According to a study conducted by Brussels IVF, the fertility clinic of UZ Brussel, women with PCOS who undergo in vitro maturation fertility treatment experience fewer side effects than with conventional in vitro fertilization treatment. . Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal condition that affects approximately 10% of women and is often characterized by reduced fertility due to an irregular cycle and ovulation disorders. These women usually have a large reserve of eggs and can therefore resort to in vitro maturation (IVM), a technique consisting in culturing immature eggs in the laboratory before fertilizing them. An important difference with conventional IVF is that MIV requires virtually no, if any, hormone injections. Women undergoing IVF treatment reported having fewer side effects, better tolerating the treatment and feeling less impact on their relationship and social life compared to those opting for conventional IVF treatment. While MIV treatment is less effective than IVF, it has some advantages that make it an acceptable compromise for this group of patients. The results of this study were presented this week at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.
IVF treatment causes more side effects and affects the daily life and sexuality of women with PCOS more broadly
Researchers at Brussels IVF investigated whether fertility treatment with IVF affects the quality of life of PCOS patients differently compared to conventional IVF treatment.
This prospective observational study followed 149 women who underwent their first cycle of IVD (75) or IVF (74) in the period between May 2017 and March 2021. In this study, women under the age of 37 who had started a medically assisted procreation program with their partner were asked to complete a questionnaire at different stages of their program: during their first consultation with the fertility clinic, during egg retrieval and finally after learning about the result of the first treatment cycle.
The continuation under the photo.
Linde Mostinckx, clinical coordinator-PCOS at UZ Brussel explains:
“The analysis showed that women undergoing conventional IVF treatment experienced more side effects during and after egg retrieval than women undergoing IVM. Women undergoing IVM also seemed to tolerate the treatment better, suggesting that conventional IVF treatment was more disruptive to the daily lives of these women and affected their mental health. In addition, patients undergoing IVM suffered fewer sexual and communication disorders. Finally, they felt that their social interactions were more affected by conventional IVF treatment than by IVM. »
The results of this study must now be further investigated.
IVM: an acceptable alternative for women with PCOS
Women with PCOS who have a large egg reserve generally respond more strongly to conventional IVF treatment than women without PCOS. In addition, women with the syndrome are at increased risk of ovarian overstimulation, which can result in a sharp increase in ovarian size and blood hormone levels, resulting in a higher risk of thrombosis. For these patients, IVM can be an alternative to conventional IVF treatment.
Michel De Vos, head of service at Brussels IVF adds:
“IVM has the great advantage of requiring little or no hormonal stimulation of the ovaries, because the ovarian follicles are immature when they are punctured. Conversely, in classic IVF, we stimulate the ovaries with hormone injections and try to harvest as many mature eggs as possible just before ovulation. Thanks to a lot of research, it is possible to ripen or “mature” immature eggs in the laboratory, with sufficient knowledge and expertise of the lab team. Since not all oocytes mature in the laboratory, the effectiveness of treatment for a patient with an average oocyte reserve is significantly lower than that of IVF. But since women with PCOS usually have a large reserve of oocytes, the lower success rate of IVM can be compensated for in these patients. »
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