Effect of serum from fertile and infertile patients with endometriosis on the development of mouse embryos.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effect of serum from infertile and fertile patients with endometriosis on the development of 2-cell mouse embryos.

PATIENTS

Serum was obtained from 26 infertile patients and 8 fertile patients with endometriosis. Mouse embryo development in serum samples was compared using chi 2 analysis.

RESULTS

In the infertile group 23% of the embryos reached blastocyst stage, whereas 22 of the 26 samples were embryo toxic. In the fertile group significantly more embryos (45%) developed to blastocysts and only one serum samples was embryo toxic.

CONCLUSION

The embryo toxicity of serum samples from patients with endometriosis is related to the infertility associated with the disease and not with the disease per se.