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March 13, 2022 – 02:07
It could imply a reduction in the chances of conceiving naturally or assisted. The scientists who conducted the study believe that the impact could be temporary.
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The functioning of the ovaries is affected for at least nine months after having had COVID-19, which could imply a reduction in the chances of conceiving naturally or through assisted reproduction techniques, according to a study led by Conicet scientists and the Institute of Biology and Experimental Medicine (Ibyme), who consider that the impact could be temporary, although there is a lack of research to confirm how long it lasts.
The work, which was published in the journal “Molecular Basis of Disease”, analyzed 80 patients from four fertilization centers divided into two groups: 34 with no history of COVID-19 and 46 who had experienced the disease asymptomatically or with presence of mild symptoms between 3 and 9 months before the study.
The study material was follicular fluids, which are obtained by aspiration to extract the ovules from the ovary and use them in assisted reproduction techniques.
Ovulation
“In this liquid are the oocytes (immature eggs) before ovulation occurs. The discarded material is what we study and which is made up of a complex mixture of hormones, cytokines (proteins of the immune system), metabolites and other proteins released by cells of the ovary and that are important for the quality and development of the ovules”, explained Doctor of Chemistry Fernanda Parborell, head of the Ovarian Physiopathology Studies Laboratory at Ibyme, which depends on Conicet.
Parborell explained to Télam that “for the analysis of the follicular fluid, a lot of parameters are analyzed, among them the vasculature (blood supply), which is what makes the ovary well nourished.”
The researcher explained that “one of the things that was observed is that a factor that is crucial for the growth of blood vessels in the ovary was decreased, which is the vascular endothelial growth factor or VEGF, which is a key molecule in regulation of endothelial cell proliferation”.
And he continued: “This implies that the vasculature present in the ovary was altered, therefore the nutrients, oxygen and hormones necessary for the ovary to have a normal function could not be arriving sufficiently for the growth of the oocyte”.
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