Strategies of infertility treatment with human immature oocytes

Abstract

Human immature oocytes can be matured in vitro following culture. In vitro maturation (IVM) refers to maturation in culture of immature oocytes at different stages that may or may not have been exposed to short courses of gonadotropins. The source of immature oocytes is an important feature for the subsequent embryonic development and pregnancy, as well healthy live births. IVM is an efficient treatment that has already achieved significant outcomes in terms of acceptable pregnancies and implantation rates and resulted in the births of several thousands of healthy babies. As the development of IVM treatment continues, an attractive possibility for improving the already successful outcome is to combine a natural cycle in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment with an immature oocyte retrieval followed by IVM of those immature oocytes. If the treatment processes can be simplified with immature oocyte retrieval, different types of infertile women may be able to take advantage of these treatments. Although IVM treatment is still considered experimental by the society, it is time to reconsider the IVM technological evolution. Mild stimulation IVF combined with IVM treatment represents a viable alternative to the standard treatment, and as data accumulate over time, it may prove to be an optimal first-line treatment approach.

Keywords

• Immature Oocytes; In vitro Maturation; Infertility Treatment