Clinical evidence for an LH ceiling?

Dear Sir, We read with interest the letter by M.Filicori (Filicori etal., 2003) commenting on our pilot studies published earlierin Human Reproduction (Loumaye et al., 2003). Filicori et al. remind us that they have repeatedly reporteda reduction in ‘small’ follicles (<10 mm)by administering LH activity during the follicular phase. Thissupports a ‘ceiling’ for LH on antral follicleswith a diameter <10 mm; however, they challenge sucheffect of LH on larger follicles (>10 mm). This is basedon four pilot studies published by the same     

The predictive value of sperm chromatin structure assay

Sir, I read with great interest the Letter to the Editor by Nicopoulloset al. (2005) entitled ‘The predictive value of spermchromatin structure assay’, published in the March issueof Human Reproduction, and also the replies by Bungum (2005),Check and Johnson (2005) and Gandini (2005). Perhaps, before discussing the predictive value of the spermchromatin structure assay (SCSA) test in assisted reproductivetechnologies, it would be useful to review the causes and typesof DNA damage found in human sperm and the different tests thatcan be used to assess this damage. DNA damage in sperm can affect both mitochondrial and nuclearDNA and can be induced by five main mechanisms: (i) apoptosisduring the process of spermatogenesis; (ii) DNA strand     

Developmental stage-specific expression of Rbm suggests its involvement in early phases of spermatogenesis

Mol. Hum. Reprod., 10, 259–264 The publisher wishes to apologise for the incorrect reproductionof Figure 2 and 3 in this paper. The figure appears in     

On the benefit of assisted reproduction techniques, a comparison of the USA and Europe

Sir, We were interested in the letter by the European IVF monitoring(EIM) group (Nygren et al., 2006) in response to our recentarticle (Gleicher et al., 2006). Nygren et al. ‘did not necessarily agree’ with ouropinion that significantly (in non-medical lingo dramatically)lower pregnancy and delivery rates in Europe ‘do not appearto benefit the European population’. Instead, they concludethat although ‘efficacy is higher in the USA, the benefit(to the population) may not be’. We believe that theirarguments are not supported by facts. EIM, indeed, uses selected data and statements from our articlein support of their arguments: For example, we had noted, andEIM emphasizes in their letter, that the costs [of assistedreproduction techniques (ARTs)] in Europe are lower (as allmedical costs are), insurance coverage is broader, utilizationof     

Bye-bye urinary gonadotrophins? Reply to debate

Dear Sir, Drs Matorras and Crosignani have recently published a debateon urinary gonadotrophins: ‘Bye-bye gonadotrophins,’(Matorras et al., 2002; Crosignani, 2002) in which both authorssuggested a potential risk of prion infectivity to which I wouldlike to respond. Discouraging the use of urinary gonadotrophinssolely on the grounds of potential risks associated with prion     

Environmental estrogens and sperm function

Dear Sir, In January 2003, our paper entitled ‘17-Estradiol andenvironmental estrogens significantly affect mammalian spermfunction’ was published in Human Reproduction (Adeoya-Osiguwaet al., 2003). On behalf of our colleagues, we     

Post-coital administration of levonorgestrel and post-fertilization events in the new-world monkey Cebus apella

Sir, The paper by Ortiz et al. (2004), which concludes that ‘Post-coitaladministration of levonorgestrel does not interfere with post-fertilizationevents in     

WHO grade 'a' sperm motility and zona pellucida-binding test predict IVF outcome

Sir, I have read with great interest the article by Sifer et al.(2005) on the combination of a newly developed sperm–zonapellucida-binding assay and WHO grade ‘a’ spermmotility to predict sperm fertilizing ability in IVF. The authorshave to be commended for developing a—theoretically veryappealing—new sperm function