Hans H.B. van der Ven

University of Bonn | Uni Bonn · Abteilung für Gynäkologische Endokrinologie und Reproduktionsmedizin

Fertility-preserving measures are becoming important for patients receiving oncological treatment. One method involves cryopreservation of ovarian tissue and transplanting it when treatment is completed. We report complications resulting from surgical and fertility medicine, and the results of procedures for the removal and transplantation of ovari...

STUDY QUESTION What is the success rate in terms of ovarian activity (menstrual cycles) as well as pregnancy and delivery rates 1 year after orthotopic ovarian transplantations conducted in a three-country network? SUMMARY ANSWER In 49 women with a follow-up >1 year after transplantation, the ovaries were active in 67% of cases and the pregnancy a...

To systematically review the reporting of MII (MII) oocyte development after xenotransplantation of human ovarian tissue. Systematic review in accordance with the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA). Not applicable. Not applicable. Formation of MII oocytes after xenotransplantation of human...

Artificial oocyte activation has been proposed as a suitable means to overcome the problem of failed or impaired fertilization after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). In a multicentre setting artificial oocyte activation was applied to 101 patients who were diagnosed with fertilization abnormalities (e.g. less than 50% fertilized oocytes) in...

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of cryopreservation and thawing of ovarian tissue from oncological patients opting for fertility preservation on ovarian tissue viability. Methods: In this prospective cohort study, the ovarian tissue viability before and after cryopreservation and thawing was measured for 25 newly diagnosed oncological patients who...

Background Current strategies in cancer treatment have markedly increased the rates of remission and survival for cancer patients, but are often associated with subsequent sterility. While there are various options available to an adult female depending on the patient’s particular situation, the only realistic option for preserving fertility in pre...

Biopsy of the first and second polar bodies allows investigation of the chromosomal and genetic constitution of the corresponding oocyte. Opening of the zona pellucida prior biopsy can be performed using a bevelled pipette, by 3D partial zona dissection or by a non-contact diode laser. Acid tyrode solution is not suitable for zona drilling in oocyt...

Objective: To investigate the effects of a dynamic fluidic culture system on early in vitro folliculogenesis in standardized ovarian cortex biopsies. Design: Cortical small strips were cultured for 6 days in a conventional static or in a dynamic fluidic culture system. Setting: University-affiliated laboratory with an associated cryobank facil...

In vielen industrialisierten Ländern hat die Geburtenzahl pro Frau in den letzten Dekaden signifikant abgenommen, was hauptsächlich Veränderungen sozioökonomischer und gesellschaftlicher Faktoren wie einem höheren Alter bei Geburt des ersten Kindes zugeschrieben wurde. Zusätzlich zu den genannten Einflüssen wurde eine generelle Abnahme der menschli...

The problem of post-cancer infertility is of significant concern. The cryopreservation of ovarian tissue before cancer therapy with retransplantation after convalescence is the key to solving this problem. Cryopreservation of ovarian tissue was performed in 2005 after surgical operation, post-operative low-temperature 22 hour transportation, and fr...

Purpose: In many cases cancer therapy leads to an irreversible reduction or even loss of ovarian reserve. Cryopreservation of ovarian tissue with subsequent thawing and re-transplantation of tissue after the cancer is in remission constitutes a promising method to preserve fertility in women. To date, more than 25 cases of live births after re-tran...

Cryopreserved ovarian tissue can be retransplanted to restore fertility after radiation or chemotherapy. To date, 15 live births after retransplantation have been reported worldwide. We report the first pregnancy and the first live birth after retransplantation in Germany. A 25-year-old female patient received initial chemotherapy and radiation of...

Objective: To analyze whether a ready-to-use calcium ionophore improves outcomes, from fertilization to live birth, in patients with severe male factor infertility. Design: Artificial oocyte activation offered to applicable patients over a 20-month period. Setting: Specialized in vitro fertilization (IVF) centers in Austria and Germany. Patie...

Assisted hatching was first described in 1990. The introduction of an artifical opening in the zona pellucida of the developing embryo should guarantee successful hatching of the embryo at the blastocyst stage. Embryo hatching is essential for subsequent implantation and for establishing a pregnancy. The introduction of assisted hatching has initia...

The potential of an embryo to implant is a key element for the success in assisted reproduction. Morphological criteria of oocytes and embryos and developmental progression during the preimplantation phase were considered as a strong predictor for embryo implantation. Recently, polarization light microscopy has enabled the detection of structures w...

Following intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), some patients present low or zero fertilization rates. Artificial oocyte activation has been proposed as a suitable means to overcome this problem. This study applied artificial oocyte activation in patient cohorts with a history of no fertilization (0%, group 1), fertilization between 1 and 29% (g...

To describe the first live birth after transplantation of ovarian tissue following overnight transportation of the tissue before freezing. Technical note. University department of obstetrics and gynecology. A 25-year-old cancer survivor with previous Hodgkin disease and relapse. The ovarian tissue was kept cool for >20 hours in a special transport...

Several randomized controlled trials have not shown a benefit from preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) biopsy of cleavage-stage embryos and assessment of up to 10 chromosomes for aneuploidy. Therefore, a proof-of-principle study was planned to determine the reliability of alternative form of PGS, i.e. PGS by polar body (PB) biopsy, with whole g...

This study examined the possible presence of malignant cells in ovarian cortex from patients with ovarian tumors after xenografting of the ovarian tissue into severe combined immunodeficiency mice. None of the mice presented symptoms of reintroduced malignancy nor did microscopic and immunohistochemical evaluation of the grafts raise any suspicion...

The purpose of this study was first to give an overview of the historical development of polarization microscopy, second to describe the various applications of this technique in assisted reproduction techniques (ART) and third to discuss the potential benefit of polarization microscopy as a predictor for IVF success. The history of polarization mi...

Bisulfite converted and normal sequence of studied Line-1 (A), Alu (B) repeats and F8 (C), the used PCR, SIRPH or pyrosequencing primers sequences are labeled. (PDF)

In this diagram, the effect of annealing temperature on average methylation as measured by SIRPH reaction is shown. The higher the annealing temperature used the bigger is the difference between males and females for this CpG site in LINE-1 sequence. Four males and four females aged 21 years were used for this experiment. (PDF)

Primer sequences used in this study. (PDF)

Summary findings of several studies that analyzed LINE-1 global methylation in healthy human individuals. (PDF)

50 sequenced clone of LINE-1 derived from male peripheral blood derived PCR products (Line-1 degenerate primers). The consensus sequence is shown in bold below the sequences. This figure shows the polymorphisms at CpG sites, the non CpG/TpG dinucleotide at the CpGs number 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22 are highlighted in the red boxes. The oval...

A) Methylation value distribution in the six experimental groups before and after correction. In every group, the number of males and females is also shown. B) Age distribution in the six experimental groups. In every group the number of males and females is also shown. (PDF)

Previously, we reported on inter-individual and gender specific variations of LINE-1 methylation in healthy individuals. In this study, we investigated whether this variability could be influenced by age or sex hormones in humans. To this end, we studied LINE-1 methylation in vivo in blood-derived DNA from individuals aged 18 to 64 years and from y...

Introduction: Female reproductive tract contains hyaluronan (HA), a glycos-aminoglycan which have a role in fertilization, adhesion, proliferation and the differentiation of several cell types. It has been shown that a high concentration of HA in embryo transfer media can improve pregnancy and implantation rates. However, contradictory studies have...

Polar body diagnosis is the investigation of the by-products of the meiotic cell cycle, the first and second polar bodies, regarding genetic dispositions or structural and/or numerical chromosomal disorders. The results of polar body diagnosis allow conclusions to be drawn on the genetic/chromosomal constitution of the oocyte. The major application...

First-trimester serum markers in 110 in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and 331 intracytoplasmatic sperm injection (ICSI) pregnancies were compared with 1431 pregnancies with spontaneous conception. Alterations of serum markers were evaluated with respect to small-for-gestational-age (SGA) growth and number of embryos transferred. For pregnancy-associate...

In females carrying a balanced chromosomal translocation biopsy of the 1st and 2nd polar body allows an indirect chromosomal investigation of the oocytes. It is possible to detect if the oocyte is unbalanced or balanced/normal in regard to the chromosomes which are involved in the translocation. In the present study polar body biopsy was carried ou...

The success of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is poor when only immotile spermatozoa can be retrieved. In a couple with complete male asthenozoospermia the possible use of the hypo-osmotic swelling test to select spermatozoa for microinjection was examined. Following incubation in hypo-osmotic medium (Hypo 10, IVF Science, Göteborg, Sweden...

The ZP2 protein is a zona pellucida glycoprotein that plays a major role in fertilization. It mediates secondary binding of spermatozoa and is one of the proteins that are involved in zona 'hardening'. ZP2 proteins were identified in various mammalian zonae pellucidae. Their primary structures are highly conserved as revealed by cDNA cloning. Antis...

The interest in cryopreservation of oocytes in human assisted reproduction is increasing. There are numerous reasons for this, and some of the more prominent ones are fertility preservation in young cancer patients, cryobanking of oocytes for future use to delay motherhood, legal restrictions regarding the number of oocytes that can be used for ins...

The phthalate ester mono-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP) is the active metabolite of di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, a high-production-volume chemical used as a plasticizer and solvent in numerous consumer products. MEHP has been demonstrated to be a reproductive toxicant in rodents decreasing estradiol and progesterone production in preovulatory gran...

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is a key technique in modern reproductive medicine. Originally developed to help couples who were at risk of transmitting single-gene genetic abnormalities to their children, the development of the FISH technique broadened chromosome analysis to include detection of more complex inherited abnormalities. The l...

A poor penetration rate of glycerol-treated, cryopreserved human spermatozoa as compared to untreated fresh control, was observed in the zona-free hamster oocyte test. Similarly, glycerol treatment of freshly ejaculated spermatozoa depressed the penetration rate unless the culture medium also contained glycerol. Immediately after thawing, glycerol-...

Sperm without acrosome of two males – spouses of infertile marriages – were studied. No acrosome could be identified in the Papanicolaou stained smears of either patient. Electron microscopy study confirmed the absence of acrosome and post-acrosomal sheath. The physical and functional integrity of the sperm membrane was determined by vital staining...

Polar body diagnosis (PBD) is a diagnostic method for the indirect genetic analysis of oocytes. Polar bodies are by-products of the meiotic cell cycle, which have no influence on further embryo development. The biopsy of polar bodies can be accomplished either by zona drilling or laser drilling within a very short time period. However, the paternal...

Polar body diagnosis (PBD) is a diagnostic method for the indirect genetic analysis of oocytes. Polar bodies are by-products of the meiotic cell cycle which have no influence on further embryo development. The biopsy of polar bodies can be accomplished either by zona drilling or laser drilling within a very short time period. The paternal contribut...

Lasers were included and used in the human in-vitro fertilization (IVF) laboratories for the first time as a new assisted reproduction technique (ART) more than a decade ago. Initially, lasers were found to be effective for the manipulation of spermatozoa and to create openings in the zona pellucida surrounding oocytes and embryos. These two basic...

In 29 semen samples of men participating in an in vitro fertilization (IVF)-programe the spermatozoan volume was determined on an electronic particle analyzer and a routine semen analysis was performed including the estimation of semen volume, sperm concentration, motility and morphology. Twenty three of the 29 semen samples were able to fertilize...

In 13 healthy women and 6 virgins the cellular sensitization against sperm and seminal plasma antigens was demonstrated by an indirect lymphokin assay, the leucocyte migration inhibition test (LMI-test) using the following preparations: "washed" spermatozoa, seminal plasma and spermatozoa of the supernatant prepared with the "swim-up" technique. In...

Die Bedeutung von morphologisch unauffälligen Spermatozoen für die künstliche Befruchtung wurde seit Beginn der In-vitro-Fertilisation (IVF) diskutiert. Im Rahmen der intrazytoplasmatischen Spermieninjektion (ICSI) wird derzeit insbesondere der gezielten Auswahl eines morphologisch intakten, zur Befruchtung verwendbaren Spermiums große Bedeutung be...

The importance of morphologically intact spermatozoa for artificial reproduction has been discussed since the early days of in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Regarding ICSI, the intentional selection of a morphologically intact spermatozoon for the fertilization process is a topic of discussion at present. Especially the presence of vacuoles in the spe...

Embryo viability is a key element for success in assisted reproduction. Since the beginning of the era of assisted reproduction treatment, embryo viability was mostly considered to be a function of developmental progression during the preimplantation phase. In the last decade, several morphological criteria of oocytes and embryos were evaluated wit...

The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between three-dimensional power Doppler sonography (3D-PDS) of the (sub)endometrium and concentrations of angiogenic cytokines in patients attending an IVF programme. A total of 42 patients was included in a prospective, non-randomized clinical study. 3D-PDS of the (sub)endometrium was performe...

Standard protocol of freezing of human ovarian tissue presupposes the very slow cooling (-0.3 C/min) from auto-seeding to -40 C, then slow cooling (-10 C/min) to -140 C and then direct plunging into liquid nitrogen. The aim of this investigation was to compare the -10 C/min cooling rate of human ovarian tissue from -40 C to -140 C with the -220 C/m...

Polar body diagnosis (PBD) is a new diagnostic method for the indirect genetic analysis of oocytes, which is carried out as part of in vitro fertilization. The biopsy of polar bodies is technically demanding and cannot be adopted uncritically in routine practice, in the absence of robust data to support this laboratory procedure. Selective literatu...

This investigation compared conventional freezing of human ovarian tissue using either spontaneous or initiated ('seeded') ice formation. Biopsies of ovarian tissue were obtained from women with indications for chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Small pieces of experimental tissue were randomly distributed into three groups that were then subjected to d...

A retrospective study recently showed that oocytes presenting with a high birefringence of the inner zona layer were more often associated with conception cycles. To further investigate these findings, a prospective study was conducted between September 2005 and September 2006 including intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles presenting with...

Cryopreservation, which is the most important procedure in ovarian tissue banking, can be divided into two methods: conventional freezing and rapid freezing. In previous study, the higher effectiveness of rapid freezing in comparison with the conventional freezing for human oocytes and embryos was shown. Data on comparison of these two methods for...

Der nur in Deutschland übliche Begriff der Pelviskopie, die weltweit und auch bei uns heute Laparoskopie genannt wird, stammt von Kurt Semm, der im Unterschied zur internistischen Laparoskopie bzgl. Abklärung der Leber die Abklärung des Kleinbeckens als Pelviskopie bezeichnete [19, 20, 21]. Die ersten Indikationsgebiete für die operative Pelviskopi...

In letzter Zeit besteht ein gesteigertes Interesse, die Berührungspunkte zwischen den artifiziellen reproduktiven Techniken (ART) und der Reproduktionsgenetik zu beleuchten. Dies zeigt sich schon daran, dass, von der Europäischen Gemeinschaft (EU) gefördert, im Jahre 2005 von den 2 betroffenen großen europäischen Fachgesellschaften, der European So...

Verantwortung ist im 20. Jahrhundert zum Schlüsselbegriff der Ethik aufgestiegen. Inzwischen ist er nicht nur für die politische, sondern auch für die medizinische Ethik zentral. Zum Leitmotiv der Ethik wurde er durch den aufrüttelnden Vortrag »Politik als Beruf«, den der Sozialwissenschaftler Max Weber im Jahr 1919 in München angesichts der politi...

Der Begriff »Reproduktionsmedizin« entstand in den 80er Jahren des letzten Jahrhunderts. Zuvor hatten sich ärzte schon seit dem Mittelalter mit dem Phänomen der Unfruchtbarkeit beschäftigt. Bis zum 19. Jahrhundert findet man allerdings nur wenige medizinische Abhandlungen zu diesem Thema und die waren fast nur in einem kleinen Expertenkreis bekannt...

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Endometriose ist als Vorhandensein von endometrialem Gewebe (Drüsen und Stroma) außerhalb des Uteruskavums definiert.

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) has come a long way since Edwards and Steptoe’s first successful use of in vitro fertilization (IVF). The high success rates currently enjoyed with the various ART treatments are the direct result of past technical and pharmacologic improvements. Major technical innovations included transvaginal ultrasound for...

Die Kryokonservierung ist heute innerhalb der Reproduktionsmedizin ein integriertes Behandlungskonzept. Das Einfrieren so unterschiedlicher reproduktiver Zellen und Gewebe wie Spermatozoen, Eizellen, Embryonen, Hodengewebe und Eierstockgewebe ist aus kryobiologischer Sicht eine Herausforderung. Entsprechend sind für den jeweiligen Zell- oder Gewebe...

Wenngleich es heute als selbstverständlich gilt, dass die Gonadotropintherapie eine wichtige Komponente im alltäglichen Management der Sterilität darstellt, waren bis heute doch erhebliche Forschungsanstrengungen und Entdeckungen erforderlich. Der Beginn dieses Prozesses ist in den frühen Versuchen zu finden, aus Tiermaterial, menschlichen Leichen...

Spätestens seit den historischen Leistungen von Lance Armstrong bei der Tour de France ist das Thema nicht mehr allein in Medizinerkreisen aktuell. Ein Mann besiegt den Krebs, in diesem Fall ein metastasiertes Hodenkarzinom, unterwirft sich operativer und chemotherapeutischer Behandlung, um sich dann zu fast übermenschlichen Höchstleistungen aufzus...

Für Anlageträgerinnen einer monogenen Erkrankung ist die Polkörperdiagnostik (PKD) in Deutschland derzeit eine Alternative zur Pränataldiagnostik mit evtl. Schwangerschaftsabbruch. Die PKD ist praktisch die früheste Form der Präimplantationsdiagnostik (PID). Voraussetzung ist eine In-vitro-Fertilisation (IVF) mit intrazytoplasmatischer Spermieninje...

Die Anovulation als monokausaler Befund in der Sterilitätsbehandlung hat nicht nur viele differenzialdiagnostisch zu erwägende Ursachen, sondern ist meist sehr suffizient auch ohne den Einsatz assistierter Reproduktionstechniken zu behandeln. Ziel ist dabei das Erreichen einer Ovulation, sei es durch direkte Stimulation oder durch Restaurierung ein...

Auf dem Gebiet der Reproduktionsmedizin wird die Polkörperbiopsie mit anschließender Untersuchung des chromosomalen Status der Polkörper innerhalb der letzten Jahre in Deutschland zunehmend eingesetzt. Auf Basis internationaler Veröffentlichungen und auf Grund der langjährigen Erfahrung der Autoren mit der Etablierung und Durchführung der Polkörper...

Das Reproduktionsverhalten der westlichen Gesellschaften hat sich in den letzten 2–3 Jahrzehnten dramatisch verändert. Elternschaft wird heute oft gezielt geplant. Es ist dabei von Bedeutung, dass immer häufiger einer 1. Schwangerschaft 20 Jahre der Verhütung vorausgehen können, d. h. es werden weniger als 25% der fruchtbaren Jahre einer Frau für d...

Als im Jahre 1996 das DIR in Bad Segeberg eingerichtet wurde, war die In-vitro-Kultur von Gameten und Embryonen in den Laboratorien, die assistierte Reproduktionstechnologien (ART) durchführten, seit Jahren etabliert. Achtzehn Jahre nach der Geburt von Louise Brown gab es nicht nur die verschiedensten Kultursysteme (offen, geschlossen, Mikrotropfen...