The effect of serum obtained before and after treatment for endometriosis on in vitro development of two-cell mouse embryos.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effect of serum obtained before and after treatment for endometriosis on in vitro development of two-cell mouse embryos.

DESIGN

Pretreatment and post-treatment comparison of mouse embryo development in serum supplements from patients with endometriosis; results were compared using chi 2 analysis.

SETTING

Infertility Clinic, Shimane Medical University, Izumo, Japan.

PATIENTS

Ten consecutive women with endometriosis who underwent treatment for the disease. Seven women who were managed expectantly served as controls.

INTERVENTIONS

All patients underwent laparoscopic or conservative surgery. This was followed by a 6-month course of either danazol 400 mg/d (6 patients) or buserelin acetate 900 micrograms/d (4 patients).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Total number of embryos that reached blastocyst stage after 72 hours of incubation were compared before and after treatment.

RESULTS

Before treatment, 23% of the embryos reached blastocyst stage, whereas 8 of the 10 serum samples were embryo toxic. After treatment, significantly more embryos (59%) developed to blastocysts, and only one serum sample remained embryo toxic. In the control group, there was no significant difference in the number of embryos that reached blastocyst stage after expectant treatment.

CONCLUSION

The embryo toxicity of serum samples from patients with endometriosis is lost after treatment.