About this Research Topic
Evaluation of the hormonal environment in patients with primary or secondary infertility is an important element of patient assessment before commencing an Assisted Reproductive Technique (ART) treatment. Commonly tested hormonal parameters before treatment start are the parameters of the ovarian reserve, Anti-Muellerian-Hormone (AMH) and Antral Follicle Count (AFC), further on parameters of organ-systems, which might impact the ovarian function, like the thyroid and the pituitary.
During ovarian stimulation for an IVF / ICSI treatment, treatment monitoring is usually a combination of ultrasonographic measurement of the number and size of follicles and the measurement of estradiol and progesterone. However, besides estradiol and progesterone, the hormones FSH, LH or Inhibin A and the fluctuations of these hormones during hormonal stimulation can give additional important information on the individual response of the patient to the chosen stimulation protocol. Medication for final oocyte maturation (“trigger”) is crucial to retrieve oocytes and, depending on the patients’ characteristics, human Chorion-Gonadotropin (hCG), Gonadotropin-Releasing-Hormone (GnRH)- agonist or even Kisspeptin can be administered. The type of trigger has a stark influence on the further hormonal profile of the IVF/ICSI cycle and this knowledge is important to optimize the luteal phase support in case of a fresh embryo transfer.
The “Research Topic” summarizes papers, which evaluate the impact / meaningfulness of hormonal parameters, “deviating from the well-trodden path” of commonly used hormones and may open new insights into treatment monitoring and further on look into conditions like adenomyosis and insulin-resistance, which may have an impact on the ART treatment and the chance of a pregnancy. These papers provide knowledge for different clinical scenarios, point out the gaps of the current knowledge and the possible directions of future research.
During ovarian stimulation for an IVF / ICSI treatment, treatment monitoring is usually a combination of ultrasonographic measurement of the number and size of follicles and the measurement of estradiol and progesterone. However, besides estradiol and progesterone, the hormones FSH, LH or Inhibin A and the fluctuations of these hormones during hormonal stimulation can give additional important information on the individual response of the patient to the chosen stimulation protocol. Medication for final oocyte maturation (“trigger”) is crucial to retrieve oocytes and, depending on the patients’ characteristics, human Chorion-Gonadotropin (hCG), Gonadotropin-Releasing-Hormone (GnRH)- agonist or even Kisspeptin can be administered. The type of trigger has a stark influence on the further hormonal profile of the IVF/ICSI cycle and this knowledge is important to optimize the luteal phase support in case of a fresh embryo transfer.
The “Research Topic” summarizes papers, which evaluate the impact / meaningfulness of hormonal parameters, “deviating from the well-trodden path” of commonly used hormones and may open new insights into treatment monitoring and further on look into conditions like adenomyosis and insulin-resistance, which may have an impact on the ART treatment and the chance of a pregnancy. These papers provide knowledge for different clinical scenarios, point out the gaps of the current knowledge and the possible directions of future research.
Keywords: ART, ovarian reserve, Anti-Muellerian-Hormone, IVF, ICSI, Antral Follicle Count, ovarian function
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