To investigate the impact of antithyroid antibody on pregnancy outcome following the in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET).
Methods
A total of 90 patients (156 cycles) positive for antithyroid antibody (ATA+ group) and 676 infertile women (1062 cycles) negative for antithyroid antibody (ATAgroup) undergoing IVF/ICSI from August 2009 to August 2010 were retrospectively analyzed.
Results
There was no significant difference in the days of ovarian stimulation, total gonadotropin dose, serum E2 level of HCG day and number of oocytes retrieved between the two groups. The fertilization rate, implantation rate and pregnancy rate following IVF-ET were significantly lower in women with antithyroid antibody than in control group (64.3% vs 74.6%, 17.8% vs 27.1% and 33.3% vs 46.7%, respectively), but the abortion rate was significantly higher in patients with antithyroid antibody (26.9% vs 11.8%).
Conclusion
Patients with antithyroid antibody showed significantly lower fertilization rate, implantation rate and pregnancy rate and higher risk for abortion following IVF-ET when compared with those without antithyroid antibody. Thus, the presence of antithyroid antibody is detrimental for the pregnancy outcome following IVF-ET.
PMID 22253557 22253557 DOI 10.7150/ijms.3467 10.7150/ijms.3467 Zhong et al. 2012, Zhong 2012
Cite this article
Zhong, Y. P., Ying, Y., Wu, H. T., Zhou, C. Q., Xu, Y. W., Wang, Q., Li, J., Shen, X. T., & Li, J. (2012). Relationship between antithyroid antibody and pregnancy outcome following in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. International journal of medical sciences, 9(2), 121-125. https://doi.org/10.7150/ijms.3467
Zhong YP, Ying Y, Wu HT, Zhou CQ, Xu YW, Wang Q, et al. Relationship between antithyroid antibody and pregnancy outcome following in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. Int J Med Sci. 2012;9(2):121-125. doi:10.7150/ijms.3467
Zhong, Y. P., et al. "Relationship between antithyroid antibody and pregnancy outcome following in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer." International journal of medical sciences, vol. 9, no. 2, 2012, pp. 121-125.
Lifshitz K et al., 2026·International urology and nephrology
Paternity rates among testicular cancer survivors are reduced. The patient journey, from fertility preservation at diagnosis to attempted paternity or use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART), contains two key gaps in the literature. While baseline semen impairment is well recognized, the relationship between disease stage, tumor pathology, and semen quality remains inconsistent. In addition, prior studies have largely excluded sex-cord stromal tumors, lacked healthy comparators, and rarely performed pathology-specific analyses within the same clinical stage. Reported paternity rates vary widely (6-21%), yet real-world data on ART utilization and live-birth outcomes remain limited. We conducted a retrospective cohort study (2017-2023) at a single tertiary academic referral center within a healthcare system that provided full coverage for sperm cryopreservation for 5 years and ART for up to 2 live births. Primary outcomes included baseline semen parameters by tumor histology and clinical stage, pathology-specific comparisons within each stage, and post-treatment utilization of cryopreserved sperm. Secondary outcomes were ART pregnancy and live-birth rates. The semen parameters were compared with those of healthy sperm donor candidates. The cohort included 126 men (mean age 36.6 ± 10.9 years; 83 seminoma, 35 non-seminoma, 8 sex-cord stromal tumors). Compared with 100 healthy donor candidates, testicular cancer patients demonstrated significantly impaired baseline semen quality across all parameters except volume (all p ≤ 0.01). Post-thaw semen quality was further reduced, with lower motility rates (17.5% vs 44.1%) and total motile counts (1.1 vs 7.8 million), highlighting greater motility and total motile count loss following cryopreservation. Sex-cord stromal tumors exhibited the poorest semen parameters. Semen quality did not differ by stage overall; pathology-specific differences were observed only in stage II disease, favoring non-seminoma tumors (p ≤ 0.05). Overall, 69% (n = 91) elected sperm cryopreservation. Among those, the median number of vials initially frozen was 15 (IQR 10-18), with a mean of 11.6 ± 4.3 vials per patient (range 1-18). During a median follow-up of 5.3 years (IQR: 3.9-6.8), only 8% (n = 7) used their vials for ART, undergoing a median (IQR) of 2.5 (1-4) cycles per couple (15 cycles recorded among 6 of 7 couples; cycle count missing for one couple), resulting in 12 pregnancies and an overall live-birth rate of 67%: 2/2, 100%, 6/10, 60%. Testicular cancer significantly impairs semen quality, with important variation by tumor pathology rather than stage. These findings underscore the need for accurate counseling: fertility preservation often enables future use primarily through IVF and supports banking multiple vials to mitigate freeze-thaw losses.
Barbato M et al., 2026·Frontiers in Reproductive Health
Couple infertility is a common clinical condition that is too often treated with assisted reproductive techniques (ARTs) without a proper evaluation of both male and female factors. To improve the likelihood of natural conception, fertility awareness methods (FAMs) are widely used. We performed a multicenter prospective study enrolling couples with primary idiopathic infertility who were seeking natural conception. Participants were followed for 12 months using FAMs, and their outcomes were compared with those of couples who only used ARTs. The aim of our study was to evaluate the pregnancy rate after 12 months among couples with idiopathic infertility using FAMs compared with those who immediately pursued ARTs. We evaluated 41 couples in the FAM group and 56 couples in the ART group. In the FAM group, we reported a pregnancy rate (PR) of 51.22%. Among women aged <34 years, we reported a PR of 90.9%, while it decreased to 36.7% among women aged 35-39 years. In the ART group, 10 couples achieved pregnancy (PR 17.8%). Within this group, we reported a PR of 30% among women aged <34 years and 17.4% among women aged 35-39 years. After 12 months of unprotected intercourse without spontaneous conception in women younger than 35 years or after 6 months in women aged 35-39 years, couples should undergo a complete multidisciplinary diagnostic evaluation involving both the male and female partners. If a diagnosis of idiopathic infertility is established at the end of this process, couples (especially younger ones) may be advised to wait an additional 12 months while using FAMs, as no advantage has been observed with direct access to ARTs. They could then be referred to ART if a spontaneous pregnancy is not achieved during this period.
assisted-reproduction/outcomes/outcomes-by-diagnosis
Open Access
For women with idiopathic diminished ovarian reserve (DOR), direct start with IVF has been suggested to potentially shorten the time to pregnancy. Others however prefer intra-uterine insemination with ovarian stimulation (IUI + OS) due to the expected low response in IVF. In this pilot study, we determined the effect of these two strategies in women with DOR < 40 years. From a retrospective cohort, we included 135 women that met the diagnostic criteria of DOR. Patients were randomly referred to two different outpatient clinics in the Netherlands between 2012-2018 because of subfertility. Primary outcome was clinical pregnancy; secondary outcomes included ongoing pregnancies, live births, time to pregnancy and pregnancy-related complications. An instrumental variable analysis was used to assess the average effect of treatment with IUI + OS followed by IVF (protocol A) compared to IVF alone (protocol B) and correct for (unknown) confounders. Treatment protocol A was performed in 72.6% patients in Centre 1 and 30.6% in Centre 2. In Centre 1 61.6% (45/73) women had a clinical pregnancy compared to 41.9% (26/62) in Centre 2 (difference 19.7% (95% CI 3.1%-36.3%), p = 0.02). Early miscarriage occurred in 24% of the women in Centre 1 in comparison to 45% of the women in Centre 2. There were no significant differences in pregnancy-related complications. This pilot study suggests that women < 40 with DOR, if treated with IUI + OS followed by IVF, have higher estimated cumulative clinical pregnancy success, with a trend towards higher ongoing pregnancies and live births, in comparison to women treated with IVF alone.
Michaelsen MP et al., 2025·BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
To study the association between previous use of levonorgestrel intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) and endometrial thickness (EMT) in women undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles. Multicentre historical cohort study. Eight Danish public and private fertility clinics. 12786 women aged 18-46 years contributing with an EMT measurement from 22 464 different IVF/ICSI treatment cycles between 2000 and 2021. Exposure was previous use of LNG-IUS, combined oral contraceptive pills (OCPs), progestogen-only pills (POPs), no/other contraception or combined, cumulated use of contraception when more contraceptives had been used during the inclusion period. LNG-IUS use was categorised into 0-3 years, >3-6 years, >6-9 years and >9 years. Mixed effect logistic regression adjusted for age, BMI, smoking, educational level, total FSH dose and fertility clinic was used. EMT (< 7 mm vs >= 7 mm). Statistically significantly higher odds of EMT >= 7 mm were found for OCPs [OR 3.53 (95% CI 1.29-9.65)], POPs [OR 6.43 (95% CI 1.45-28.63)] and no/other contraception [OR 6.67 (95% CI 2.37-18.74)] relative to LNG-IUS in IVF/ICSI cycles. All duration categories of ever use of LNG-IUS were associated with significantly lower odds of EMT >= 7 mm compared to no/other contraception. Previous use of LNG-IUS was associated with decreased endometrial growth in women undergoing IVF/ICSI.