the treating physician.
First; it should be understood that the most important determinant of fertilization potential, embryo development and blastocyst generation, is the numerical chromosomal integrity of the egg (While sperm quality does play a role, in the absence of moderate to severe sperm dysfunction this is (moderate or severe male factor infertility a relatively small one). Human eggs have the highest rate of numerical chromosomal irregularities (aneuploidy) of all mammals. In fact only about half the eggs of women in their twenties or early thirties, have the required number of chromosomes (euploid), without which upon fertilization they cannot propagate a normal pregnancy. As the woman advances into and beyond her mid-thirties, the percentage of eggs euploid eggs declines progressively such that by the age of 40 years, only about one out of seven or eight are likely to be chromosomally normal and by the time she reaches her mid-forties less than one in ten of her eggs will be euploid.
Second; embryos that fail to develop into blastocysts are almost always aneuploid and not worthy of being transferred to the uterus because they will either not implant, will miscarry or could even result in a chromosomally abnormal baby (e.g. Down syndrome). However, it is incorrect to assume that all embryos reaching the blastocyst stage will be euploid (“competent”). ). It is true that since many aneuploid embryos are lost during development and that those failing to survive to the blastocyst stage are far more likely to be competent than are earlier (cleaved) embryos. What is also true is that the older the woman who produces the eggs, the less likely it is that a given blastocyst will be “competent”. As an example, a morphologically pristine blastocyst derived from the egg of a 30-year-old woman would have about a 50:50 chance of being euploid and a 30% chance of propagating a healthy, normal baby, while a microscopically comparable blastocyst-derived through fertilization of the eggs from a 40-year-old, would be about half as likely to be euploid and/or propagate a healthy baby.
While the effect of species on the potential of eggs to be euploid at ovulation is genetically preordained and nothing we do can alter this equation, there is, unfortunately, a lot we can (often unwittingly) do to worsen the situation by selecting a suboptimal protocol of controlled ovarian stimulation (COS). This, by creating an adverse intraovarian hormonal environment will often disrupt normal egg development and lead to a higher incidence of egg aneuploidy than otherwise might have occurred. Older women, women with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) and those with polycystic ovarian syndrome are especially vulnerable in this regard.
During the normal, ovulation cycle, ovarian hormonal changes are regulated to avoid irregularities in production and interaction that could adversely influence follicle development and egg quality. As an example, small amounts of androgens (male hormones such as testosterone), that are produced by the ovarian stroma (tissue surrounding ovarian follicles) during the pre-ovulatory phase of the cycle enhance late follicle development, estrogen production by the granulosa cells (that line the inner walls of follicles), and egg maturation. However, over-production of testosterone can adversely influence the same processes. It follows that COS protocols should be individualized and geared toward optimizing follicle growth and development time while avoiding excessive ovarian androgen (testosterone) production and that the hCG “trigger shot” should be carefully timed.
In summary, it is important to understand the influence species, age of the woman as well as the effect of the COS protocol can have on egg/embryo quality and thus on IVF outcome. The selection of an individualized protocol for ovarian stimulation is one of the most important decisions that the RE has to make and this becomes even more relevant when dealing with older women, those with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) and women with PCOS. Such factors will in large part determine egg competency, fertilization potential, the rate of blastocyst generation and indeed IVF outcome.
I strongly recommend that you visit www.SherIVF.com. Then go to my Blog and access the “search bar”. Type in the titles of any/all of the articles listed below, one by one. “Click” and you will immediately be taken to those you select. Please also take the time to post any questions or comments with the full expectation that I will (as always) respond promptly.
- The IVF Journey: The importance of “Planning the Trip” Before Taking the Ride”
- Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) for IVF: Selecting the ideal protocol
- The Fundamental Requirements For Achieving Optimal IVF Success
- Use of GnRH Antagonists (Ganirelix/Cetrotide/Orgalutron) in IVF-Ovarian Stimulation Protocols.
- Anti Mullerian Hormone (AMH) Measurement to Assess Ovarian Reserve and Design the Optimal Protocol for Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) in IVF.
- The “Biological Clock” and how it should Influence the Selection and Design of Ovarian Stimulation Protocols for IVF.
- A Rational Basis for selecting Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) protocols in women with Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR)
- Diagnosing and Treating Infertility due to Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR)
- Ovarian Stimulation in Women Who have Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR): Introducing the Agonist/Antagonist Conversion protocol
- Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) in Older women and Women who have Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR): A Rational Basis for Selecting a Stimulation Protocol
- Optimizing Response to Ovarian Stimulation in Women with Compromised Ovarian Response to Ovarian Stimulation: A Personal Approach.
- Egg Maturation in IVF: How Egg “Immaturity”, “Post-maturity” and “Dysmaturity” Influence IVF Outcome:
- Commonly Asked Question in IVF: “Why Did so Few of my Eggs Fertilize and, so Many Fail to Reach Blastocyst?”
- Human Growth Hormone Administration in IVF: Does it Enhances Egg/Embryo Quality and Outcome?
- The BCP: Does Launching a Cycle of Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS). Coming off the BCP Compromise Response?
- Staggered IVF
- Staggered IVF with PGS- Selection of “Competent” Embryos Greatly Enhances the Utility & Efficiency of IVF.
- Staggered IVF: An Excellent Option When. Advancing Age and Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR) Reduces IVF Success Rate
- Embryo Banking/Stockpiling: Slows the “Biological Clock” and offers a Selective Alternative to IVF-Egg Donation
- Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGS) in IVF: It should be Used Selectively and NOT be Routine.
- IVF: Selecting the Best Quality Embryos to Transfer
- Preimplantation Genetic Sampling (PGS) Using: Next Generation Gene Sequencing (NGS): Method of Choice.
- PGS in IVF: Are Some Chromosomally abnormal Embryos Capable of Resulting in Normal Babies and Being Wrongly Discarded?
- PGS and Assessment of Egg/Embryo “competency”: How Method, Timing and Methodology Could Affect Reliability
- IVF outcome: How Does Advancing Age and Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR) Affect Egg/Embryo “Competency” and How Should the Problem be addressed.
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ADDENDUM: PLEASE READ!!
INTRODUCING SHER FERTILITY SOLUTIONS (SFS)
Founded in April 2019, Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) offers online (Skype/FaceTime) consultations to patients from > 40 different countries. All consultations are followed by a detailed written report presenting my personal recommendations for treatment of what often constitute complex Reproductive Issues.
If you wish to schedule an online consultation with me, please contact my assistant (Patti Converse) by phone (800-780-7437/702-533-2691), email (concierge@SherIVF.com) or, enroll online on then home-page of my website (www.SherIVF.com).
_________________________________________________________________________________
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
I am attaching online links to two E-books which I recently co-authored with my partner at SFS-NY (Drew Tortoriello MD)……. for your reading pleasure:
1.From In Vitro Fertilization to Family: A Journey with Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) “
http://sherfertilitysolutions.com/sher-fertility-solutions-ebook.pdf
- “Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and Unexplained IVF Failure: The Immunologic Link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iYKz-EkAjMqwMa1ZcufIloRdxnAfDH8L/view
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Name: sabrina P
I have had several miscarriages the last 2 after IVF but I’ve never been tested for autoimmune implantation dysfunction even though I have Lupus, Celiac disease, and Rheumatoid arthritis. I have 2 frozen embryos and am 47. My current husband and I have been exploring what options I have left and am not sure where to turn at the point.
When it comes to reproduction, humans are the poorest performers of all mammals. In fact we are so inefficient that up to 75% of fertilized eggs do not produce live births, and up to 30% of pregnancies end up being lost within 10 weeks of conception (in the first trimester). RPL is defined as two (2) or more failed pregnancies. Less than 5% of women will experience two (2) consecutive miscarriages, and only 1% experience three or more.
Pregnancy loss can be classified by the stage of pregnancy when the loss occurs:
- Early pregnancy loss (first trimester)
- Late pregnancy loss (after the first trimester)
- Occult “hidden” and not clinically recognized, (chemical) pregnancy loss (occurs prior to ultrasound confirmation of pregnancy)
- Early pregnancy losses usually occur sporadically (are not repetitive).
In more than 70% of cases the loss is due to embryo aneuploidy (where there are more or less than the normal quota of 46 chromosomes). Conversely, repeated losses (RPL), with isolated exceptions where the cause is structural (e.g., unbalanced translocations), are seldom attributable to numerical chromosomal abnormalities (aneuploidy). In fact, the vast majority of cases of RPL are attributable to non-chromosomal causes such as anatomical uterine abnormalities or Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction (IID).
Since most sporadic early pregnancy losses are induced by chromosomal factors and thus are non-repetitive, having had a single miscarriage the likelihood of a second one occurring is no greater than average. However, once having had two losses the chance of a third one occurring is double (35-40%) and after having had three losses the chance of a fourth miscarriage increases to about 60%. The reason for this is that the more miscarriages a woman has, the greater is the likelihood of this being due to a non-chromosomal (repetitive) cause such as IID. It follows that if numerical chromosomal analysis (karyotyping) of embryonic/fetal products derived from a miscarriage tests karyotypically normal, then by a process of elimination, there would be a strong likelihood of a miscarriage repeating in subsequent pregnancies and one would not have to wait for the disaster to recur before taking action. This is precisely why we strongly advocate that all miscarriage specimens be karyotyped.
There is however one caveat to be taken into consideration. That is that the laboratory performing the karyotyping might unwittingly be testing the mother’s cells rather than that of the conceptus. That is why it is not possible to confidently exclude aneuploidy in cases where karyotyping of products suggests a “chromosomally normal” (euploid) female.
Late pregnancy losses (occurring after completion of the 1st trimester/12th week) occur far less frequently (1%) than early pregnancy losses. They are most commonly due to anatomical abnormalities of the uterus and/or cervix. Weakness of the neck of the cervix rendering it able to act as an effective valve that retains the pregnancy (i.e., cervical incompetence) is in fact one of the commonest causes of late pregnancy loss. So also are developmental (congenital) abnormalities of the uterus (e.g., a uterine septum) and uterine fibroid tumors. In some cases intrauterine growth retardation, premature separation of the placenta (placental abruption), premature rupture of the membranes and premature labor can also causes of late pregnancy loss.
Much progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms involved in RPL. There are two broad categories:
- Problems involving the uterine environment in which a normal embryo is prohibited from properly implanting and developing. Possible causes include:
- Inadequate thickening of the uterine lining
- Irregularity in the contour of the uterine cavity (polyps, fibroid tumors in the uterine wall, intra-uterine scarring and adenomyosis)
- Hormonal imbalances (progesterone deficiency or luteal phase defects). This most commonly results in occult RPL.
- Deficient blood flow to the uterine lining (thin uterine lining).
- Immunologic implantation dysfunction (IID). A major cause of RPL. Plays a role in 75% of cases where chromosomally normal preimplantation embryos fail to implan
- Interference of blood supply to the developing conceptus can occur due to a hereditary clotting disorder known as Thrombophili
- Genetic and/or numerical chromosomal abnormalities(aneuploidy) of the embryo are far away the commonest overall causes of miscarriages. But this only applies to sporadic pregnancy losses (which comprises the majority of all miscarriages. However, recurrent, (consecutive) pregnancy losses are much more likely due to implantation dysfunction than to embryo-related issues, where implantation dysfunction (usually anatomical or immunologic) factors usually underly the problem.
- Genetic or Structural chromosomal abnormalities (which only occur in about 1% of cases) can also cause RPL. This is referred to as an unbalanced translocation and they result from part of one chromosome detaching and then fusing with another chromosome. Additionally, genetic defects (unrelated to chromosomal abnormalities) can also affect embryo quality and pregnancy outcome. Damaged sperm DNA can sometimes be diagnosed using the SCSA (see before) which primarily measures the sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI).
IMMUNOLOGIC IMPLANTATION DYSFUNCTIO-IID (see before)
Autoimmune IID: Here an immunologic reaction is produced by the individual to his/her body’s own cellular components. The most common antibodies that form in such situations are APA and antithyroid antibodies
Alloimmune IID, i.e., where there is an immunologic reaction to antigens derived from another member of the same species (i.e. the woman’s immune system reacts to the paternal antigens in the sperm (see above) .
*It is important to recognize that alloimmune (rather than autoimmune) IID is more commonly associated with RPL.
Autoimmune IID is often genetically transmitted. Thus, it should not be surprising to learn that it is more likely to exist in women who have a family (or personal) history of primary autoimmune diseases such as lupus erythematosus (LE), scleroderma or autoimmune hypothyroidism (Hashimoto’s disease), autoimmune hyperthyroidism (Grave’s disease), rheumatoid arthritis, etc. Reactionary (secondary) autoimmunity can occur in conjunction with any medical condition associated with widespread tissue damage. One such gynecologic condition is endometriosis. Since autoimmune IID is usually associated with activated NK and T-cells from the outset, it usually results in such very early destruction of the embryo’s root system that the patient does not even recognize that she is pregnant. Accordingly, the condition usually presents as “unexplained infertility” or “unexplained IVF failure” rather than as a miscarriage.
Alloimmune IID, on the other hand, usually starts off presenting as unexplained miscarriages (often manifesting as RPL). Over time as NK/T cell activation builds and eventually becomes permanently established the patient often goes from RPL to “infertility” due to failed implantation. RPL is more commonly the consequence of alloimmune rather than autoimmune implantation dysfunction.
However, regardless, of whether miscarriage is due to autoimmune or alloimmune implantation dysfunction the final blow to the pregnancy is the result of activated NK cells and CTL in the uterine lining that damage the developing embryo’s “root system” (trophoblast) so that it can no longer sustain the growing conceptus. This having been said, it is important to note that autoimmune IID is readily amenable to reversal through timely, appropriately administered, selective immunotherapy, and alloimmune IID is not. It is much more difficult to treat successfully, even with the use of immunotherapy. In fact, in some cases the only solution will be to revert to selective immunotherapy plus using donor sperm (provided there is no “match” between the donor’s DQ alpha/HLA profile and that of the female recipient) or alternatively to resort to gestational surrogacy.
DIAGNOSING THE CAUSE OF RPL
In the past, women who miscarried were not evaluated thoroughly until they had lost several pregnancies in a row. This was because sporadic miscarriages are most commonly the result of embryo numerical chromosomal irregularities (aneuploidy) and thus not treatable. However, a consecutive series of miscarriages points to a repetitive cause that is non-chromosomal and is potentially remediable. Since RPL is most commonly due to a uterine pathology or immunologic causes that are potentially treatable, it follows that early chromosomal evaluation of products of conception could point to a potentially treatable situation. Thus, we strongly recommend that such testing be done in most cases of miscarriage. Doing so will avoid a great deal of unnecessary heartache for many patients.
Establishing the correct diagnosis is the first step toward determining effective treatment for couples with RPL. It results from a problem within the pregnancy itself or within the uterine environment where the pregnancy implants and grows. Diagnostic tests useful in identifying individuals at greater risk for a problem within the pregnancy itself include:
- Karyotyping (chromosome analysis) both prospective parents
- Assessment of the karyotype of products of conception derived from previous miscarriage specimens
- Ultrasound examination of the uterine cavity after sterile water is injected or sonohysterogram, fluid ultrasound, etc.
- Hysterosalpingogram (dye X-ray test)
- Hysteroscopic evaluation of the uterine cavity
- Full hormonal evaluation (estrogen, progesterone, adrenal steroid hormones, thyroid hormones, FSH/LH, )
- Immunologic testing to include:
- Antiphospholipid antibody (APA) panel
- Antinuclear antibody (ANA) panel
- Antithyroid antibody panel (i.e., antithyroglobulin and antimicrosomal antibodies)
- Reproductive immunophenotype
- Natural killer cell activity (NKa) assay (i.e., K562 target cell test)
- Alloimmune (DQ alpha/HLA) testing of both the male and female partners
TREATMENT OF RPL
Treatment for Anatomic Abnormalities of the Uterus: This involves restoration through removal of local lesions such as fibroids, scar tissue, and endometrial polyps or timely insertion of a cervical cerclage (a stitch placed around the neck of the weakened cervix) or the excision of a uterine septum when indicated.
Treatment of Thin Uterine Lining: A thin uterine lining has been shown to correlate with compromised pregnancy outcome. Often this will be associated with reduced blood flow to the endometrium. Such decreased blood flow to the uterus can be improved through treatment with sildenafil and possibly aspirin.
Sildenafil (Viagra) Therapy (see above). Viagra has been used successfully to increase uterine blood flow. To date, we have seen significant improvement of the thickness of the uterine lining in about 70% of women treated. Successful pregnancy resulted in almost half of those women who responded to the Viagra. It should be borne in mind that most of these women had previously experienced repeated IVF failures.
Use of Aspirin: This is an anti-prostaglandin that improves blood flow to the endometrium. It is administered at a dosage of 81 mg orally, daily from the beginning of the cycle until ovulation.
Treating Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction with Selective Immunotherapy: Modalities such as IL/IVIg, heparinoids (Lovenox/Clexane), and corticosteroids can be used in select cases depending on autoimmune or alloimmune dysfunction.
The Use of IVF in the Treatment of RPL. In the following circumstances, IVF is the preferred option:
- When in addition to a history of RPL, another standard indication for IVF (e.g., tubal factor, endometriosis, and male factor infertility) is superimposed.
- In cases where selective immunotherapy is needed to treat an immunologic implantation dysfunction.
The reason for IVF being a preferred approach in such cases is that in order to be effective, the immunotherapy needs to be initiated well before spontaneous or induced ovulation. Given the fact that in the absence of IVF the anticipated birthrate per cycle of COS with or without IUI is at best about 15%, it follows that short of IVF, to have even a reasonable chance of a live birth, most women with immunologic causes of RPL would need to undergo immunotherapy repeatedly, over consecutive cycles. Conversely, with IVF, the chance of a successful outcome in a single cycle of treatment is several times greater and, because of the attenuated and concentrated time period required for treatment, IVF is far safer and thus represents a more practicable alternative
Since embryo aneuploidy is a common cause of miscarriage, the use of PGS/PGT-A can provide a valuable diagnostic and therapeutic advantage in cases of RPL. PGD requires IVF to provide access to embryos for testing.
There are a few cases of intractable alloimmune dysfunction due to “complete DQ alpha matching where Gestational Surrogacy or use of Donor Sperm could represent the only viable recourse, other than abandoning treatment altogether and/or resorting to adoption. Other non-immunologic factors such as an intractably thin uterine lining or severe uterine pathology might also warrant that last resort consideration be given to gestational surrogacy.
The good news is that if a couple with RPL is open to all of the diagnostic and treatment options referred to above, a live birthrate of 70%–80% is ultimately achievable.
I strongly recommend that you visit www.SherIVF.com. Then go to my Blog and access the “search bar”. Type in the titles of any/all of the articles listed below, one by one. “Click” and you will immediately be taken to those you select. Please also take the time to post any questions or comments with the full expectation that I will (as always) respond promptly.
- The IVF Journey: The importance of “Planning the Trip” Before Taking the Ride”
- Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) for IVF: Selecting the ideal protocol
- IVF: Factors Affecting Egg/Embryo “competency” during Controlled Ovarian Stimulation(COS)
- The Fundamental Requirements For Achieving Optimal IVF Success
- Ovarian Stimulation for IVF using GnRH Antagonists: Comparing the Agonist/Antagonist Conversion Protocol.(A/ACP) With the “Conventional” Antagonist Approach
- Ovarian Stimulation in Women Who have Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR): Introducing the Agonist/Antagonist Conversion protocol
- Anti Mullerian Hormone (AMH) Measurement to Assess Ovarian Reserve and Design the Optimal Protocol for Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) in IVF.
- Human Growth Hormone Administration in IVF: Does it Enhances Egg/Embryo Quality and Outcome?
- The BCP: Does Launching a Cycle of Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS). Coming off the BCP Compromise Response?
- Blastocyst Embryo Transfers Should be the Standard of Care in IVF
- IVF: How Many Attempts should be considered before Stopping?
- “Unexplained” Infertility: Often a matter of the Diagnosis Being Overlooked!
- IVF Failure and Implantation Dysfunction:
- The Role of Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction (IID) & Infertility (IID):PART 1-Background
- Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction (IID) & Infertility (IID):PART 2- Making a Diagnosis
- Immunologic Dysfunction (IID) & Infertility (IID):PART 3-Treatment
- Thyroid autoantibodies and Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction (IID)
- Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction: Importance of Meticulous Evaluation and Strategic Management:(Case Report
- Intralipid and IVIG therapy: Understanding the Basis for its use in the Treatment of Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction (IID)
- Intralipid (IL) Administration in IVF: It’s Composition; How it Works; Administration; Side-effects; Reactions and Precautions
- Natural Killer Cell Activation (NKa) and Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction in IVF: The Controversy!
- Endometrial Thickness, Uterine Pathology and Immunologic Factors
- Vaginally Administered Viagra is Often a Highly Effective Treatment to Help Thicken a Thin Uterine Lining
- Treating Out-of-State and Out-of-Country Patients at Sher-IVF in Las Vegas:
- A personalized, stepwise approach to IVF
- How Many Embryos should be transferred: A Critical Decision in IVF.
- The Role of Nutritional Supplements in Preparing for IVF
______________________________________________________
ADDENDUM: PLEASE READ!!
INTRODUCING SHER FERTILITY SOLUTIONS (SFS)
Founded in April 2019, Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) offers online (Skype/FaceTime) consultations to patients from > 40 different countries. All consultations are followed by a detailed written report presenting my personal recommendations for treatment of what often constitute complex Reproductive Issues.
If you wish to schedule an online consultation with me, please contact my assistant (Patti Converse) by phone (800-780-7437/702-533-2691), email (concierge@SherIVF.com) or, enroll online on then home-page of my website (www.SherIVF.com).
Geoff Sher
______________________________________________________________________________
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
I am attaching online links to two E-books which I recently co-authored with my partner at SFS-NY (Drew Tortoriello MD)……. for your reading pleasure:
1.From In Vitro Fertilization to Family: A Journey with Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) “
http://sherfertilitysolutions.com/sher-fertility-solutions-ebook.pdf
- “Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and Unexplained IVF Failure: The Immunologic Link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iYKz-EkAjMqwMa1ZcufIloRdxnAfDH8L/view
………………………………………………………………..
Name: Alyssa J
Hi Dr. Sher,
I’m writing you at a complete loss and low point in my treatment. I am 34. My husband is 41. We started to try to conceive when I was age 31 and within 3 months, I became pregnant but quickly found out it was a chemical pregnancy. I then pushed for testing and it was found I had DOR with an AMh of .06 and an FSH of 22. I tried 2 rounds of IVF with my own eggs. The first round was canceled due to no response and 2nd cycle was converted to an IUI and was unsuccessful. We are from Rhode Island, but then looked into donor eggs at Utah Fertility Center as they have a great program. Our donor produced 10 pgt tested normal eggs. I did a hysteroscopy beforehand as Dr. Foulk found that I had some adhesions in my lining. I went through one transfer in December that was a chemical. My lining also struggled to increase past 7mm. After that we did an RPL panel and found out I had high natural killer cells and MTFHR. I also did an ERA and found out I needed 8 more hours of progesterone. Dr. Foulk did another hysteroscopy and was about to put me on Lupron Depot, but then said he didn’t think it was necessary as my adenomyosis was mild. This transfer I’m March we did a round of intralipids, used the ERA timing, added a Neupogen wash and my lining got up to 7.5. This round has failed. I feel so confused and out of options. I’m looking to transfer my embryos back to a New England based clinic as the travel is too much emotionally and financially. Just feeling super lost and wondering if we should move on to adoption. I would not consider surrogacy as it’s not something I feel comfortable doing. Thanks,
Alyssa
There is very likely to be an implantation dysfunction. We should talk. I suggest you call my assistant, Patti Converse (702-533-02691 and set up an online consultation with me.
Implantation dysfunction is unfortunately often overlooked as an important cause of IVF failure. In the pursuit of optimizing outcome with IVF, the clinician has a profound responsibility to meticulously assess and address this important issue if IVF success is to be optimized. This is especially relevant in cases of “unexplained IVF failure, Recurrent Pregnancy Loss (RPL) and in women suspected of having underlying anatomical and immunologic factors. Doing so will not only maximize the chance of a viable pregnancy but enhancing placentation, will at the same time promote the noble objective of optimizing the quality of life after birth.”
IVF success rates have been improving over the last decade. The average live birth rate per embryo transfer in the U.S.A for women under 40y using their own eggs , is currently better than 1:3 women. However, there is still a wide variation from program to program for IVF live birth rates, ranging from 20% to near 50%. Based upon these statistics, the majority of women undergoing IVF in the United States require two or more attempts to have a baby. IVF practitioners in the United States commonly attribute the wide dichotomy in IVF success rates to variability in expertise of the various embryology laboratories. This is far from accurate. In fact, other factors such as wide variations in patient selection and the failure to develop individualized protocols for ovarian stimulation or to address those infective, anatomical and immunologic factors that influence embryo implantation are at least equally important.
About 80% of IVF failures are due to “embryo incompetency” that is largely due to an irregular quota of chromosomes (aneuploidy) which is usually related to advancing age of the woman and is further influenced by other factors such as the protocol selected for ovarian stimulation, diminished ovarian reserve (DOR)m and severe male factor infertility. However in about 20% of dysfunctional cases embryo implantation is the cause of failure.
This blog article will focus on implantation dysfunction and IVF failure due to:
- Anatomical abnormalities in the uterine cavity (polyps/scarring/internal fibroids)
Several studies performed both in the United States and abroad have confirmed that a dye X-Ray or hysterosalpingogram (HSG) will fail to identify small endouterine surface lesions in >20% of cases. This is significant because even small uterine lesions have the potential to adversely affect implantation. Hysteroscopy is the traditional method for evaluating the integrity of the uterine cavity in preparation for IVF. It also permits resection of most uterine surface lesions, such as submucous uterine fibroids (myomas), intrauterine adhesions and endometrial or placental polyps. All of these can interfere with implantation by producing a local “inflammatory- type” response similar in nature to that which is caused by an intrauterine contraceptive device. Hysterosonography (syn; HSN/ saline ultrasound examination) and hysteroscopy have all but supplanted HSG to assess the uterine cavity in preparation for IVF. HSN which is less invasive and far less expensive than is than hysteroscopy involves a small amount of a sterile saline solution is injected into the uterine cavity, whereupon a vaginal ultrasound examination is performed to assess the contour of the uterine cavity.
- Endometrial Thickness: As far back as in 1989 I first reported on the finding that ultrasound assessment of the late proliferative phase endometrium following ovarian stimulation in preparation for IVF, permits better identification of those candidates who are least likely to conceive. We noted that the ideal thickness of the endometrium at the time of ovulation or egg retrieval is >9 mm and that a thickness of less than 8 mm bodes poorly for a successful outcome following IVF.
Then in 1993, I demonstrated that sildenafil (Viagra) introduced into the vagina prior to hCG administration can improve endometrial growth in many women with poor endometrial development. Viagra’s mechanism of action is improvement in uterine blood flow with improved estrogen delivery…thereby enhancing endometrial development.
- Immunologic factors: These also play a role in IVF failure. Some women develop antibodies to components of their own cells. This “autoimmune” process involves the production of antiphospholipid, antithyroid, and/or anti-ovarian antibodies – all of which may be associated with activation of Natural Killer (NK) cells in the uterine lining. Activated NK cells (NKa) release certain cytokines (TH-I) that if present in excess, often damage the trophoblast (the embryo’s root system) resulting in immunologic implantation dysfunction (IID). This can manifest as “infertility” or as early miscarriages). In other cases (though less common), the problem is due to “alloimmune” dysfunction. Here the genetic contribution by the male partner renders the embryo “too similar” to the mother. This in turn activates NK cells leading to implantation dysfunction. These IID’s are treated using combinations of medications such as heparin, Clexane, Lovenox, corticosteroids and intralipid (IL).
I strongly recommend that you visit www.SherIVF.com. Then go to my Blog and access the “search bar”. Type in the titles of any/all of the articles listed below, one by one. “Click” and you will immediately be taken to those you select. Please also take the time to post any questions or comments with the full expectation that I will (as always) respond promptly.
- A Fresh Look at the Indications for IVF
- The IVF Journey: The importance of “Planning the Trip” Before Taking the Ride”
- Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) for IVF: Selecting the ideal protocol
- IVF: Factors Affecting Egg/Embryo “competency” during Controlled Ovarian Stimulation(COS)
- The Fundamental Requirements For Achieving Optimal IVF Success
- Use of GnRH Antagonists (Ganirelix/Cetrotide/Orgalutron) in IVF-Ovarian Stimulation Protocols.
- Human Growth Hormone Administration in IVF: Does it Enhances Egg/Embryo Quality and Outcome?
- IVF and the use of Supplementary Human Growth Hormone (HGH) : Is it Worth Trying and who needs it?
- The BCP: Does Launching a Cycle of Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS). Coming off the BCP Compromise Response?
- Blastocyst Embryo Transfers Should be the Standard of Care in IVF
- Anti Mullerian Hormone (AMH) Measurement to Assess Ovarian Reserve and Design the Optimal Protocol for Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) in IVF.
- IVF: Approach to Selecting the Best Embryos for Transfer to the Uterus.
- Fresh versus Frozen Embryo Transfers (FET) Enhance IVF Outcome
- Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET): A Rational Approach to Hormonal Preparation and How new Methodology is Impacting IVF.
- Genetically Testing Embryos for IVF
- Staggered IVF
- Staggered IVF with PGS- Selection of “Competent” Embryos Greatly Enhances the Utility & Efficiency of IVF.
- Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGS) in IVF: It should be Used Selectively and NOT be Routine.
- IVF: Selecting the Best Quality Embryos to Transfer
- Preimplantation Genetic Sampling (PGS) Using: Next Generation Gene Sequencing (NGS): Method of Choice.
- PGS in IVF: Are Some Chromosomally abnormal Embryos Capable of Resulting in Normal Babies and Being Wrongly Discarded?
- PGS and Assessment of Egg/Embryo “competency”: How Method, Timing and Methodology Could Affect Reliability
- Endometrial Receptivity Array (ERA): Is There an actual “There, There”?
- IVF Failure and Implantation Dysfunction:
- Diagnosing and Treating Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction (IID)
- The Role of Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction (IID) & Infertility (IID):PART 1-Background
- Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction (IID) & Infertility (IID):PART 2- Making a Diagnosis
- Immunologic Dysfunction (IID) & Infertility (IID):PART 3-Treatment
- Thyroid autoantibodies and Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction (IID)
- Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction: Importance of Meticulous Evaluation and Strategic Management:(Case Report
- Intralipid and IVIG therapy: Understanding the Basis for its use in the Treatment of Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction (IID)
- Intralipid (IL) Administration in IVF: It’s Composition; How it Works; Administration; Side-effects; Reactions and Precautions
- Natural Killer Cell Activation (NKa) and Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction in IVF: The Controversy!
- Endometrial Thickness, Uterine Pathology and Immunologic Factors
- Vaginally Administered Viagra is Often a Highly Effective Treatment to Help Thicken a Thin Uterine Lining
- A Thin Uterine Lining: Vaginal Viagra is Often the Answer (update)
- Cervical Ureaplasma Urealyticum Infection: How can it Affect IUI/IVF Outcome?
- The Role of Nutritional Supplements in Preparing for IVF
- The Basic Infertility Work-Up
- Defining and Addressing an Abnormal Luteal Phase
- Male Factor Infertility
- Routine Fertilization by Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI): An Argument in Favor
- Hormonal Treatment of Male Infertility
- Hormonal Treatment of Male Infertility
- Antisperm Antibodies, Infertility and the Role of IVF with Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)
- Endometriosis and Infertily
- Endometriosis and Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction (IID) and IVF
- Endometriosis and Infertility: Why IVF Rather than IUI or Surgery Should be the Treatment of Choice.
- Endometriosis and Infertility: The Influence of Age and Severity on Treatment Options
- Early -Endometriosis-related Infertility: Ovulation Induction (with or without Intrauterine Insemination) and Reproductive Surgery Versus IVF
- Deciding Between Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) and In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).
- Intrauterine Insemination (IUI): Who Needs it & who Does Not: Pro’s & Con’s!IUI-Reflecting upon its Use and Misuse: Time for a Serious “Reality Check
- Mode of Action, Indications, Benefits, Limitations and Contraindications for its ue
- Clomiphene Induction of Ovulation: Its Use and Misuse!
ADDENDUM: PLEASE READ!!
INTRODUCING SHER FERTILITY SOLUTIONS (SFS)
Founded in April 2019, Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) offers online (Skype/FaceTime) consultations to patients from > 40 different countries. All consultations are followed by a detailed written report presenting my personal recommendations for treatment of what often constitute complex Reproductive Issues.
If you wish to schedule an online consultation with me, please contact my assistant (Patti Converse) by phone (800-780-7437/702-533-2691), email (concierge@SherIVF.com) or, enroll online on then home-page of my website (www.SherIVF.com).
_________________________________________________________________________________
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
I am attaching online links to two E-books which I recently co-authored with my partner at SFS-NY (Drew Tortoriello MD)……. for your reading pleasure:
1.From In Vitro Fertilization to Family: A Journey with Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) “
http://sherfertilitysolutions.com/sher-fertility-solutions-ebook.pdf
- “Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and Unexplained IVF Failure: The Immunologic Link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iYKz-EkAjMqwMa1ZcufIloRdxnAfDH8L/view
………………………………………………………………..
Name: Lis A
Dear Dr. Sher,
Thank you very much for your prompt response. Maybe I should have told you a bit of my story. I am 37 years old and last year I had 3 abortions (week 7+5, week 5 and week 4). I am not diabetic, my TSH and free T4 are Ok, study of thrombophilia was negative (no mutations on Factor II Prothrombin 20210G>A and factor V Leiden R506), lupic anticoagulant negative, no phospholipid syndrome identified (anticardiolipin antibodies Ok), antithrombin test Ok, AMH 22.6 pmol/L, normal karyotype, uterus morphology is Ok, no microorganisms detected by PCR.
On February I did a first cycle of FIV + genetic testing of the embryo. They recovered 14 oocytes (10 mature), 6 had a normal fecundation by ICSI. The genetic testing revealed 3 euploid embryos and 2 aneuploid (the remaining embryo stopped growth from day 3 to 5). I was transferred a blastocyst 4A quality on day 5. Unfortunately, it did not work. That is why I wanted to do a KIR HLA-C test for me and my husband. The results just arrived (those I sent you in my previous message) but I cannot discern if they explain any possible incompatibility which might be the cause of the 3 abortions and the FIV implantation failure. For the next transfer, which will be in 2 weeks, I am already in treatment with daily aspirin 100mg and subcutaneous Clexane 40mg.
Do you have any recommendation of further tests/treatment?
Thank you very much
Please contact my assistant Patti (702-533-2691) after the Easter weekend and set up an online consultation with me to discuss in detail.
Geoff Sher
Name: Lis A
I would like you, please to help me to understand our results from KIR HLA-C test:
My KIR:
KIR2DL1: positive
KIR2DL2: negative
KIR2DL3: positive
KIR2DL4: positive
KIR2DL5: positive
KIR2DS1: positive
KIR2DS2: negative
KIR2DS3: negative
KIR2DS4: positive
KIR2DS5 : positive
KIR3DL1: positive
KIR3DL2: positive
KIR3DL3: positive
KIR3DS1: positive
KIR2DP1: positive
KIR3DP1: positive
HLAC
My genotype: C*03 C*04
My phenotype: Cw10(3) Cw4
My husband’s genotype: C*03C*04
My husband’s phenotype: Cw10(3) Cw4
Do you any incompatibility problem?
Thank you in advance!
I am sorry…these are not the tests I would advise/order to look for an alloimmune , immunologic implantation dysfunction. Alone, the results would be of negligible help to me.
Geoff Sher
________________________________________________________________________________
In the United States, effective treatment of NK/CTL activation associated with either alloimmune or autoimmune implantation dysfunction requires the administration of primarily Intralipid (IL). Such treatment is much more likely to be successful in the case of` autoimmune implantation dysfunction where the NK/CTL activation is present in advance of the uterus being exposed to the embryo. It is not nearly as effective for the treatment of alloimmune implantation dysfunction where a DQ alpha-matching embryo will exert a sustained activation of NK/CTLs over several months of gestation.
It is presently not yet possible to recognize paternal DQ alpha in the embryo. Accordingly, in cases where the paternal DQ alpha genes only match with one of the mother’s DQ alpha’s (i.e., a partial match) there is a one out of two chance that a transferred embryo will inadvertently be a match with at least one of the mother’s DQ alpha genes. Thus IL and IVIg therapy will only prove half as likely to propagate a viable pregnancy in cases of partial DQ alpha matching as it can achieve in the treatment of NK/CTL activation associated with autoimmune implantation dysfunction. Thus we prefer to transfer only one embryo (rather than multiples) at a time in such cases, for fear of there being one DQ alpha matching embryo in the mix and so “muddying the waters” for the non-DQ alpha matching that otherwise might have propagated a healthy baby.
A real problem arises in cases of a complete match, where both paternal DQ alpha genes match with at least one of the mother’s DQ alphas. Here, every embryo will express a paternal DQ alpha gene that matches that of the mother’s. In such cases, IL therapy will rarely work. The reason is that such treatment cannot match the sustained provocation of NK/CTL activity brought about by an ever-present DQ alpha “clash.” In cases of a complete DQ alpha matching (with associated NK/CTL activation), where all the embryos will inevitably carry one or both paternal DQ alpha that match(es) the mother, there is in my opinion little hope of success, even with Intralipid/steroid therapy. In such cases, gestational surrogacy or the use of non-DQ alpha matching donor sperm may offer the only reasonable chance of a successful IVF outcome.
Some patients ask whether using an egg donor might not offer another solution in such cases. The answer is no! The matchup is between the paternal DQ alpha contribution (in the sperm) and the mother’s uterus. It is not between the sperm and the egg.
IL therapy should be administered in combination (with corticosteroids) at an adequate dosage, 7–14 days prior to planned embryo transfer, and with alloimmune implantation dysfunction it should (ideally) be maintained, at least through the 1st half of pregnancy. The goal is to down-regulate activated NK/CTL and thereby reinstate a healthy TH-1: TH-2 cytokine balance in advance of a “competent” non-DQ alpha matching embryo reaching the uterus. Treatment of autoimmune implantation dysfunction requires that IL (with corticosteroids) be administered only twice, once 7–14 days prior to embryo transfer and then one more time when the beta hCG blood level has shown evidence of an appropriate rise, thereby suggesting that healthy implantation could be in progress. Supplementation with heparinoid is indicated when there is evidence of concomitant antiphospholipid antibodies or certain types of hereditary clotting defects (thrombophilias) such as a homozygous MTHFR mutation.
The Role of PGS (Full Embryo Chromosomal Karyotyping) in the Treatment of Alloimmune Implantation Dysfunction
Intralipid (IL)/Prednisone therapy only addresses the implantation issue, not embryo competency (which resides in the chromosomal integrity of the embryo transferred. Moreover, as previously alluded to, with a partial DQ alpha match/NK cell activation each blastocyst transferred has a 50:50 chance of matching. Consider the fact that the transfer of a single expanded blastocyst to a young woman (who did not have a DQ alpha match) would yield at best about a 35% chance of propagating a healthy pregnancy. Now, if the woman had a partial DQ alpha match with her partner, given that each of her embryos embryo would have a 50:50 chance of matching (and there is currently no way to identify the DQ alpha genotype of an embryo) , the chance of a viable pregnancy would be one half of the otherwise anticipated 35% (i.e. about 17%). If on the other hand the woman’s transferred embryo had been tested and found through PGS Next Generation Gene Sequencing – NGS) to have a full component of 46 chromosomes (i.e. euploid) then the chance of a viable pregnancy would be about 32% (half of an otherwise 65% chance had she not had a partial DQ alpha match with her partner. Now add to this equation the fact that with a partial DQ alpha match it is probably best to transfer only one embryo at a time in order to reduce the risk that the inadvertent delivery of a DQ alpha matching embryo could potentially cause activation of local uterine NK cell activation that might prejudice the implantation of all embryos being transferred.
The Role of Embryo Banking in Cases of Alloimmune Implantation Dysfunction with a Partial DQ alpha Match
Bear in mind that less than 1:2 embryos are chromosomally normal even in young women, and this decreases further with advancing age. Furthermore, where there is a partial DQ alpha match between partners, only 50% of the embryos will be non-matching, reducing the chances of successful implantation again by half. It is advisable to only transfer one embryo at a time in such cases. Indeed, a strong case could be made for full embryo karyotyping (using PGS) to allow for the selective transfer (one at a time) of only those embryos that are chromosomally normal (euploid). In most cases, this will require biopsying the fresh embryos for PGS testing, allowing them to progress to blastocysts and then cryopreserving these for subsequent single embryo transfer. This would allow for more competent blastocysts to be available and for a much higher success rate per blastocyst transferred and accordingly, improved IVF outcomes.
Use of a Gestational Surrogate for Alloimmune Implantation Dysfunction
A gestational surrogate is used when there is a complete DQ alpha match with NK cell activation between the patient and the sperm provider. It has no real merit when there is only a partial match. Ordinarily, provided that an embryo recipient is NK negative, a DQa match between recipient and sperm provider should theoretically not preclude an ensuing pregnancy. Notwithstanding this, there should in our opinion be reluctance to accept NK negative Gestational Surrogates (GS) who share a DQa match with the sperm provider……An exception could be made only if following full disclosure of this concern to both parties in advance of treatment that although unlikely, a pregnancy with a matching DQa, NK negative pair could (although unlikely) suddenly cause the newly pregnant embryo recipient to convert to NK+, placing the pregnancy (as well as all future pregnancies) in jeopardy.
Use of a Sperm Donor in Cases of Alloimmune Implantation Dysfunction
This is an acceptable option in cases of a partial or complete DQ alpha match, provided that the sperm donor and the embryo recipient do not match and any coexisting NK cell/CTL activation is treated concurrently with IL/steroids.
Use of Medications in the Treatment of IID
- Intralipid (IL) Therapy:
About a decade ago, a Sher-IVF Reproductive Endocrinologist, along with a geneticist in an affiliated Reproductive immunology Laboratory in Chicago, IL, were the first to report on the potential advantage of supplanting IVIg therapy.
Intralipid (IL) is a solution of small lipid droplets suspended in water. When administered intravenously, IL provides essential fatty acids, linoleic acid (LA), an omega-6 fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an omega-3 fatty acid. IL is made up of 20% soybean oil/fatty acids (comprising linoleic acid, oleic acid, palmitic acid, linolenic acid and stearic acid), 1.2% egg yolk phospholipids (1.2%), glycerin (2.25%) and water (76.5%).
IL exerts a modulating effect on certain immune cellular mechanisms largely by down-regulating cytotoxic /activated natural killer cells (NKa). This effect is enhanced through the concomitant administration of corticosteroids such as dexamethasone, prednisone, and prednisolone, by suppressing cytotoxic/activated T-lymphocytes. This effect of IL might be due to its ability to suppress pro-inflammatory cellular (Type-1) cytokines such as interferon gamma and TNF-alpha,
In-vitro testing has shown that IL successfully and completely down-regulates activated natural killer cells (NKa) within 2-3 weeks in 78% of women experiencing immunologic implantation dysfunction. In this regard it is just as effective as IVIg but at a fraction of the cost and with a far lower incidence of side-effects. Its effect lasts for 4-9 weeks when administered in early pregnancy.
Can in-vitro tests done in the laboratory assess for an immediate benefit of Intralipid on NKa? Since the down-regulation of NKa through IL (or IVIg) therapy can take several weeks to become detectable, it follows that there is really no benefit in trying to assess the potential efficacy of such treatment by retesting NKa in the laboratory after adding IL (or IVIg) to the sample.
Treatment of Autoimmune NKa Using Intralipid: When it comes to NKa in IVF cases complicated by autoimmune implantation dysfunction, the combination of daily oral dexamethasone commencing with the onset of ovarian stimulation and continuing until the 10th week of pregnancy, combined with an initial infusion of IL (100ml, 20% IL dissolved in 500cc of saline solution, 10-14 days prior to embryo transfer and repeated once more (only), as soon as the blood pregnancy test is positive), the anticipated chance of a viable pregnancy occurring within 2 completed IVF attempts (including fresh + frozen ET’s) in women under 40Y (who have normal ovarian reserve) is above 80%.
Treatment of Alloimmune NKa Using Intralipid:
Partial DQ alpha Match: IVF patients who have NKa associated with a partial alloimmune implantation dysfunction (DQ alpha match between partners) we use the same IL, infusion as with autoimmune-NKa, only here we prescribe oral prednisone rather than dexamethasone until the 10th week of pregnancy and IL infusions are repeated every 2-4 weeks following the chemical diagnosis of pregnancy until the 24th week. Additionally, (as alluded to elsewhere) in such cases we transfer only a single embryo at a time. This is because in such cases, the likelihood is that one out of two embryos will “match” and we are fearful that if we transfer >1 embryo, and one of the transferred embryos “matches” it could cause further activation of uterine NK cells and so prejudice the implantation of all transferred embryos. Since we presently have no way of determining which embryo carries the matching paternal DQ alpha gene and thus would transfer only one embryo at a time, it follows that the anticipated viable pregnancy rate per cycle will be much lower than with autoimmune implantation dysfunction. It also follows that the only way to improve success with a single embryo being transferred would be to perform PGS on the embryos in advance of ET and then selectively transfer a “chromosomally normal-euploid (“competent”) embryos.
Total (Complete) DQ alpha Match: In cases where the partners have a total alloimmune (DQ alpha) match with accompanying NKa the chance of a viable pregnancy occurring or (if it does) resulting in a live birth at term, is so small as to be an indication for using a non-matching sperm donor or resorting to gestational surrogacy would in our opinion be preferable by far.
Contraindications and Cautions with Intralipid Infusion: IL is only contraindicated in conditions associated with severely disordered fat metabolism (e.g. severe liver damage, acute myocardial infarction and shock,
Rarely, hypersensitivity has been observed in patients allergic to soybean protein, egg yolk and egg whites and where fat metabolism may be disturbed (e.g. renal insufficiency, uncontrolled diabetes, certain metabolic disorders and in cases of severe infection (sepsis).
Adverse Reactions during Infusions of IL (Rare): These include transient fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, headache, and back or chest pain with shortness of breath and cyanosis.
Composition and Storage of IL: IL should be stored at a controlled room temperature below 25°C. It should not be frozen.
IVIg versus Intralipid Therapy: Until about a decade ago, the only effective and available way (in the US) to down-regulate activated NK cells was through the intravenous administration of a blood product known as immunoglobulin-G (IVIg). The fear (albeit unfounded) that the administration of this product might lead to the transmission of viral infections such as HIV and hepatitis C, plus the high cost of IVIG along with the fact that significant side effects occurred about 20% of the time, led to bad press and bad publicity for the entire field of reproductive immunology. It was easier for RE’s to simply say “I don’t believe IVIg works” and thereby avoid risk and bad publicity. But the thousands of women who had babies because of NK cell activity being down-regulated through its use, attests to IVIg’s efficacy. But those of us who felt morally obligated to many desperate patients who would not conceive without receiving IVIG were facing an uphill battle. The bad press caused by fear mongering took its toll and spawned a malicious controversy. It was only through the introduction of IL less (than a decade ago), that the tide began to turn in favor of those patients who required low cost, safe and effective immunotherapy to resolve their IID.
- Corticosteroid Therapy (Prednisone, Prednisolone, and Dexamethasone)
Corticosteroid therapy has become a mainstay in the treatment of most women undergoing IVF. It is believed by most to enhance implantation due to an overall immunomodulatory effect. Some IVF programs prescribe daily oral methyl prednisolone (Medrol) while others prefer prednisone or dexamethasone, commencing 10-14 days prior to egg retrieval and continuing until pregnancy is discounted or until the 10th week of pregnancy.
- Heparinoid Therapy
There is compelling evidence that the subcutaneous administration of heparin twice daily or low molecular heparin (Clexane, Lovenox) once daily, (starting with the onset of ovarian stimulation) can improve IVF birthrate in women who test positive for APAs and can prevent later pregnancy loss when certain thrombophilias (e.g. homozygous MTHFR mutation)
- What About Baby Aspirin?
In our opinion, aspirin has little (if any) value when it comes to IID, and besides, could even reduce the chance of success. The reason for this is that aspirin thins the blood and increases the potential to bleed. This effect can last for up to a week and could complicate an egg retrieval procedure or result in “concealed” intrauterine bleeding at the time of embryo transfer, thereby potentially compromising IVF success.
- TH-1 Cytokine Blockers (Enbrel, Humira)
TH-1 cytokine blockers, (Enbrel and Humira) are in our opinion relatively ineffective in the IVF setting. There has to date been no convincing data to support their use. Conversely, these blockers could have a role in the treatment of a threatened miscarriage thought to be due to CTL/NK activation, but not for IVF. The reason is that the very initial phase of implantation requires a cellular response involving TH-1 cytokines. To block them completely (rather than simply restore a TH-1: TH-2 balance as occurs with IL therapy) so very early on could compromise rather than benefit implantation.
- Leukocyte Immunization Therapy (LIT)
The subcutaneous injection of the male partner’s lymphocytes to the mother is thought to enhance the ability for the mother’s decidua (uterus) to recognize the DQ alpha matching embryo as “self” or “friend” and thereby avert its rejection. LIT has been shown to up-regulate Treg cells and thus down-regulate NK cell activation and thereby improve decidual TH-1: TH-2 balance. Thus there could be a therapeutic benefit from such therapy. However, the same benefit can be achieved through the use of IL plus corticosteroids. Besides, IL is much less expensive, and the use of LIT is prohibited by law in the U.S.A.
__________________________________________________________________
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
I am attaching online links to two E-books which I recently co-authored with my partner at SFS-NY (Drew Tortoriello MD)……. for your reading pleasure:
1.From In Vitro Fertilization to Family: A Journey with Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) “
http://sherfertilitysolutions.com/sher-fertility-solutions-ebook.pdf
- “Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and Unexplained IVF Failure: The Immunologic Link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iYKz-EkAjMqwMa1ZcufIloRdxnAfDH8L/view
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Name: Yael G
Hello Dr. Sher,
Further to my question about OHSS…are there any long term implications such as cancer?
Not to my knowledge!
Geoff Sher
Name: Gemma B
Hello, I am wondering whether I should have intralipids with my next IVF cycle (donor egg). I have Hashimotos and have heard that the soy in intralipids can aggravate Hashimotos. In my last cycle my TSH rose from 1.6 to 5.2, I believe due to estrogen, so I worry that intralipids may do a similar thing or cause my antibodies to increase. Thank you
__
Between 2% and 5% of women of the childbearing age have reduced thyroid hormone activity (hypothyroidism). Women with hypothyroidism often manifest with reproductive failure i.e. infertility, unexplained (often repeated) IVF failure, or recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL). The condition is 5-10 times more common in women than in men. In most cases hypothyroidism is caused by damage to the thyroid gland resulting from of thyroid autoimmunity (Hashimoto’s disease) caused by damage done to the thyroid gland by antithyroglobulin and antimicrosomal auto-antibodies.
The increased prevalence of hypothyroidism and thyroid autoimmunity (TAI) in women is likely the result of a combination of genetic factors, estrogen-related effects and chromosome X abnormalities. This having been said, there is significantly increased incidence of thyroid antibodies in non-pregnant women with a history of infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss and thyroid antibodies can be present asymptomatically in women without them manifesting with overt clinical or endocrinologic evidence of thyroid disease. In addition, these antibodies may persist in women who have suffered from hyper- or hypothyroidism even after normalization of their thyroid function by appropriate pharmacological treatment. The manifestations of reproductive dysfunction thus seem to be linked more to the presence of thyroid autoimmunity (TAI) than to clinical existence of hypothyroidism and treatment of the latter does not routinely result in a subsequent improvement in reproductive performance.
It follows, that if antithyroid autoantibodies are associated with reproductive dysfunction they may serve as useful markers for predicting poor outcome in patients undergoing assisted reproductive technologies.
Some years back, I reported on the fact that 47% of women who harbor thyroid autoantibodies, regardless of the absence or presence of clinical hypothyroidism, have activated uterine natural killer cells (NKa) cells and cytotoxic lymphocytes (CTL) and that such women often present with reproductive dysfunction. We demonstrated that appropriate immunotherapy with IVIG or intralipid (IL) and steroids, subsequently often results in a significant improvement in reproductive performance in such cases.
The fact that almost 50% of women who harbor antithyroid antibodies do not have activated CTL/NK cells suggests that it is NOT the antithyroid antibodies themselves that cause reproductive dysfunction. The activation of CTL and NK cells that occurs in half of the cases with TAI is probably an epiphenomenon with the associated reproductive dysfunction being due to CTL/NK cell activation that damages the early “root system” (trophoblast) of the implanting embryo. We have shown that treatment of those women who have thyroid antibodies + NKa/CTL using IL/steroids, improves subsequent reproductive performance while women with thyroid antibodies who do not harbor NKa/CTL do not require or benefit from such treatment.
I strongly recommend that you visit www.DrGeoffreySherIVF.com. Then go to my Blog and access the “search bar”. Type in the titles of any/all of the articles listed below, one by one. “Click” and you will immediately be taken to those you select. Please also take the time to post any questions or comments with the full expectation that I will (as always) respond promptly.
- The IVF Journey: The importance of “Planning the Trip” Before Taking the Ride”
- Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) for IVF: Selecting the ideal protocol
- IVF: Factors Affecting Egg/Embryo “competency” during Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS)
- The Fundamental Requirements for Achieving Optimal IVF Success
- Use of GnRH Antagonists (Ganirelix/Cetrotide/Orgalutron) in IVF-Ovarian Stimulation Protocols.
- The Role of Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction (IID) & Infertility (IID): PART 1-Background
- Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction (IID) & Infertility (IID): PART 2- Making a Diagnosis
- Immunologic Dysfunction (IID) & Infertility (IID): PART 3-Treatment
- Thyroid autoantibodies and Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction (IID) Why did my IVF Fail
- Recurrent Pregnancy Loss (RPL): Why do I keep losing my Pregnancies
- Genetically Testing Embryos for IVF
- Staggered IVF
- Staggered IVF with PGS- Selection of “Competent” Embryos Greatly Enhances the Utility & Efficiency of IVF.
- Embryo Banking/Stockpiling: Slows the “Biological Clock” and offers a Selective Alternative to IVF-Egg Donation
- Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGS) in IVF: It should be Used Selectively and NOT be Routine.
- IVF: Selecting the Best Quality Embryos to Transfer
- Preimplantation Genetic Sampling (PGS) Using: Next Generation Gene Sequencing (NGS): Method of Choice.
- PGS in IVF: Are Some Chromosomally abnormal Embryos Capable of Resulting in Normal Babies and Being Wrongly Discarded?
- Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction: Importance of Meticulous Evaluation and Strategic Management 🙁 Case Report)
- Intralipid and IVIG therapy: Understanding the Basis for its use in the Treatment of Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction (IID)
- Intralipid (IL) Administration in IVF: It’s Composition; how it Works; Administration; Side-effects; Reactions and Precautions
- Natural Killer Cell Activation (NKa) and Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction in IVF: The Controversy!
- Natural Killer Cell Activation (NKa) and Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction in IVF: The Controversy!
- Treating Out-of-State and Out-of-Country Patients at Sher-IVF in Las Vegas
- Should IVF Treatment Cycles be provided uninterrupted or be Conducted in several Pre-scheduled “Batches” per Year
- A personalized, stepwise approach to IVF
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ADDENDUM: PLEASE READ!!
INTRODUCING SHER FERTILITY SOLUTIONS (SFS)
Founded in April 2019, Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) offers online (Skype/FaceTime) consultations to patients from > 40 different countries. All consultations are followed by a detailed written report presenting my personal recommendations for treatment of what often constitute complex Reproductive Issues.
If you wish to schedule an online consultation with me, please contact my assistant (Patti Converse) by phone (800-780-7437/702-533-2691), email (concierge@SherIVF.com) or, enroll online on then home-page of my website (www.SherIVF.com).
_________________________________________________________________
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
I am attaching online links to two E-books which I recently co-authored with my partner at SFS-NY (Drew Tortoriello MD)……. for your reading pleasure:
1.From In Vitro Fertilization to Family: A Journey with Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) “
http://sherfertilitysolutions.com/sher-fertility-solutions-ebook.pdf
- “Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and Unexplained IVF Failure: The Immunologic Link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iYKz-EkAjMqwMa1ZcufIloRdxnAfDH8L/view
………………………………………………………………..
Name: Kay M
Hi Dr. Sher,
Thank you for taking my question. I am 28 years old who conceived naturally and unfortunately experienced a miscarriage three weeks ago. I was 14 weeks and this was my first pregnancy. Everything I have read online and my OBGYN have all told me that it is very unusual to miscarry in the second trimester. The baby had been doing fine (healthy heartbeat, normal growth) up until the day I began cramping and bleeding so my OB says that she suspects that it could be a placenta abruption or blood clot that caused this but we don’t know anything for sure at this stage.
My question is, what do I do from here? Is it a logical next step to consult with a Reproductive Endocrinologist or Reproductive Immunologist at this stage? Would you recommend that I pursue aggressive testing? This was a very traumatic experience for me and I am unsure where to go from here before we start trying again as I would like to minimize the chances of this happening again. Is there still hope?
Thank you for your time
WE should talk!
The commonest causes of mid-trimester miscarriage are:
1. Cervical incompetency
2. Uterine congenital anomaly (e.g. a septum
3. Uterine anatomical pathology (e.g. fibroids; adenomyosis; post surgical scarring; endo-uterine synecheae
4. Placental failure due to vascular or immunologicic causes
5. Developmental fetal abnormalities (genetic and multifactorial)
Geoff Sher
_______________________________________________________________________________________
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
I am attaching online links to two E-books which I recently co-authored with my partner at SFS-NY (Drew Tortoriello MD)……. for your reading pleasure:
1.From In Vitro Fertilization to Family: A Journey with Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) “
http://sherfertilitysolutions.com/sher-fertility-solutions-ebook.pdf
- “Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and Unexplained IVF Failure: The Immunologic Link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iYKz-EkAjMqwMa1ZcufIloRdxnAfDH8L/view
………………………………………………………………..
Name: Jennifer I
Hi Dr. Sher – I’m 34 yrs old, and developed uterine scaring after an incomplete miscarriage 4 years ago.
Scaring was cleared and I have done 1 IVF and 4 rounds of IUI, but they all ultimately failed due to thin endometrium. On my last try, my endometrium reached 9.2mm on day of IUI. I got pregnant, but developed SCH, and bled off and on again. I started having contractions at 14 wks (not painful) after a preventative cerclage was placed…but I suddenly woke up to my water bag bulging out my cervix at wk 21.
I’m tired and I want to move on to surrogacy. But my doctor says the SCH could have happened to anybody.
I have started another round of injections. Today is day 10, and my estradiol level is only 125 pg/ml, even though I have 5 follicles between 13-18mm and 4 other at 22-25mm. My lining is at an all time low, at just 4.7mm.
Thank you
It was as far back as 1989, when I first published a study that examined the correlation between the thickness of a woman’s uterine lining (the endometrium), and the subsequent successful implantation of embryos in IVF patients. This study revealed that when the uterine lining measured <8mm in thickness by the day of the “hCG trigger” (in fresh IVF cycles), or at the time of initiating progesterone therapy (in embryo recipient cycles, e.g. frozen embryo transfers-FET, egg donation-IVF etc.) , pregnancy and birth rates were substantially improved. Currently, it is my opinion, that an ideal estrogen-promoted endometrial lining should ideally measure at least 9mm in thickness and that an endometrial lining measuring 8-9mm is “intermediate”. An estrogenic lining of <8mm is in most cases unlikely to yield a viable pregnancy.
A “poor” uterine lining is usually the result of the innermost layer of endometrium (the basal or germinal endometrium from which endometrium grows) ) not being able to respond to estrogen by propagating an outer, “functional” layer thick enough to support optimal embryo implantation and development of a healthy placenta (placentation). The “functional” layer ultimately comprises 2/3 of the full endometrial thickness and is the layer that sheds with menstruation in the event that no pregnancy occurs.
The main causes of a “poor” uterine lining are:
- Damage to the basal endometrium as a result of:
- Inflammation of the endometrium (endometritis) most commonly resulting from infected products left over following abortion, miscarriage or birth
- Surgical trauma due to traumatic uterine scraping, (i.e. due to an over-aggressive D & C)
- Insensitivity of the basal endometrium to estrogen due to:
- Prolonged , over-use/misuse of clomiphene citrate
- Prenatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES). This is a drug that was given to pregnant women in the 1960’s to help prevent miscarriage
- Over-exposure of the uterine lining to ovarian male hormones (mainly testosterone): Older women, women with diminished ovarian reserve (poor responders) and women with polycystic ovarian syndrome -PCOS tend to have raised LH biological activity.. This causes the connective tissue in the ovary (stroma/theca) to overproduce testosterone. The effect can be further exaggerated when certain methods for ovarian stimulation such as agonist (Lupron/Buserelin) “flare” protocols and high dosages of menotropins such as Menopur are used in such cases.
- Reduced blood flow to the basal endometrium:
Examples include;
-
- Multiple uterine fibroids – especially when these are present under the endometrium (submucosal)
- Uterine adenomyosis (excessive, abnormal invasion of the uterine muscle by endometrial glands).
“The Viagra Connection”
Eighteen years ago years ago, after reporting on the benefit of vaginal Sildenafil (Viagra) for to women who had implantation dysfunction due to thin endometrial linings I was proud to announce the birth of the world’s first “Viagra baby.” Since the introduction of this form of treatment, thousands of women with thin uterine linings have been reported treated and many have gone on to have babies after repeated prior IVF failure.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the use of Viagra in IVF, allow me to provide some context. It was in the 90’s that Sildenafil (brand named Viagra) started gaining popularity as a treatment for erectile dysfunction. The mechanism by which it acted was through increasing penile blood flow through increasing nitric oxide activity. This prompted me to investigate whether Viagra administered vaginally, might similarly improve uterine blood flow and in the process cause more estrogen to be delivered to the basal endometrium and thereby increase endometrial thickening. We found that when Viagra was administered vaginally it did just that! However oral administration was without any significant benefit in this regard. We enlisted the services of a compound pharmacy to produce vaginal Viagra suppositories. Initially, four (4) women with chronic histories of poor endometrial development and failure to conceive following several advanced fertility treatments were evaluated for a period of 4-6 weeks and then underwent IVF with concomitant Viagra therapy. Viagra suppositories were administered four times daily for 8-11 days and were discontinued 5-7 days prior to embryo transfer in all cases.
Our findings clearly demonstrated that vaginal Viagra produced a rapid and profound improvement in uterine blood flow and that was followed by enhanced endometrial development in all four cases. Three (3) of the four women subsequently conceived. I expanded the trial in 2002 and became the first to report on the administration of vaginal Viagra to 105 women with repeated IVF failure due to persistently thin endometrial linings. All of the women had experienced at least two (2) prior IVF failures attributed to intractably thin uterine linings. About 70% of these women responded to treatment with Viagra suppositories with a marked improvement in endometrial thickness. Forty five percent (45%) achieved live births following a single cycle of IVF treatment with Viagra The miscarriage rate was 9%. None of the women who had failed to show an improvement in endometrial thickness following Viagra treatment achieved viable pregnancies.
Following vaginal administration, Viagra is rapidly absorbed and quickly reaches the uterine blood system in high concentrations. Thereupon it dilutes out as it is absorbed into the systemic circulation. This probably explains why treatment is virtually devoid of systemic side effects
It is important to recognize that Viagra will NOT be effective in improving endometrial thickness in all cases. In fact, about 30%-40% of women treated fail to show any improvement. This is because in certain cases of thin uterine linings, the basal endometrium will have been permanently damaged and left unresponsive to estrogen. This happens in cases of severe endometrial damage due mainly to post-pregnancy endometritis (inflammation), chronic granulomatous inflammation due to uterine tuberculosis (hardly ever seen in the United States) and following extensive surgical injury to the basal endometrium (as sometimes occurs following over-zealous D&C’s).
Combining vaginal Viagra Therapy with oral Terbutaline;
In my practice I sometimes recommend combining Viagra administration with 5mg of oral terbutaline. The Viagra relaxes the muscle walls of uterine spiral arteries that feed the basal (germinal) layer of the endometrium while Terbutaline, relaxes the uterine muscle through which these spiral arteries pass. The combination of these two medications interacts synergistically to maximally enhance blood flow through the uterus, thereby improving estrogen delivery to the endometrial lining. The only drawback in using Terbutaline is that some women experience agitation, tremors and palpitations. In such cases the terbutaline should be discontinued. Terbutaline should also not be used women who have cardiac disease or in those who have an irregular heartbeat.
About 75% of women with thin uterine linings see a positive response to treatment within 2-3 days. The ones that do not respond well to this treatment are those who have severely damaged inner (basal/germinal) endometrial linings, such that no improvement in uterine blood flow can coax an improved response. Such cases are most commonly the result of prior pregnancy-related endometrial inflammation (endometritis) that sometimes occurs post abortally or following infected vaginal and/or cesarean delivery.
Viagra therapy has proven to be a god send to thousands of woman who because of a thin uterine lining would otherwise never have been able to successfully complete the journey “from infertility to family”.
___________________________________________________
ADDENDUM: PLEASE READ!!
INTRODUCING SHER FERTILITY SOLUTIONS (SFS)
Founded in April 2019, Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) offers online (Skype/FaceTime) consultations to patients from > 40 different countries. All consultations are followed by a detailed written report presenting my personal recommendations for treatment of what often constitute complex Reproductive Issues.
Patients are encouraged to share the information I provide, with their treating Physicians and/or to avail themselves of my personal hands-on services, provided through batched IVF cycles that I conduct every 3 months at Los Angeles IVF (LAIVF) Clinic, Century City, Los Angeles, CA.
If you wish to schedule an online consultation with me, please contact my assistant (Patti Converse) by phone (800-780-7437/702-533-2691), email (concierge@SherIVF.com) or, enroll online on then home-page of my website (www.SherIVF.com).
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Name: Yael G
Hello Dr.Sher,
I am interested to know what your thoughts are on my situation. I am starting my first egg retrieval in the upcoming months and I’m 40 years old, with lean pcos (5’7 and 130 lbs) and with an AMH of 46.5 pmol/l. I know I am at a high risk of OHSS. What would you suggest medication wise for stims? My doc is thinking rekovelle and menopur with Lupron trigger.
Also would you suggest a mini ivf? And most importantly, if I did develop OHSS…would I be at an increased risk of cancer of the ovaries later?
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common hormonal system disorder among women affecting between 5% and 10% of women of reproductive age worldwide. Women with PCOS may have enlarged ovaries that contain multiple small collections of fluid (subcapsular microcysts) that are arranged like a “string of pearls” immediately below the ovarian surface (capsule).interspersed by an overgrowth of ovarian connective tissue (stroma). The condition is characterized by abnormal ovarian function (irregular or absent periods, abnormal or absent ovulation and infertility, androgenicity (increased body hair or hirsutism, acne) and increased body weight –body mass index or BMI.
Women with PCOS are at increased risk that ovarian stimulation with gonadotropins will result in the, of development of severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), a life-endangering condition that is often accompanied by a profound reduction in egg quality. Such eggs will upon fertilization often yield an inordinately high percentage of “incompetent” embryos which have a reduced potential to propagate viable pregnancies.
Concern and even fear that their PCOS patients will develop of OHSS often leads the treating RE to take measures aimed at reducing these risks. In this regard, it is my opinion that the most important consideration is the selection and proper implementation of an individualized or customized ovarian stimulation protocol.
What follows is a critical assessment of methods to prevent OHSS and/or limit its severity:
- PROLONGED COASTING…my preferred approach: My preferred approach is to use a long pituitary down-regulation protocol coming off the BCP which during the last 3 days is overlapped with the agonist, Lupron/Buserelin/Superfact. The BCP is intended to lower LH and thereby reduce stromal activation (hyperthecosis) in the hope of controlling LH-induced ovarian androgen (predominantly, testosterone) production and release. I then stimulate my PCOS patients using a low dosage of recombinant FSH-(FSHr) such as Follistim/Gonal-F/Puregon. On the 3rd day of such stimulation a smidgeon of LH/hCG (Luveris/Menopur) is added. Thereupon, starting on day 7 of ovarian stimulation, I perform serial blood estradiol (E2) and ultrasound follicle assessments, watching for the number and size of the follicles and the blood estradiol concentration [E2]. I keep stimulating (regardless of the [E2] until 50% of all follicles reach 14mm. At this point, provided the [E2] reaches at least >2,500pg/ml, I stop the agonist as well as gonadotropin stimulation and track the blood E2 concentration daily. The [E2] will almost invariably increase for a few days. I closely monitor the [E2] as it rises, plateaus and then begins to decline. As soon as the [E2] drops below 2500pg/ml (and not before then), I administer a “trigger” shot of 10,000U Profasi/ Novarel/Pregnyl or 500mcg Ovidrel/Ovitrel. This is followed by an egg retrieval, performed 36 hours later. Fertilization is accomplished using intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) because “coasted” eggs usually have little or no cumulus oophoris enveloping them and eggs without a cumulus will not readily fertilize naturally. Moreover, they also tend to have a “hardened” envelopment (zona pellucida), making spontaneous fertilization problematic in many cases. All fertilized eggs are cultured to the blastocyst stage (up to day 5- 6 days) and thereupon are either vitrified and preserved for subsequent transfer in later hormone replacement cycles or (up to 2) blastocysts are transferred to the uterus, transvaginally under transabdominal ultrasound guidance. The success of this approach depends on precise timing of the initiation and conclusion of “prolonged coasting”. If started too early, follicle growth will arrest and the cycle will be lost. If commenced too late, too many follicles will be post-mature/cystic (>22mm) and as such will usually harbor abnormal or dysmature eggs. Use of “Coasting” almost always prevents the development of severe OHSS, optimizes egg/embryo quality and avoids unnecessary cycle cancellation. If correctly implemented, the worst you will encounter is moderate OHSS and this too is relatively uncommon.
- MULTIPLE FOLLICLE ASPIRATION: In some cases, in spite of best effort, you inadvertently find mean follicle size to exceed 16mm, thereby leaving too little time to implement “coasting”. On other occasions, “coasting” fails to effectively lower the [E2} below 2,500pg/ml within 3 days. In such case the number of developing follicles can effectively and drastically reduced (culled) through selective transvaginal aspiration prior to initiating the “trigger” with 10,000U hCG. This will almost invariably be accompanied by a rapid and significant drop in the plasma estradiol concentration along with a drastic reduction in the risk of OHSS occurring without significantly compromising egg/embryo quality. Upon completing surgical follicular reduction, the surviving follicles can be allowed to continue their full development, at which point the hCG “trigger” can be implemented. The drawback associated with this approach is that it unfortunately interjects an additional surgical intervention into an already complex and stressful situation.
- EMBRYO FREEZING AND DEFERMENT OF EMBRYO TRANSFEDR (ET): OHSS is always a self-limiting condition. In the absence of continued exposure to hCG, symptoms and signs as well as the risk of severe complications will ultimately abate. Thus, in the absence of pregnancy, all symptoms, signs and risks associated with OHSS will disappear within about 10-14 days of the hCG trigger. Conversely, since early pregnancy is always accompanied by a rapid and progressive rise in hCG , the severity of OHSS will increase until about the 9th or tenth gestational week whereupon a transition from ovarian to placental hormonal dominance occurs, the severity of OHSS rapidly diminishes and the patient will be out of risk. Accordingly, in cases where in spite of best effort to prevent OHSS, the woman develops symptoms and signs of progressive overstimulation prior to planned ET, all the blastocysts should be vitrified and cryostored for FET in a subsequent hormone replacement cycle. In this way women with OHSS can be spared the risk of the condition spiraling out of control.
- TRIGGERING WITH LOW DOISAGE hCG; Because of the fact that hCG augments the development of OHSS, many RE’s prefer to use a reduced dosage of hCG for the “trigger. This is either done by administering 5,000U (half the traditional dosage) or by administering, a 250mcg (rather than 500mcg) of DNA recombinant form of hCGr (Ovidrel/Ovitrel) in the hope that by doing so the risk of critical OHSS developing will be lowered. While this indeed might be true, it is my opinion, that the reduced dosage is usually insufficient to optimize the efficiency of egg meiosis, especially when there are so many follicles present. Thus, while the use of a reduced “trigger” dosage of hCG might well reduce the risk and occurrence of OHSS-related life-endangering complications, the price to be paid is reduced egg quality/”competency”.
- “TRIGGERING” WITH A GnRH AGONIST (E.G. “LUPRON/BUSERELIN): More recently, an increasing number of RE’s are triggering egg maturation by way of injecting an agonist (Lupron/Buserelin/Superfact) to initiate the patient’s own pituitary gland to release a large amount of LH. The idea is to mimic what happens in natural cycles to promote egg maturation (meiosis) and ovulation, namely to have the agonist cause a “surge” in the release of body’s own pituitary LH to trigger egg meiosis (maturation) .But the amount of LH released in by the pituitary gland is often insufficient to optimize meiotic egg maturation and thus, while this approach also lowers the risk of OHSS it again comes at the expense of egg quality/competency.
A word of caution: I do not use long term administration of antagonists (Ganirelix/Cetrotide/Orgalutron), such as with the agonist/antagonist conversion protocol (A/ACP) in high responders whom are at risk of developing OHSS prolonged in-cycle administration of because it can interfere with the E2 assay (often causing the value to be understated), and serial measurement of E2 is a vital part of monitoring patients undergoing “coasting”
_________________________________________________________________________________________
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
I am attaching online links to two E-books which I recently co-authored with my partner at SFS-NY (Drew Tortoriello MD)……. for your reading pleasure:
1.From In Vitro Fertilization to Family: A Journey with Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) “
http://sherfertilitysolutions.com/sher-fertility-solutions-ebook.pdf
- “Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and Unexplained IVF Failure: The Immunologic Link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iYKz-EkAjMqwMa1ZcufIloRdxnAfDH8L/view
………………………………………………………………..
Name: Lisa-Marie E
Hi Dr Sher
Thank you for your answer to my previous question. I wanted to ask your opinion on PGT-A testing. A new study has cast doubts on the effectiveness of this testing: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/20/health/pgta-ivf-pregnancy-test.html
And some doctors seems against it, especially for women with a poor prognosis (women older than 35 for example).
What is your opinion on this test? Should I, as a 39 year old, undergo the testing? If I do, I can only afford 1 round of IVF. Without the PGT-A test, I can afford 2. Would love your take on this 🙂
Have a lovely day
Best wishes
Human embryo development occurs through a process that encompasses reprogramming, sequential cleavage divisions and mitotic chromosome segregation and embryonic genome activation. Chromosomal abnormalities may arise during germ cell and/or preimplantation embryo development and represents a major cause of early pregnancy loss. About a decade ago, I and my associate, Levent Keskintepe PhD were the first to introduce full embryo karyotyping (identification of all 46 chromosomes) through preimplantation genetic sampling (PGS) as a method by which to selectively transfer only euploid embryos (i.e. those that have a full component of chromosomes) to the uterus. We subsequently reported on a 2-3-fold improvement in implantation and birth rates as well as a significant reduction in early pregnancy loss, following IVF. Since then PGS has grown dramatically in popularity such that it is now widely used throughout the world.
Many IVF programs that offer PGS services, require that all participating patients consent to all their aneuploid embryos (i.e. those with an irregular quota of chromosomes) be disposed of. However, growing evidence suggests that following embryo transfer, some aneuploid embryos will in the process of ongoing development, convert to the euploid state (i.e. “autocorrect”) and then go on to develop into chromosomally normal offspring. In fact, I am personally aware of several such cases having occurred in my own practice. So clearly, summarily discarding all aneuploid embryos as a matter of routine we are sometimes destroying some embryos that might otherwise have “autocorrected” and gone on to develop into normal offspring. Thus by discarding aneuploid embryos the possibility exists that we could be denying some women the opportunity of having a baby. This creates a major ethical and moral dilemma for those of us that provide the option of PGS to our patients. On the one hand, we strive “to avoid knowingly doing harm” (the Hippocratic Oath) and as such would prefer to avoid or minimize the risk of miscarriage and/or chromosomal birth defects and on the other hand we would not wish to deny patients with aneuploid embryos, the opportunity to have a baby.
The basis for such embryo “autocorrection” lies in the fact that some embryos found through PGS-karyotyping to harbor one or more aneuploid cells (blastomeres) will often also harbor chromosomally normal (euploid) cells (blastomeres). The coexistence of both aneuploid and euploid cells coexisting in the same embryo is referred to as “mosaicism.”
It is against this background, that an ever-increasing number of IVF practitioners, rather than summarily discard PGS-identified aneuploid embryos are now choosing to cryobanking (freeze-store) certain of them, to leave open the possibility of ultimately transferring them to the uterus. In order to best understand the complexity of the factors involved in such decision making, it is essential to understand the causes of embryo aneuploidy of which there are two varieties:
- Meiotic aneuploidy” results from aberrations in chromosomal numerical configuration that originate in either the egg (most commonly) and/or in sperm, during preconceptual maturational division (meiosis). Since meiosis occurs in the pre-fertilized egg or in and sperm, it follows that when aneuploidy occurs due to defective meiosis, all subsequent cells in the developing embryo/blastocyst/conceptus inevitably will be aneuploid, precluding subsequent “autocorrection”. Meiotic aneuploidy will thus invariably be perpetuated in all the cells of the embryo as they replicate. It is a permanent phenomenon and is irreversible. All embryos so affected are thus fatally damaged. Most will fail to implant and those that do implant will either be lost in early pregnancy or develop into chromosomally defective offspring (e.g. Down syndrome, Edward syndrome, Turner syndrome).
- Mitotic aneuploidy (“Mosaicism”) occurs when following fertilization and subsequent cell replication (cleavage), some cells (blastomeres) of a meiotically normal (euploid) early embryo mutate and become aneuploid. This is referred to as “mosaicism”. Thereupon, with continued subsequent cell replication (mitosis) the chromosomal make-up (karyotype) of the embryo might either comprise of predominantly aneuploid cells or euploid cells. The subsequent viability or competency of the conceptus will thereupon depend on whether euploid or aneuploid cells predominate. If in such mosaic embryos aneuploid cells predominate, the embryo will be “incompetent”). If (as is frequently the case) euploid cells prevail, the mosaic embryo will likely be “competent” and capable of propagating a normal conceptus.
Since some mitotically aneuploid (“mosaic”) embryos can, and indeed do “autocorrect’ while meiotically aneuploid embryos cannot, it follows that an ability to reliably differentiate between these two varieties of aneuploidy would potentially be of considerable clinical value. The recent introduction of a variety of preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) known as next generation gene sequencing (NGS) has vastly improved the ability to reliably and accurately karyotype embryos and thus to diagnose embryo “mosaicism”.
Most complex aneuploidies are meiotic in origin and will thus almost invariably fail to propagate viable pregnancies. The ability of mosaic embryos to autocorrect is influenced by stage of embryo development in which the diagnosis is made, which chromosomes are affected, whether the aneuploidy involves a single chromosome (simple) or involves 3 or more chromosomes (complex), and the percentage of cells that are aneuploid. Many embryos diagnosed as being mosaic prior to their development into blastocysts (in the cleaved state), subsequently undergo autocorrection to the euploid state (normal numerical chromosomal configuration) as they develop to blastocysts in the Petri dish. This is one reason why “mosaicism” is more commonly detected in early embryos than in blastocysts. Embryos with segmental mosaic aneuploidies, i.e. the addition (duplication) or subtraction (deletion), are also more likely to autocorrect. Finally, the lower the percentage of mitotically aneuploid (mosaic) cells in the blastocyst the greater the propensity for autocorrection and propagation of chromosomally normal (euploid) offspring. A blastocyst with <30% mosaicism could yield a 30% likelihood of a healthy baby rate with 10-15% miscarriage rate, while with >50% mosaicism the baby rate is roughly halved and the miscarriage rate double.
As stated, the transfer of embryos with autosomal meiotic trisomy, will invariably result in failed implantation, early miscarriage or the birth of a defective child. Those with autosomal mitotic (“mosaic”) trisomies, while having the ability to autocorrect in-utero and result in the birth of a healthy baby can, depending on the percentage of mosaic (mitotically aneuploid) cells present, the number of aneuploid chromosomes and the type of mosaicism (single or segmental) either autocorrect and propagate a normal baby, result in failed implantation, miscarry or cause a birth defect (especially with trisomies 13, 18 or 21). This is why when it comes to giving consideration to transferring trisomic embryos, suspected of being “mosaic”, I advise patients to undergo prenatal genetic testing once pregnant and to be willing to undergo termination of pregnancy in the event of the baby being affected. Conversely, when it comes to meiotic autosomal monosomy, there is almost no chance of a viable pregnancy. in most cases implantation will fail to occur and if it does, the pregnancy will with rare exceptions, miscarry. “Mosaic” (mitotically aneuploid) autosomally monosomic embryos where a chromosome is missing), can and often will “autocorrect” in-utero and propagate a viable pregnancy. It is for this reason that I readily recommend the transfer of such embryos, while still (for safety sake) advising prenatal genetic testing in the event that a pregnancy results.
Given our ability to recognize “mosaicism” through karyotyping of embryos, the question arrases as to which “mosaic” embryos are capable of auto-correcting in-utero and propagating viable pregnancies. Research suggests that that virtually no autosomal monosomy embryos will propagate viable pregnancies. Thus, the transfer of such mosaic embryos is virtually risk free. Needless to say however, in any such cases, it is essential to make full disclosure to the patient (s), and to insure the completion of a detailed informed consent agreement which would include a commitment by the patient (s) to undergo prenatal genetic testing (amniocentesis/CVS) aimed at excluding a chromosomal defect in the developing baby and/or a willingness to terminate the pregnancy should a serious birth defect be diagnosed.
I strongly recommend that you visit www.SherIVF.com. Then go to my Blog and access the “search bar”. Type in the titles of any/all of the articles listed below, one by one. “Click” and you will immediately be taken to those you select. Please also take the time to post any questions or comments with the full expectation that I will (as always) respond promptly.
- A Fresh Look at the Indications for IVF
- The IVF Journey: The importance of “Planning the Trip” Before Taking the Ride”
- Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) for IVF: Selecting the ideal protocol
- IVF: Factors Affecting Egg/Embryo “competency” during Controlled Ovarian Stimulation(COS)
- The Fundamental Requirements For Achieving Optimal IVF Success
- Use of GnRH Antagonists (Ganirelix/Cetrotide/Orgalutron) in IVF-Ovarian Stimulation Protocols.
- Anti Mullerian Hormone (AMH) Measurement to Assess Ovarian Reserve and Design the Optimal Protocol for Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) in IVF.
- Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) in Older women and Women who have Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR): A Rational Basis for Selecting a Stimulation Protocol
- Optimizing Response to Ovarian Stimulation in Women with Compromised Ovarian Response to Ovarian Stimulation: A Personal Approach.
- Hereditary Clotting Defects (Thrombophilia)
- Blastocyst Embryo Transfers done 5-6 Days Following Fertilization are Fast Replacing Earlier day 2-3 Transfers of Cleaved Embryos.
- Embryo Transfer Procedure: The “Holy Grail in IVF.
- Timing of ET: Transferring Blastocysts on Day 5-6 Post-Fertilization, Rather Than on Day 2-3 as Cleaved Embryos.
- IVF: Approach to Selecting the Best Embryos for Transfer to the Uterus.
- Fresh versus Frozen Embryo Transfers (FET) Enhance IVF Outcome
- Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET): A Rational Approach to Hormonal Preparation and How new Methodology is Impacting IVF.
- Staggered IVF
- Staggered IVF with PGS- Selection of “Competent” Embryos Greatly Enhances the Utility & Efficiency of IVF.
- Staggered IVF: An Excellent Option When. Advancing Age and Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR) Reduces IVF Success Rate
- Embryo Banking/Stockpiling: Slows the “Biological Clock” and offers a Selective Alternative to IVF-Egg Donation
- Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGS) in IVF: It should be Used Selectively and NOT be Routine.
- IVF: Selecting the Best Quality Embryos to Transfer
- Preimplantation Genetic Sampling (PGS) Using: Next Generation Gene Sequencing (NGS): Method of Choice.
- PGS and Assessment of Egg/Embryo “competency”: How Method, Timing and Methodology Could Affect Reliability
- IVF outcome: How Does Advancing Age and Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR) Affect Egg/Embryo “Competency” and How Should the Problem be addressed.
___________________________________________________
ADDENDUM: PLEASE READ!!
INTRODUCING SHER FERTILITY SOLUTIONS (SFS)
Founded in April 2019, Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) offers online (Skype/FaceTime) consultations to patients from > 40 different countries. All consultations are followed by a detailed written report presenting my personal recommendations for treatment of what often constitute complex Reproductive Issues.
If you wish to schedule an online consultation with me, please contact my assistant (Patti Converse) by phone (800-780-7437/702-533-2691), email (concierge@SherIVF.com) or, enroll online on then home-page of my website (www.SherIVF.com).
___________________________________________________________________________
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
I am attaching online links to two E-books which I recently co-authored with my partner at SFS-NY (Drew Tortoriello MD)……. for your reading pleasure:
1.From In Vitro Fertilization to Family: A Journey with Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) “
http://sherfertilitysolutions.com/sher-fertility-solutions-ebook.pdf
- “Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and Unexplained IVF Failure: The Immunologic Link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iYKz-EkAjMqwMa1ZcufIloRdxnAfDH8L/view
………………………………………………………………..
Name: Mary J
Hello!
Thanks for this chance!
I am 22 years old, I made ivf (gonal f, cetrotide, menopur, trigger)
I have received 11 eggs. 6-GV, 2-M1, 3-M2.
None embryos because only 1 egg was fertilized but could not divided.
Second ivf was with lower doses of same medications,received only 3 egg and one of them fertilized. Again no embryos…
Could you give me any advice?
Please
_
One of the commonest questions asked by patients undergoing IVF relates to the likelihood of their eggs fertilizing and the likely “quality of their embryos. This is also one of the most difficult questions to answer. On the one hand many factors that profoundly influence egg quality; such as the genetic recruitment of eggs for use in an upcoming cycle, the woman’s age and her ovarian reserve, are our outside of our control. On the other hand the protocol for controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) can also profoundly influence egg/embryo development and this is indeed chosen by the treating physician.
First; it should be understood that the most important determinant of fertilization potential, embryo development and blastocyst generation, is the numerical chromosomal integrity of the egg (While sperm quality does play a role, in the absence of moderate to severe sperm dysfunction this is (moderate or severe male factor infertility a relatively small one). Human eggs have the highest rate of numerical chromosomal irregularities (aneuploidy) of all mammals. In fact only about half the eggs of women in their twenties or early thirties, have the required number of chromosomes (euploid), without which upon fertilization the cannot propagate a normal pregnancy. As the woman advances into and beyond her mid-thirties, the percentage of eggs euploid eggs declines progressively such that by the age of 40 years, only about one out of seven or eight are likely to be chromosomally normal and by the time she reaches her mid-forties less than one in ten of her eggs will be euploid.
Second; embryos that fail to develop into blastocysts are almost always aneuploid and not worthy of being transferred to the uterus because they will either not implant, will miscarry or could even result in a chromosomally abnormal baby (e.g. Down syndrome). However, it is incorrect to assume that all embryos reaching the blastocyst stage will be euploid (“competent”). ). It is true that since many aneuploid embryos are lost during development and that those failing to survive to the blastocyst stage are far more likely to be competent than are earlier (cleaved) embryos. What is also true is that the older the woman who produces the eggs, the less likely it is that a given blastocyst will be “competent”. As an example, a morphologically pristine blastocyst derived from the egg of a 30 year old woman would have about a 50:50 chance of being euploid and a 30% chance of propagating a healthy, normal baby, while a microscopically comparable blastocyst derived through fertilization of the eggs f
While the effect of species on the potential of eggs to be euploid at ovulation is genetically preordained and nothing we do can alter this equation, there is unfortunately a lot we can (often unwittingly) do to worsen the situation by selecting a suboptimal protocol of controlled ovarian stimulation (COS). This, by creating an adverse intraovarian hormonal environment will often disrupt normal egg development and lead to a higher incidence of egg aneuploidy than otherwise might have occurred. Older women, women with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) and those with polycystic ovarian syndrome are especially vulnerable in this regard.
During the normal, ovulation cycle, ovarian hormonal changes are regulated to avoid irregularities in production and interaction that could adversely influence follicle development and egg quality. As an example, small amounts of androgens (male hormones such as testosterone), that are produced by the ovarian stroma (tissue surrounding ovarian follicles) during the pre-ovulatory phase of the cycle enhance late follicle development, estrogen production by the granulosa cells (that line the inner walls of follicles), and egg maturation. However, over-production of testosterone can adversely influence the same processes. It follows that COS protocols should be individualized and geared toward optimizing follicle growth and development time while avoiding excessive ovarian androgen (testosterone) production and that the hCG “trigger shot” should be carefully timed.
In summary it is important to understand the influence species, age of the woman as well as the effect of the COS protocol can have on egg/embryo quality and thus on IVF outcome. The selection of an individualized protocol for ovarian stimulation is one of the most important decisions that the RE has to make and this becomes even more relevant when dealing with older women, those with DOR and women with PCOS. Such factors will in large part determine fertilization potential, the rate of blastocyst generation and indeed IVF outcome.
I strongly recommend that you visit www.SherIVF.com. Then go to my Blog and access the “search bar”. Type in the titles of any/all of the articles listed below, one by one. “Click” and you will immediately be taken to those you select. Please also take the time to post any questions or comments with the full expectation that I will (as always) respond promptly.
- The IVF Journey: The importance of “Planning the Trip” Before Taking the Ride”
- Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) for IVF: Selecting the ideal protocol
- The Fundamental Requirements For Achieving Optimal IVF Success
- Use of GnRH Antagonists (Ganirelix/Cetrotide/Orgalutron) in IVF-Ovarian Stimulation Protocols.
- Anti Mullerian Hormone (AMH) Measurement to Assess Ovarian Reserve and Design the Optimal Protocol for Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) in IVF.
- The “Biological Clock” and how it should Influence the Selection and Design of Ovarian Stimulation Protocols for IVF.
- A Rational Basis for selecting Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) protocols in women with Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR)
- Diagnosing and Treating Infertility due to Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR)
- Ovarian Stimulation in Women Who have Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR): Introducing the Agonist/Antagonist Conversion protocol
- Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) in Older women and Women who have Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR): A Rational Basis for Selecting a Stimulation Protocol
- Optimizing Response to Ovarian Stimulation in Women with Compromised Ovarian Response to Ovarian Stimulation: A Personal Approach.
- Egg Maturation in IVF: How Egg “Immaturity”, “Post-maturity” and “Dysmaturity” Influence IVF Outcome:
- Commonly Asked Question in IVF: “Why Did so Few of my Eggs Fertilize and, so Many Fail to Reach Blastocyst?”
- Human Growth Hormone Administration in IVF: Does it Enhances Egg/Embryo Quality and Outcome?
- The BCP: Does Launching a Cycle of Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS). Coming off the BCP Compromise Response?
- Staggered IVF
- Staggered IVF with PGS- Selection of “Competent” Embryos Greatly Enhances the Utility & Efficiency of IVF.
- Staggered IVF: An Excellent Option When. Advancing Age and Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR) Reduces IVF Success Rate
- Embryo Banking/Stockpiling: Slows the “Biological Clock” and offers a Selective Alternative to IVF-Egg Donation
- Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGS) in IVF: It should be Used Selectively and NOT be Routine.
- IVF: Selecting the Best Quality Embryos to Transfer
- Preimplantation Genetic Sampling (PGS) Using: Next Generation Gene Sequencing (NGS): Method of Choice.
- PGS in IVF: Are Some Chromosomally abnormal Embryos Capable of Resulting in Normal Babies and Being Wrongly Discarded?
- PGS and Assessment of Egg/Embryo “competency”: How Method, Timing and Methodology Could Affect Reliability
- IVF outcome: How Does Advancing Age and Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR) Affect Egg/Embryo “Competency” and How Should the Problem be addressed.
______________________________________________________
ADDENDUM: PLEASE READ!!
INTRODUCING SHER FERTILITY SOLUTIONS (SFS)
Founded in April 2019, Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) offers online (Skype/FaceTime) consultations to patients from > 40 different countries. All consultations are followed by a detailed written report presenting my personal recommendations for treatment of what often constitute complex Reproductive Issues.
If you wish to schedule an online consultation with me, please contact my assistant (Patti Converse) by phone (800-780-7437/702-533-2691), email (concierge@SherIVF.com) or, enroll online on then home-page of my website (www.SherIVF.com).
_______________________________________________________________________
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
I am attaching online links to two E-books which I recently co-authored with my partner at SFS-NY (Drew Tortoriello MD)……. for your reading pleasure:
1.From In Vitro Fertilization to Family: A Journey with Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) “
http://sherfertilitysolutions.com/sher-fertility-solutions-ebook.pdf
- “Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and Unexplained IVF Failure: The Immunologic Link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iYKz-EkAjMqwMa1ZcufIloRdxnAfDH8L/view
………………………………………………………………..
Name: Sary A
Hi doctor, I am 30 years old, I have been diagnosed as PCOS , I received 12 cycle ovulation induction by clomid and letroze ,I did not conceived, last time I did ICSI , they told me that the eggs didn’t fertilized at all and the eggs had not have any response, what’s the cause? My AMH was 8 , I received gonal F and cetrotide for the IVF protocol
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common hormonal system disorder among women affecting between 5% and 10% of women of reproductive age worldwide. Women with PCOS may have enlarged ovaries that contain small collections of fluid — called follicles — located in each ovary as seen during an ultrasound. The condition is characterized by abnormal ovarian function (irregular or absent periods, abnormal or absent ovulation and infertility), androgenicity (increased body hair or hirsutism, acne) and increased body weight –body mass index or BMI. The ovaries of women with PCOS characteristically contain multiple micro-cysts often arranged like a “string of pearls” immediately below the ovarian surface (capsule).interspersed by an overgrowth of ovarian connective tissue (stroma).
PCOS is one of the most common causes of menstrual irregularities, infertility, and hirsutism, Despite an enormous effort to define its cause, the etiology of PCOS remains unclear, and there is no definite cure at this time. PCOS is clearly a heterogeneous disorder which often has a familial (genetic) basis. Infertility associated with PCOS has been attributed to numerous factors, including dysfunctional gonadotropin pituitary secretion, peripheral insulin resistance, elevated adrenal and/or ovarian androgen (male hormone) levels, and dysfunction of several growth factors. Women with this condition are often obese and insulin resistant. The compensatory hyperinsulinemia further stimulates ovarian androgen production which may be detrimental to egg maturation and there is a clear link between the degree of insulin resistance and anovulation. PCOS is also a significant long-term health risk for women, thus necessitating vigilance through regular annual examinations (non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, cardiovascular disease and endometrial cancer). Whereas PCOS-related infertility is usually manageable through the use of fertility drugs, lifestyle changes (diet and exercise) remain a mainstay of long-term therapy. More recently, ovulation rates, circulating androgens, pregnancy rates and perhaps even first-trimester miscarriage rates have been shown to improve when insulin sensitizers like metformin are used to correct the underlying insulin resistance.
Most patients with PCOS are young and have excellent pregnancy rates with oral clomiphene. Those that require more aggressive treatments with injectable medications probably represent a subgroup of PCOS patients with severe ovarian dysfunction. These women often have explosive response to gonadotropins which can result in serious complications like Severe Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS…see below) and high order multiple births. In those women, the ability to perform “prolonged coasting” (see below) and selectively transfer fewer embryos during IVF offers a clear advantage over standard gonadotropin injections.
gg quality in PCOS
The potential for a woman’s eggs to undergo orderly maturation, successful fertilization and subsequent progression to “good quality embryos” is in large part genetically determined. However, the expression of such potential is profoundly susceptible to numerous influences, especially intra-ovarian hormonal changes during the pre-ovulatory phase of the cycle. Proper follicular stimulation as well as precise timing of egg maturation with LH (Luteinizing Hormone) or hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) is crucial to optimal egg maturation, fertilization and ultimately embryo quality. Both pituitary gonadotropins, LH and FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) play a pivotal but different role in follicular development. The action of FSH is mainly directed toward granulosa cell (cells lining the inside of the follicle) proliferation and estrogen production (E2). LH, on the other hand, acts primarily on the ovarian stroma (the connective tissue that surrounds the follicle) to produce androgens. While small amounts of ovarian androgens, such as testosterone, enhance egg and follicle development, over-exposure to them can have a deleterious effect. Furthermore, excessive ovarian androgens can also compromise estrogen-induced endometrial growth and development.
Suppressing pituitary secretion of LH with gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists such as Lupron®, is particularly useful in PCOS. In that condition, serum LH levels are elevated, leading to stromal overgrowth, follicular arrests (so-called cysts) and high levels of androgens synthesis. It is therefore not surprising that these follicles often yield poorly developed (“immature”) eggs” at the time of egg retrieval (ET) and that “poor egg/embryo quality”, inadequate endometrial development and high miscarriage rates are common features of this condition. However, contrary to popular belief, this is not due to an intrinsic deficit in “egg quality”. Stimulation protocols geared toward optimizing follicle and egg development and avoiding over exposure to androgens correct these problems ad result in pregnancy rates similar to those of non-PCOS women. Whereas the overuse of LH-containing preparations such as Menopur® and Luveris® further aggravates this effect. In conclusion, to maximize ultimate oocyte maturation, we strongly recommend against the exclusive use of such products in PCOS patients, preferring FSH-dominant products such as Follistim®, Gonal F® or Bravelle® over a period of at least 9 days following pituitary suppression with Lupron®.
PCOS women often have a family history of diabetes and demonstrable insulin resistance (evidenced by high blood insulin levels and an abnormal 2-hour glucose tolerance test).This underlying Diabetes mellitus tendency could play a role in the development of PCOS and contribute to the development of obesity, an abnormal blood lipid profile, and a predisposition to coronary vascular disease. Women with PCOS are slightly more at risk of developing uterine, ovarian and possibly also breast cancer in later life and accordingly should be evaluated for these conditions on a more frequent basis than would ordinarily be recommended to non-PCOS women.
Most women with PCOS either do not ovulate at all or they ovulate irregularly. As a consequence thereof they in addition usually experience delayed, absent or irregular menstruation. In addition, an inordinate percentage of the eggs produced by PCOS women following ovulation induction, tend to be chromosomally abnormal (aneuploid). Rather than being due to an intrinsic egg defect being inherent in PCOS women, the poor egg quality more than likely the result of over-exposure to male hormones (predominantly, testosterone) produced by the ovarian stroma. These two factors (ovulation dysfunction and poor egg quality) are the main reasons for the poor reproductive performance (infertility and an increased miscarriage rate) in PCOS women.
PCOS patients are at an inordinate risk of severely over-responding fertility drugs, both oral varieties (e.g. Clomiphene, Serophene & Femara) and especially the injectables (e.g. Follistim, Puregon, Gonal F, Menopur and Bravelle) by forming large numbers ovarian follicles. This can lead to life endangering complications associated with sever ovarian hyperstimulation (OHSS). In addition PCOS women receiving fertility drugs often experience multiple ovulations putting them at severe risk (40%+) of high order multiple pregnancy (i.e. triplets or greater) with often devastating consequences.
VARIETIES OF POLYCYSTIC OVARIAN SYNDROME:
- Hypothalamic-pituitary-PCOS: This is the commonest form of PCOS and is often genetically transmitted and is characteristically associated with a blood concentration of Luteinizing Hormone (LH) that is uncharacteristically much higher than the Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) level (FSH is normally higher than the LH concentration) as well as high-normal or blood androgen ( male) hormone concentrations (e.g. androstenedione, testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone -DHEA).Hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian PCOS is also often associated with insulin resistance and in about 40%-50% of the cases.
- Adrenal PCOS: Here the excess of male hormones are derived from overactive adrenal glands rather than from the ovaries. Blood levels of testosterone and/or androstenedione raised but here, but here, the blood level of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEAS) is also raised, clinching the diagnosis.
- Severe pelvic adhesive disease secondary to severe endometriosis, chronic pelvic inflammatory disease and/or extensive pelvic surgery: Women who have this type of PCOS tend to less likely to hyperstimulate in response to ovulation induction . Their. DHEAS is also is not raised.
TREATMENT OF INFERTILITY DUE TO ASSOCIATED OVULATION DYSFUNCTION:
Hypothalamic-pituitary-/ovarian PCOS: Ovulation induction with fertility drugs such as clomiphene citrate, Letrozole (Femara) or gonadotropins, with or without intrauterine insemination (IUI) is often highly successful in establishing pregnancies in PCOS women. However, IVF is fast becoming a treatment of choice (see below).
In about 40% of cases, 3-6 months of oral Metformin (Glucophage) treatment results in a significant reduction of insulin resistance, lowering of blood androgen levels, an improvement in ovulatory function, and/or some amelioration of androgenous symptoms and signs.
Surgical treatment by “ovarian drilling” of the many small ovarian cysts lying immediately below the envelopment (capsule) of the ovaries, is often used, but is less successful than alternative non-surgical treatment and is only temporarily effective. The older form of surgical treatment, using ovarian wedge resection is rarely used any longer as it can produce severe pelvic adhesion formation.
Adrenal PCOS is treated with steroids such as prednisone or dexamethasone which over a period of several weeks will suppress adrenal androgen production, allowing regular ovulation to take place spontaneously. This is often combined with clomiphene, Letrozole and/or gonadotropin therapy to initiate ovulation.
PCOS attributable to Pelvic Adhesive Disease is one variety which often is associated with compromised ovarian reserve, a raised FSH blood level and ovarian resistance to fertility drugs. In many such cases, high dosage of gonadotropins (FSH-dominant) with “estrogen priming” will often elicit an ovarian response necessary for successful ovulation induction and/or IVF. Neither steroids nor Metformin are helpful in the vast majority of such cases.
PCOS women undergoing ovulation induction usually release multiple eggs following the hCG trigger and are thus at inordinate risk of twin or higher order multiple pregnancies. They are also at risk of developing OHSS. Many now believe that IVF should be regarded as a primary and preferential treatment for PCOS. The reason is that it is only through this approach that the number of embryos reaching the uterus can be controlled and in this manner the risk of high-order multiples can be minimized and it is only in the course of IVF treatment that a novel treatment method known as “prolonged coasting” ( see below) which prevents OHSS, can be implemented
SEVERE OVARIAN HYPERSTIMULATION SYNDROME (OHSS):
As indicated above, there is an inordinate propensity for women with PCOS to hyper-respond to gonadotropin fertility drugs and in the process produce large numbers of ovarian follicles. If left unchecked this can lead to OHSS, a potentially life endangering condition. The onset of OHSS is signaled by the development of a large number of ovarian follicles (usually more than 25 in number). This is accompanied by rapidly rising plasma estradiol (E2) levels, often exceeding 3000pg/ml within 7 or 9 days of stimulation, often rapidly peaking above 6,000 pg/ml prior to hCG administration. When this happens, the risk of OHSS developing is above 80%.
Symptoms and signs of OHSS include: abdominal distention due to fluid collection (ascites), fluid in the chest cavity (hydrothorax), rapid weight gain (of a pound or more per day) due to tissue fluid retention, abdominal pain, lower back ache, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, visual disturbances such as blurred vision and spots in front of the eyes (scotomata), a rapidly declining urine output, cardiovascular collapse and failure of blood to clot which sometimes results in severe bruising (echymosis) and frank bleeding. These symptoms and signs may appear before pregnancy can be diagnosed. If pregnancy occurs, the condition is likely to worsen progressively over a period of 3-5 weeks whereupon it rapidly resolves spontaneously over a few days. If no pregnancy occurs, the symptoms and signs all disappear spontaneously within 10-12 days of the hCG injection.
When increasing fluid collection in the abdominal cavity (ascites) starts to compromise breathing raising the head of the bed rose slightly by placing a 4-6 inch block at the base of each head post and using a few additional pillows, will sometimes help ameliorate the problem. In cases where this does not help or symptoms become severe, all or most of the fluid can readily and safely be drained through t transvaginal sterile needle aspiration (vaginal paracentesis-performed once or sometimes twice a week) can be performed once or twice weekly . The problem will usually self corrects within 10-12 days of the hCG shot if pregnancy does not occur or, by the 8th week of pregnancy.
Urine output should be monitored daily to see if it drops below about 500ml a day (about two cups and a half). A chest X-ray, to evaluate for fluid collection in the chest and around the heart should be done weekly along with blood tests for hematocrit, BUN, electrolytes, creatinine, platelet count and fibrin split products (FSP). If indicated on the basis of a deteriorating clinical situation, hospitalization might be needed for close observation and if necessary, to provide intensive care.
In all case of OHSS, the ovaries will invariably be considerably enlarged. This is irrelevant to the final outcome, unless ovarian torsion (twisting of the ovary on its axis), an extremely rare complication occurs. The latter would usually require surgical emergency surgical intervention.
It is important to know that symptoms and signs of OHSS are severely aggravated by rising hCG levels. Thus such patients should not receive additional hCG injections.
Does PCOS cause poor egg/embryo quality? It is an undeniable fact that women with PCOS undergoing IVF are commonly found to have poorly developed (“dysmorphic”) eggs, with reduced fertilization potential and yielding “poor quality embryos”. However, in the author’s opinion (which admittedly runs contrary to popular opinion), this is unlikely to be due to an intrinsic deficit in egg quality. Rather, it more likely relates to intra-ovarian hormonal changes brought about by hyperstimulation and which compromise egg development. This effect, in the author’s opinion, can often be significantly reduced through implementation of an individualized or customized ovarian stimulation protocols that minimize exposure of the developing follicles and eggs to excessive LH-induced ovarian androgens. This can be best achieved by limiting the use of LH-containing gonadotropins such as Menopur through selective institution of “prolonged coasting” (see below).
In the past, the onset of OHSS, heralded by the presence of large numbers of developing ovarian follicles and rapidly rising plasma estradiol levels often led the treating physician to prematurely administer hCG in an attempt to abruptly arrest the process and prevent escalation of risk to the patient. However the premature administration of hCG, while abruptly arresting further proliferation of estrogen producing granulosa cells in the follicles, unfortunately also prematurely arrests egg development. Since the ability of an egg to achieve optimal maturation upon hCG triggering is largely predicated upon it having achieved prior optimal development, the untimely administration of hCG which triggers meiosis, probably increases the risk of numerical chromosomal abnormalities (aneuploidy) of the egg. This in turn would lead to reduced fertilization potential, poor egg/embryo quality and low embryo implantation potential.
In women with PCOS the connective tissue that surrounding the follicles (ovarian stroma) is often characteristically overgrown (stromal hyperplasia). It is the stroma that produces androgens (mainly testosterone) in response to LH. It is this, coupled with the fact that PCOS women also often have elevated blood LH concentrations (see above) results in the excessive production of androgen hormones, which is so characteristic in PCOS. While excessive exposure of developing eggs to ovarian androgens compromises follicle and egg growth it also impairs endometrial response to estrogen, which could explain the common finding of poor endometrial thickening in many PCOS women undergoing IVF.
The obvious remedy for these adverse effects on egg and endometrial development is to employ stimulation protocols that limit ovarian over-exposure to LH and allowing the time necessary for the follicles/eggs to develop optimally, prior to administering hCG through the judicious implementation of “Prolonged coasting” (PC).
“PROLONGED COASTING”:
In the early 90’s we were the first to report on “prolonged coasting” (PC), a novel approach that protects egg quality while preventing the development of OHSS. PC has since, gained widespread acceptance as a method of choice for preventing OHSS and has established itself as the “standard of care”. It involves withholding gonadotropin therapy while continuing the administration of the GnRHa and waiting until the plasma estradiol concentration drops below 2,500 pg/ml. Thereupon hCG is administered. In such cases, regardless of the number of developed follicles or the number of eggs retrieved, these women rarely, if ever develop OHSS. It has been reported that while PC virtually eliminates the risk of life-endangering complications associated with OHSS, there are reports in the literature that “the price to pay with PC” is often a poorer fertilization rate and reduced embryo implantation potential, compromising the pregnancy”. It is the author’s opinion an experience in the development of PC that egg/embryo quality deficit likely has little to do with the process of PC, itself and can be explained as follows: When PC is initiated too early, follicle growth and development may cease (as evidenced by the estradiol level plateauing or falling immediately, rather than showing an initial continued increase), and when PC is started too late, the follicles will often become cystic, measuring >21mm by the time the estradiol level falls below the safe threshold of 2500pg/ml, and so harbor dysmorphic eggs. Thus precise timing of the initiation of PC is critical. It should in pact be initiated preemptively in all cases when there are more than 25 follicles and the plasma estradiol reaches or exceeds 2,500pg/ml in association, provided that at least 50% of the follicles measuring 14-16mm in mean diameter. Not a day sooner or a day later. If PC is initiated with precise timing, it will usually be followed by a further progressive rise in the estradiol concentration. After a few days, the estradiol level will plateau and then it will start to fall (often rapidly). The temptation to trigger with hCG before the estradiol level falls below 3000picogtrams per milliliter must be resisted …even if the level falls below 1,000pg/ml by the time hCG is given.
Since when using agonist ( Cetrotide/Ganirelix/Orgalutron) pituitary suppression throughout the stimulation phase with gonadotropins, the plasma estradiol level often under expressed follicle growth, this method of pituitary blockade should not be used in cases ( such as with PCOS) where PC might be required.
Please go to my Blog and access the “search bar”. Type in the titles of any/all of the articles listed below, one by one. “Click” and you will immediately be taken to those you select. Please also take the time to post any questions or comments with the full expectation that I will (as always) respond promptly.
- A Fresh Look at the Indications for IVF
- The IVF Journey: The importance of “Planning the Trip” Before Taking the Ride”
- Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) for IVF: Selecting the ideal protocol
- IVF: Factors Affecting Egg/Embryo “competency” during Controlled Ovarian Stimulation(COS)
- The Fundamental Requirements For Achieving Optimal IVF Success
- Use of GnRH Antagonists (Ganirelix/Cetrotide/Orgalutron) in IVF-Ovarian Stimulation Protocols.
- Human Growth Hormone Administration in IVF: Does it Enhances Egg/Embryo Quality and Outcome?
- IVF and the use of Supplementary Human Growth Hormone (HGH) : Is it Worth Trying and who needs it?
- The BCP: Does Launching a Cycle of Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS). Coming off the BCP Compromise Response?
- Blastocyst Embryo Transfers Should be the Standard of Care in IVF
- Anti Mullerian Hormone (AMH) Measurement to Assess Ovarian Reserve and Design the Optimal Protocol for Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) in IVF.
- Embryo Transfer: The “Holy Grail in IVF.
- IVF: Approach to Selecting the Best Embryos for Transfer to the Uterus.
- Fresh versus Frozen Embryo Transfers (FET) Enhance IVF Outcome
- Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET): A Rational Approach to Hormonal Preparation and How new Methodology is Impacting IVF.
- Genetically Testing Embryos for IVF
- Staggered IVF
- Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGS) in IVF: It should be Used Selectively and NOT be Routine.
- IVF: Selecting the Best Quality Embryos to Transfer
- Preimplantation Genetic Sampling (PGS) Using: Next Generation Gene Sequencing (NGS): Method of Choice.
- PGS in IVF: Are Some Chromosomally abnormal Embryos Capable of Resulting in Normal Babies and Being Wrongly Discarded?
- Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS): An Exciting New Chapter….
- Should IVF Treatment Cycles be provided uninterrupted or be Conducted in 7-12 Pre-scheduled “Batches” per Year
- A personalized, stepwise approach to IVF
- How Many Embryos should be transferred: A Critical Decision in IVF.
- Avoiding High Order Multiple Pregnancies (Triplets or Greater) with IVF
- The Role of Nutritional Supplements in Preparing for IVF
- Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHS): Its Evolution & Reducing itsIncumbent Risks
- Taking A Fresh Look at Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS), its Presentation, Prevention and Management
- Preventing Severe Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS) with “Prolonged Coasting”
- IVF Outcome in Patients with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS): Minimizing the Risk of Severe Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS) and optimizing Egg/Embryo Quality.
- Understanding Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and the Need to Customize Ovarian Stimulation Protocols.
- IVF & Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS): Reducing the Risk of Severe Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS), Improving Egg Quality and Optimizing Outcome.
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ADDENDUM: PLEASE READ!!
INTRODUCING SHER FERTILITY SOLUTIONS (SFS)
Founded in April 2019, Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) offers online (Skype/FaceTime) consultations to patients from > 40 different countries. All consultations are followed by a detailed written report presenting my personal recommendations for treatment of what often constitute complex Reproductive Issues.
If you wish to schedule an online consultation with me, please contact my assistant (Patti Converse) by phone (800-780-7437/702-533-2691), email (concierge@SherIVF.com) or, enroll online on then home-page of my website (www.SherIVF.com).
________________________________________________________________________________
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
I am attaching online links to two E-books which I recently co-authored with my partner at SFS-NY (Drew Tortoriello MD)……. for your reading pleasure:
1.From In Vitro Fertilization to Family: A Journey with Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) “
http://sherfertilitysolutions.com/sher-fertility-solutions-ebook.pdf
- “Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and Unexplained IVF Failure: The Immunologic Link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iYKz-EkAjMqwMa1ZcufIloRdxnAfDH8L/view
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Name: Tamamiea J
I just began estrogen priming I took my estrogen patch I mistakenly took the leuproliide instead of the fyramodel when I realized it was the wrong injection I took the fyramadel will this effect the process
I do not believe that one transgression will impact your cycle.
Good Luck!
Geoff Sher
__________________________________________________________________________________________
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
I am attaching online links to two E-books which I recently co-authored with my partner at SFS-NY (Drew Tortoriello MD)……. for your reading pleasure:
1.From In Vitro Fertilization to Family: A Journey with Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) “
http://sherfertilitysolutions.com/sher-fertility-solutions-ebook.pdf
- “Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and Unexplained IVF Failure: The Immunologic Link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iYKz-EkAjMqwMa1ZcufIloRdxnAfDH8L/view
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Name: Amna S
PGS tested Ivf failed
Embryo karyotype (as assessed by PGS/PGT) is a very important determinant of “competency” (the ability to propagate a viable pregnancy) but it is by no means the only factor!
Whenever a patient fails to achieve a viable pregnancy following embryo transfer (ET), the first question asked is why! Was it simply due to, bad luck?, How likely is the failure to recur in future attempts and what can be done differently, to avoid it happening next time?.
It is an indisputable fact that any IVF procedure is at least as likely to fail as it is to succeed. Thus when it comes to outcome, luck is an undeniable factor. Notwithstanding, it is incumbent upon the treating physician to carefully consider and address the causes of IVF failure before proceeding to another attempt:
- Age: The chance of a woman under 35Y of age having a baby per embryo transfer is about 35-40%. From there it declines progressively to under 5% by the time she reaches her mid-forties. This is largely due to declining chromosomal integrity of the eggs with advancing age…”a wear and tear effect” on eggs that are in the ovaries from birth.
- Embryo Quality/”competency (capable of propagating a viable pregnancy)”. As stated, the woman’s age plays a big role in determining egg/embryo quality/”competency”. This having been said, aside from age the protocol used for controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) is the next most important factor. It is especially important when it comes to older women, and women with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) where it becomes essential to be aggressive, and to customize and individualize the ovarian stimulation protocol.
We used to believe that the uterine environment is more beneficial to embryo development than is the incubator/petri dish and that accordingly, the earlier on in development that embryos are transferred to the uterus, the better. To achieve this goal, we used to select embryos for transfer based upon their day two or microscopic appearance (“grade”). But we have since learned that the further an embryo has advanced in its development, the more likely it is to be “competent” and that embryos failing to reach the expanded blastocyst stage within 5-6 days of being fertilized are almost invariably “incompetent” and are unworthy of being transferred. Moreover, the introduction into clinical practice about 15y ago, (by Levent Keskintepe PhD and myself) of Preimplantation Genetic Sampling (PGS), which assesses for the presence of all the embryos chromosomes (complete chromosomal karyotyping), provides another tool by which to select the most “competent” embryos for transfer. This methodology has selective benefit when it comes to older women, women with DOR, cases of unexplained repeated IVF failure and women who experience recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL).
- The number of the embryos transferred: Most patients believe that the more embryos transferred the greater the chance of success. To some extent this might be true, but if the problem lies with the use of a suboptimal COS protocol, transferring more embryos at a time won’t improve the chance of success. Nor will the transfer of a greater number of embryos solve an underlying embryo implantation dysfunction (anatomical molecular or immunologic).Moreover, the transfer of multiple embryos, should they implant, can and all too often does result in triplets or greater (high order multiples) which increases the incidence of maternal pregnancy-induced complications and of premature delivery with its serious risks to the newborn. It is for this reason that I rarely recommend the transfer of more than 2 embryos at a time and am moving in the direction of advising single embryo transfers …especially when it comes to transferring embryos derived through the fertilization of eggs from young women.
- Implantation Dysfunction (ID): Implantation dysfunction is a very common (often overlooked) cause of “unexplained” IVF failure. This is especially the case in young ovulating women who have normal ovarian reserve and have fertile partners. Failure to identify, typify, and address such issues is, in my opinion, an unfortunate and relatively common cause of repeated IVF failure in such women. Common sense dictates that if ultrasound guided embryo transfer is performed competently and yet repeated IVF attempts fail to propagate a viable pregnancy, implantation dysfunction must be seriously considered. Yet ID is probably the most overlooked factor. The most common causes of implantation dysfunction are:
- A“ thin uterine lining”
- A uterus with surface lesions in the cavity (polyps, fibroids, scar tissue)
- Immunologic implantation dysfunction (IID)
- Endocrine/molecular endometrial receptivity issues
- Ureaplasma Urealyticum (UU) Infection of cervical mucous and the endometrial lining of the uterus, can sometimes present as unexplained early pregnancy loss or unexplained failure following intrauterine insemination or IVF. The infection can also occur in the man, (prostatitis) and thus can go back and forth between partners, with sexual intercourse. This is the reason why both partners must be tested and if positive, should be treated contemporaneously.
Certain causes of infertility are repetitive and thus cannot readily be reversed. Examples include advanced age of the woman; severe male infertility; immunologic infertility associated with alloimmune implantation dysfunction (especially if it is a “complete DQ alpha genetic match between partners plus uterine natural killer cell activation (NKa).
I strongly recommend that you visit www.DrGeoffreySherIVF.com. Then go to my Blog and access the “search bar”. Type in the titles of any/all of the articles listed below, one by one. “Click” and you will immediately be taken to those you select. Please also take the time to post any questions or comments with the full expectation that I will (as always) respond promptly.
- The IVF Journey: The importance of “Planning the Trip” Before Taking the Ride”
- Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) for IVF: Selecting the ideal protocol
- IVF: Factors Affecting Egg/Embryo “competency” during Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS)
- The Fundamental Requirements for Achieving Optimal IVF Success
- Use of GnRH Antagonists (Ganirelix/Cetrotide/Orgalutron) in IVF-Ovarian Stimulation Protocols.
- Ovarian Stimulation in Women Who have Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR): Introducing the Agonist/Antagonist Conversion protocol
- Anti Mullerian Hormone (AMH) Measurement to Assess Ovarian Reserve and Design the Optimal Protocol for Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) in IVF.
- Human Growth Hormone Administration in IVF: Does it Enhances Egg/Embryo Quality and Outcome?
- The BCP: Does Launching a Cycle of Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS). Coming off the BCP Compromise Response?
- Blastocyst Embryo Transfers should be the Standard of Care in IVF
- IVF: How Many Attempts should be considered before Stopping?
- “Unexplained” Infertility: Often a matter of the Diagnosis Being Overlooked!
- IVF Failure and Implantation Dysfunction:
- The Role of Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction (IID) & Infertility (IID): PART 1-Background
- Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction (IID) & Infertility (IID): PART 2- Making a Diagnosis
- Immunologic Dysfunction (IID) & Infertility (IID): PART 3-Treatment
- Thyroid autoantibodies and Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction (IID)
- Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction: Importance of Meticulous Evaluation and Strategic Management 🙁 Case Report)
- Intralipid and IVIG therapy: Understanding the Basis for its use in the Treatment of Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction (IID)
- Intralipid (IL) Administration in IVF: It’s Composition; how it Works; Administration; Side-effects; Reactions and Precautions
- Natural Killer Cell Activation (NKa) and Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction in IVF: The Controversy!
- Endometrial Thickness, Uterine Pathology and Immunologic Factors
- Vaginally Administered Viagra is Often a Highly Effective Treatment to Help Thicken a Thin Uterine Lining
- Treating Out-of-State and Out-of-Country Patients at Sher-IVF in Las Vegas:
- A personalized, stepwise approach to IVF
- How Many Embryos should be transferred: A Critical Decision in IVF?
______________________________________________________
ADDENDUM: PLEASE READ!!
INTRODUCING SHER FERTILITY SOLUTIONS (SFS)
Founded in April 2019, Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) offers online (Skype/FaceTime) consultations to patients from > 40 different countries. All consultations are followed by a detailed written report presenting my personal recommendations for treatment of what often constitute complex Reproductive Issues.
If you wish to schedule an online consultation with me, please contact my assistant (Patti Converse) by phone (800-780-7437/702-533-2691), email (concierge@SherIVF.com) or, enroll online on then home-page of my website (www.SherIVF.com).
________________________________________________________________________
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
I am attaching online links to two E-books which I recently co-authored with my partner at SFS-NY (Drew Tortoriello MD)……. for your reading pleasure:
1.From In Vitro Fertilization to Family: A Journey with Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) “
http://sherfertilitysolutions.com/sher-fertility-solutions-ebook.pdf
- “Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and Unexplained IVF Failure: The Immunologic Link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iYKz-EkAjMqwMa1ZcufIloRdxnAfDH8L/view
………………………………………………………………..
Name: Ashley H
Good Morning. I am 31 and have a hormonal IUD. I had fertility testing done and my AMH came back as 0.18 however my AFC was 16. Estrogen 88 and FSH 2.35. I don’t know where I was in my cycle when I gov the testing done since the IUD stopped my periods. Prior to insertion, my periods would come every 19-21 days. Which is more indicative of fertility, my AMH or AFC? I don’t plan of having a baby for another 1-2 years. Thank you.
Your AFC, your age and your basal FSH all suggest to me that the AMH value might not br accurate. I would definitely repeat it!~
Good luck!
Geoff Sher
______________________________________________________________________________________
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
I am attaching online links to two E-books which I recently co-authored with my partner at SFS-NY (Drew Tortoriello MD)……. for your reading pleasure:
1.From In Vitro Fertilization to Family: A Journey with Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) “
http://sherfertilitysolutions.com/sher-fertility-solutions-ebook.pdf
- “Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and Unexplained IVF Failure: The Immunologic Link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iYKz-EkAjMqwMa1ZcufIloRdxnAfDH8L/view
………………………………………………………………..
Name: Salma O
I made a hcg test 5 days before my period and it was positive ( my last period was 1 of march and it is irregular but my last periods last in average 31 days and ovulation is happened at day 18 or 19)
I made 2 blood tests one 4 days before expected period and the day after they were 23.8 and 36. There is no bleeding or bad cramps
Is that normal and indicates healthy pregnancy or the numbers are low?
Regrettably! , this does not sound like a viable pregnancy! I hope I am wrong!
Geoff Sher
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Measuring and interpreting Blood hCG to Assess Pregnancy Viability Following ART Treatments.
Geoffrey Sher MD
I know of no medical announcement associated with the degree of emotional anticipation and anguish as that associated with a pending diagnosis/confirmation of pregnancy following infertility treatment. In fact, hardly a day goes by where I am not confronted by a patient anxiously seeking interpretation of a pregnancy test result.
Testing urine or blood for the presence of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is the most effective and reliable way to confirm conception. The former, is far less expensive than the latter and is the most common method used. It is also more convenient because it can be performed in the convenience of the home setting. However, urine hCG testing for pregnancy is not nearly as reliable or as sensitive e as is blood hCG testing. Blood testing can detect implantation several days earlier than can a urine test. Modern pregnancy urine test kits can detect hCG about 16-18 days following ovulation (or 2-3 days after having missed a menstrual period), while blood tests can detect hCG, 12-13 days post-ovulation (i.e. even prior to menstruation).
The ability to detect hCG in the blood as early as possible and thereupon to track its increase, is particularly valuable in women undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) with or without intrauterine insemination (IUI) or after IVF. The earlier hCG can be detected in the blood and its concentration measured, the sooner levels can be tracked serially over time and so provide valuable information about the effectiveness of implantation, and the potential viability of the developing conceptus.
There are a few important points that should be considered when it comes to measuring interpreting blood hCG levels. These include the following:
- All modern day blood (and urine) hCG tests are highly specific in that they measure exclusively for hCG. There is in fact no cross-reactivity with other hormones such as estrogen, progesterone or LH.
- Post conception hCG levels, measured 10 days post ovulation or egg retrieval can vary widely (ranging from 5mIU/ml to above 400mIU/ml. The level will double every 48–72 hours up to the 6th week of gestation whereupon the doubling rate starts to slow down to about 96 hours. An hCG level of 13,000-290, 0000 mIU/ml is reached by the end of the 1st trimester (12 weeks) whereupon it slowly declines to approximately 26,000– 300,000 mIU/ml by full term. Below are the average hCG levels during the first trimester:
-
- 3 weeks LMP: 5 – 50 mIU/ml
- 4 weeks LMP: 5 – 426 mIU/ml
- 5 weeks LMP: 18 – 7,340 mIU/ml
- 6 weeks LMP: 1,080 – 56,500 mIU/ml
- 7 – 8 weeks LMP: 7, 650 – 229,000 mIU/ml
- 9 – 12 weeks LMP: 25,700 – 288,000 mIU/ml
- A single hCG blood level is not sufficient to assess the viability of an implanting embryo. Caution should be used in making too much of an initial hCG level. This is because a normal pregnancy can start with relatively low hCG blood levels. It is the rate of the rise of the blood hCG level that is relevant.
- In some cases the initially hCG level is within the normal range, but then fails to double in the ensuing 48-72hours. In some cases it might even plateau or decline, only to start doubling appropriately thereafter. When this happens, it could be due to:
- A recovering implantation, destined to develop into a clinical gestation
- A failing implantation (a chemical pregnancy)
- A multiple pregnancy which is spontaneously reducing (i.e., one or more of the concepti is being lost) or,
- An ectopic pregnancy which will either absorb spontaneously (a chemical-tubal gestation), or evolve into a full blown tubal pregnancy continue and declare itself through characteristic symptoms and signs of an intraperitoneal bleed.
- The blood hCG test needs to be repeated at least once after 48h and in some cases it will need to be repeated one or more times (at 48h intervals) thereafter, to confirm that implantation is progressing normally.
- Ultimately the diagnosis of a viable pregnancy requires confirmation of the presence of an intrauterine gestational sac by ultrasound examination. The earliest that this can be achieved is when the beta hCG level exceeds 1,000mIU/ml (i.e., around 5-6 weeks).
- Most physicians prefer to defer the performance of a routine US diagnosis of pregnancy until closer to the 7th week. This is because by that time, cardiac activity should be clearly detectable, allowing for more reliable assessment of pregnancy viability.
- There are cases where the blood beta hCG level is extraordinarily high or the rate of rise is well above the normal doubling rate. The commonest explanation is that more than one pregnancy has implanted. However in some cases it can point to a molar pregnancy
- Finally, there on rare occasions, conditions unrelated to pregnancy can result in detectable hCG levels in blood and urine. They include ovarian tumors that produce hCG, such as certain types of cystic teratomas (dermoid cysts) and some ovarian cancers such as dysgerminomas.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
I am attaching online links to two E-books which I recently co-authored with my partner at SFS-NY (Drew Tortoriello MD)……. for your reading pleasure:
1.From In Vitro Fertilization to Family: A Journey with Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) “
http://sherfertilitysolutions.com/sher-fertility-solutions-ebook.pdf
- “Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and Unexplained IVF Failure: The Immunologic Link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iYKz-EkAjMqwMa1ZcufIloRdxnAfDH8L/view
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I
Name: Katrina R
If my HCG levels are 67777mlu/58mL how many weeks would I be?
Measuring and interpreting Blood hCG to Assess Pregnancy Viability Following ART Treatments.
Geoffrey Sher MD
I know of no medical announcement associated with the degree of emotional anticipation and anguish as that associated with a pending diagnosis/confirmation of pregnancy following infertility treatment. In fact, hardly a day goes by where I am not confronted by a patient anxiously seeking interpretation of a pregnancy test result.
Testing urine or blood for the presence of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is the most effective and reliable way to confirm conception. The former, is far less expensive than the latter and is the most common method used. It is also more convenient because it can be performed in the convenience of the home setting. However, urine hCG testing for pregnancy is not nearly as reliable or as sensitive e as is blood hCG testing. Blood testing can detect implantation several days earlier than can a urine test. Modern pregnancy urine test kits can detect hCG about 16-18 days following ovulation (or 2-3 days after having missed a menstrual period), while blood tests can detect hCG, 12-13 days post-ovulation (i.e. even prior to menstruation).
The ability to detect hCG in the blood as early as possible and thereupon to track its increase, is particularly valuable in women undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) with or without intrauterine insemination (IUI) or after IVF. The earlier hCG can be detected in the blood and its concentration measured, the sooner levels can be tracked serially over time and so provide valuable information about the effectiveness of implantation, and the potential viability of the developing conceptus.
There are a few important points that should be considered when it comes to measuring interpreting blood hCG levels. These include the following:
- All modern day blood (and urine) hCG tests are highly specific in that they measure exclusively for hCG. There is in fact no cross-reactivity with other hormones such as estrogen, progesterone or LH.
- Post conception hCG levels, measured 10 days post ovulation or egg retrieval can vary widely (ranging from 5mIU/ml to above 400mIU/ml. The level will double every 48–72 hours up to the 6th week of gestation whereupon the doubling rate starts to slow down to about 96 hours. An hCG level of 13,000-290, 0000 mIU/ml is reached by the end of the 1st trimester (12 weeks) whereupon it slowly declines to approximately 26,000– 300,000 mIU/ml by full term. Below are the average hCG levels during the first trimester:
-
- 3 weeks LMP: 5 – 50 mIU/ml
- 4 weeks LMP: 5 – 426 mIU/ml
- 5 weeks LMP: 18 – 7,340 mIU/ml
- 6 weeks LMP: 1,080 – 56,500 mIU/ml
- 7 – 8 weeks LMP: 7, 650 – 229,000 mIU/ml
- 9 – 12 weeks LMP: 25,700 – 288,000 mIU/ml
- A single hCG blood level is not sufficient to assess the viability of an implanting embryo. Caution should be used in making too much of an initial hCG level. This is because a normal pregnancy can start with relatively low hCG blood levels. It is the rate of the rise of the blood hCG level that is relevant.
- In some cases the initially hCG level is within the normal range, but then fails to double in the ensuing 48-72hours. In some cases it might even plateau or decline, only to start doubling appropriately thereafter. When this happens, it could be due to:
- A recovering implantation, destined to develop into a clinical gestation
- A failing implantation (a chemical pregnancy)
- A multiple pregnancy which is spontaneously reducing (i.e., one or more of the concepti is being lost) or,
- An ectopic pregnancy which will either absorb spontaneously (a chemical-tubal gestation), or evolve into a full blown tubal pregnancy continue and declare itself through characteristic symptoms and signs of an intraperitoneal bleed.
- The blood hCG test needs to be repeated at least once after 48h and in some cases it will need to be repeated one or more times (at 48h intervals) thereafter, to confirm that implantation is progressing normally.
- Ultimately the diagnosis of a viable pregnancy requires confirmation of the presence of an intrauterine gestational sac by ultrasound examination. The earliest that this can be achieved is when the beta hCG level exceeds 1,000mIU/ml (i.e., around 5-6 weeks).
- Most physicians prefer to defer the performance of a routine US diagnosis of pregnancy until closer to the 7th week. This is because by that time, cardiac activity should be clearly detectable, allowing for more reliable assessment of pregnancy viability.
- There are cases where the blood beta hCG level is extraordinarily high or the rate of rise is well above the normal doubling rate. The commonest explanation is that more than one pregnancy has implanted. However in some cases it can point to a molar pregnancy
- Finally, there on rare occasions, conditions unrelated to pregnancy can result in detectable hCG levels in blood and urine. They include ovarian tumors that produce hCG, such as certain types of cystic teratomas (dermoid cysts) and some ovarian cancers such as dysgerminomas.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
I am attaching online links to two E-books which I recently co-authored with my partner at SFS-NY (Drew Tortoriello MD)……. for your reading pleasure:
1.From In Vitro Fertilization to Family: A Journey with Sher Fertility Solutions (SFS) “
http://sherfertilitysolutions.com/sher-fertility-solutions-ebook.pdf
- “Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and Unexplained IVF Failure: The Immunologic Link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iYKz-EkAjMqwMa1ZcufIloRdxnAfDH8L/view
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