Papers by Mohammad Mehdi akhondi
Human Reproduction
Study question What is the knowledge and beliefs of the female students in Tehran universities re... more Study question What is the knowledge and beliefs of the female students in Tehran universities regarding the oocyte cryopreservation for medical and social reasons? Summary answer This study highlighted the positive attitude but insufficient knowledge about medical and social egg freezing and the ideal timing of childbearing in female students. What is known already Emerging research indicates that physiologic or pathologic ovarian aging limits the female reproductive capacity and oocyte cryopreservation (OC) is a rapidly evolving branch of reproductive medicine. Given the growing numbers of young women surviving cancer, along with increasing numbers of high educated women postponing childbearing for educational or professional pursuits, there will be a growing demand for egg freezing services to guarantee the pregnancy in near future. Egg freezing can prevent age-related infertility, but it also can cause new potentially ethical and financial problems and the neonatal and maternal ...
Andrologia, 2015
This study was designed to find out Ruta graveolens L. functional components, which have immobili... more This study was designed to find out Ruta graveolens L. functional components, which have immobilisation effect on human spermatozoa for contraceptive use. A five-step fractionation method was used to derive different components from rue aqueous extract by using hexane, chloroform, ethanol, acetone and ultrapure water. Gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometery (GC-MS) of all fractions and the aqueous extract were performed to determine the chemical components. The immobilisation assay and membrane integrity test were also performed with four different coumarins, which were found in GC-MS in a concentration of 10 μm. Hexane, chloroform, acetone and ethanol fractions could significantly decrease motility of sperms within the first and the second hours. Hexane fraction had also significant immediate effect. The aqueous fraction had no effect on sperm motility. Meanwhile, GC-MS revealed that aqueous extract and effective fractions had similar coumarin compounds. We performed the immobilisation assay on four different coumarins, which were found in GC-MS in a concentration of 10 μm. Reduction of sperm motility was only significant for xanthotoxin. In the sperm viability and membrane integrity tests, hexane and ethanolic fractions could impair sperm vitality significantly, in contrast to coumarins. These results indicated that a part of immobilising effect of rue could be due to its coumarins. The possible mechanism could be blocking of spermatozoa potassium channels.
Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research, 2008
Aim: Endometriosis is defined as the growth of endometrium outside of the uterus in ectopic plac... more Aim: Endometriosis is defined as the growth of endometrium outside of the uterus in ectopic places. Immune system disturbances have an important role in endometriosis which may lead to infertility. It seems that inflammatory cytokines, specially tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α), which are produced by activated macrophages, play an important role in the pathology of endometriosis. Based on this theory, anti‐TNF‐α drugs are suggested as new drugs for endometriosis. This experimental study has been performed on female rats to determine the effect of pentoxifylline on the white blood cell count in serum and peritoneal fluid.Methods: During the proestrous phase, one horn of the bicorn uterus of rats was removed surgically, and the endometrium implanted to different places as follows: subcutaneous, peritoneum and near the ovaries. After 2 months' observation, female rats were divided randomly into two groups. The treated group (n = 10) were given pentoxifylline (5 mg/kg twice a d...
Journal of Immunotherapy, 2009
To develop an efficient dendritic cell (DC)-based immunotherapy protocol, we examined whether sim... more To develop an efficient dendritic cell (DC)-based immunotherapy protocol, we examined whether simultaneous pulsing of DCs with a given antigen and a third-party antigen could enhance their antigen presentation capacity. Purified splenic DCs of Balb/c mice were pulsed separately with immunoglobulin G, ovalbumin, conalbumin, P15 peptide of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and prostate-specific antigen or double combinations of the aforementioned antigens. In some settings, DCs pulsed with 1 antigen were mixed equally with those pulsed with another antigen. Antigen-pulsed DCs were injected into the footpad of syngeneic mice and proliferation of whole, CD4 and CD8 depleted lymph node cells was measured after restimulation with cognate antigen. Antigen-specific production of interferon-gamma (IFNgamma) was tested in culture supernatants. Frequency of responding lymph node cells was determined by IFNgamma enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot assay. Our results showed that copulsing of DCs with 2 unrelated antigens increased the capacity of DCs to induce antigen-specific T-cell proliferation against both antigens up to 16-fold. Injection of 2 populations of DCs each pulsed with a different antigen, increased proliferation of primed T cells significantly as well. Both CD4 and CD8 depleted populations showed vigorous proliferative response in copulsing system. In addition, copulsing of DCs with 2 antigens resulted in higher frequency of antigen-specific responding cells and significantly more IFNgamma production. Our results clearly showed that unrelated peptides and proteins could be used to enhance efficacy of DC-based vaccines and in this system, each antigen served to help the other one, a condition that we termed as "mutual helper effect."
Human Reproduction, 2011
The presence of hypospermia at times severe is a compounding factor of male infertility that ofte... more The presence of hypospermia at times severe is a compounding factor of male infertility that often results in a small amount of cryopreserved specimen in a single aliquot. The availability of ICSI allows a small volume of semen sample to adequately inseminate an oocyte cohort. Often shaving a layer off the frozen specimen is carried out to avoid wastage of the entire sample in severe hypospermia, pre-cancer treatment, deceased individuals, or rare donors where only one vial is available. Moreover, surgically retrieved specimens are cryopreserved in several aliquots but with inconsistent quality. Here the same procedure is carried out in order to identify the vial of higher specimen quality. This approach is carried out on the surface of the frozen sample can provide misleading information while representing a risk of partial thawing of the entire specimen. In this study, we attempted to vitrify sperm in small CP beads and stored in a closed system. Material and Methods: Specimens (n = 16) with normal parameters were donated from consenting men. Each sample was equally distributed among three categories: semen suspension mixed with v/v dilution of CP (eCP) or higher proportion of CP (hCP). Each sample was either cryopreserved in vapor at-80 o C (30min) before plunging into LN 2 or vitrified by dropping 10μl of specimen on a LN 2 pre-cooled glass slide. Sperm beads were transferred to a pre-cooled vial and plunged into LN 2. Control fractions were thawed by exposing vials to room temperature. Warming of cryobeads was carried out by picking up an individual bead with a pair of pre-cooled tweezers and placing it on a pre-warmed (37 o C) Makler. Results: From December 2003 to October 2010, 1,683 semen specimens with an average density of 52.7 ± 38 x 10 6 /ml, motility 52.3 ± 12%, and 3.7 ± 3% morphology were cryopreserved in standard fashion. An average post-thaw motility of 26.1 ± 15% was obtained representing a loss of about 50% loss of motile cells. The study samples had a mean density of 55.2 ± 37 x 10 6 /ml, motility 52.2 ± 9%, and 5.2 ± 3% normal morphology. Beads cryopreserved in standard fashion yielded a post-thaw motility with eCP of 30.0 ± 14%, while with hCP 32.0 ± 13%. When cryobeads were warmed after vitrification, the post-motility with eCP was 28.4 ± 7% and with hCP 25.0 ± 10%. The decrease in progressive motility was also comparable among the two cryobead methods and with the control (45.6% vs 52.1% for eCP and hCP, respectively). Conclusions: Bead vitrification was unrelated to the CP concentration and retained motility characteristics similar to the control. Vitrification in a closed system remarkably shortened cryopreservation time, allow multiple usage of the same vial without risk of partial thawing. Single bead assessment allowed to pick the best cryo aliquot among the same specimen.
Journal of Reproduction & Infertility
Assisted reproductive technology (ART) and third-party reproduction provide the opportunity for i... more Assisted reproductive technology (ART) and third-party reproduction provide the opportunity for infertile couples to have children through different genetic links. This type of treatment has created many challenges for infertile couples. With this treatment, the infertile couple will have a child who is biologically related to the gamete/embryo donor. Accordingly, the transformation that occurs in the structure of traditional families and the concept of parenthood is one of the main consequences and challenges which requires in-depth research. In spite of the successful expansion of infertility treatment and third-party reproduction, there is still no proper social context for implementing third-party infertility treatments in Iran. Therefore, despite the need to use the technology, some couples refuse the treatment unless their confidentiality is preserved. Many couples follow the practice surreptitiously by keeping the donation treatment confidential, to get rid of the existing so...
Gastroenterology and Hepatology From Bed to Bench, 2016
Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare three available methods for mitochondrial ... more Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare three available methods for mitochondrial isolation from a human cell line to predict the best method for each probable application. Background: Organelle isolation is gaining importance in experimental laboratory settings. Mitochondrial dysfunction may affect tumorgenesis process. There are some evidences that transplantation of healthy, intact and active mitochondria into cells containing defective mitochondria may reduce the proliferation. Therefore, isolated mitochondria could be considered as an effective tool for assessment and management of mitochondrial related disorders. Patients and methods: Mitochondrial isolation from the human liver cell line (HepG2) was performed using two commercially available kits, including Qproteome (Qiagen) and MITOISO2 (Sigma-Aldrich), as well as a manual method. Integrity of inner membrane of mitochondria was assessed by JC-1 staining. Activity of isolated mitochondria was evaluated by DCFH...
Arak Medical University Journal, 2016
Background: The prediction models for infertility treatment success have presented since 25 years... more Background: The prediction models for infertility treatment success have presented since 25 years ago. There are scientific principles for designing and applying the prediction models that is also used to predict the success rate of infertility treatment. The purpose of this study is to provide basic principles for designing the model to predic infertility treatment success. Materials and Methods: In this paper, the principles for developing predictive models are explained and then the design of such models in infertility treatments is described in more details by explaining one sample. Results: The important principles for models that firstly are described are: identifying and defining the purpose, expected function of model, input data that will be used to develop a model: type of intervention or diagnostic procedures that can lead to changes in the samples and output definition or expected result of model function. Further, characteristics of predictive factors in final model, dr...
Iranian Journal of Public Health, 2020
Background: This study was conducted to evaluate the success rate of male infertility treatment a... more Background: This study was conducted to evaluate the success rate of male infertility treatment and the factors affecting its outcome. Methods: In a historical cohort study, from Mar 2013 to Mar 2014, 323 couples with male factor were investigated. Couples had treated with IUI or/and ICSI were included randomly. Assisted reproduction technology (ART) outcome (treatment success) was defined as a live birth. Age, duration of infertility, type of infertility, treatment history and clinical examination results were investigated. The logistic regression and survival analysis were applied. Results: The average of men age, duration of infertility and BMI were 33.5, 4.7 (yr) and 26.6 (kg/m2 ) respectively. 87.9% of men have primary infertility and average duration of treatment was 14.1(month). Previous treatment, type of infertility, treatment method, man's BMI, normality of sperm and sperm head were important variable that affecting outcome. The rate of live birth in the first attempt ...
International Journal of Women's Health and Reproduction Sciences, 2020
Objectives: Cesarean delivery without medical indication has regularly increased among Iranian wo... more Objectives: Cesarean delivery without medical indication has regularly increased among Iranian women in the last three decades, and Iran has one of the highest rates of cesarean in the world. The present study aimed at reviewing the studies regarding the increase of cesarean in Iran and discussing the root causes for such an increase. Methods: This literature review focused on the existing quantitative and qualitative studies conducted from January 1990 to January 2019 regarding the reasons for an increase in the cesarean section in Iran. The combination of keywords including "cesarean section", "C-section", "cesarean delivery", and "Iran" was searched in several databases such as MEDLINE/PubMed, Embase, ISI Web of Science and Scopus, along with national databases (e.g., SID, MagIran, Iran Medex, and IranDoc). Results: A dramatic rise in cesarean birth stems from a number of factors including the role of health care professionals, insurance co...
Czech Journal of Animal Science, 2013
Considering the advent of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as a new source of somatic cells in embry... more Considering the advent of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as a new source of somatic cells in embryo co-culture system, the current study was aimed to compare in vitro embryo development using embryonic MSCs monolayer with embryonic fibroblast cells (EFCs), oviductal epithelial cells (OECs), and cell-free culture system. The IVM/IVF presumptive sheep zygotes were randomly cultured in different culture conditions as follows: (1) SOFaaBSA medium for the whole culture period (SOF, n = 371), (2) SOFaaBSA medium for the first 3 days followed by co-culturing with MSCs for the next 5 days (SOF-MSCs, n = 120), (3) co-culturing with MSCs for the first 3 days followed by culture in SOFaaBSA medium for the next 5 days (MSCs-SOF, n = 133), (4) co-culturing with MSCs for the whole culture period (MSCs, n = 212), (5) SOFaaBSA medium for the first 3 days followed by co-culturing with EFCs for the next 5 days (SOF-EFCs, n = 132), (6) co-culturing with EFCs for the first 3 days followed by culture in ...
Türk Üroloji Dergisi/Turkish Journal of Urology, 2019
Objective: Studies showed a decrease of the semen analysis parameters and an increase in the aver... more Objective: Studies showed a decrease of the semen analysis parameters and an increase in the average age of first-time fathers over the past several decades. The aim of the present study was to assess the influence of paternal age on semen quality and fertilization outcomes in men with normal sperm DNA fragmentation and chromatin maturation index (DFI and CMI), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) levels. Material and methods: The study was performed on 70 men with their wife's age ≤38 years and normal sperm DFI, CMI, ROS, and TAC levels. None of the couples had a history of genital inflammation, chronic diseases, endocrine abnormality, chromosomal aberrations, Y chromosome microdeletion, azoospermia, and leukocytospermia. These men were separated into 2 groups according to their age (group A: age <45 years and group B: age ≥45 years). Semen analysis and fertilization outcome after using the intracytoplasmic sperm injection were assessed in both groups. Result: Sperm concentration showed a significant reduction in group B (p= 0.04). Although semen volume, sperm normal morphology, and progressive motility were decreased in group B, the reduction was not significant when compared with group A (p= 0.09, p= 0.47, and p= 0.77, respectively). In addition, the differences of embryo quality with grades A, B, and C and 8-cell embryo formation were not statistically significant between the 2 groups. Conclusion: These results demonstrated that in men with normal sperm DFI, CMI, ROS, and TAC levels, there were no significant changes in semen parameters and fertilization outcomes with an increasing age.
Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics, 2018
Purpose This study was conducted in order to investigate the effects of reactive oxygen species (... more Purpose This study was conducted in order to investigate the effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels on the seminal plasma (SP) metabolite milieu and sperm dysfunction. Methods Semen specimens of 151 normozoospermic men were analyzed for ROS by chemiluminescence and classified according to seminal ROS levels [in relative light units (RLU)/s/10 6 sperm]: group 1 (n = 39): low (ROS < 20), group 2 (n = 38): mild (20 ≤ ROS < 40), group 3 (n = 31): moderate (40 ≤ ROS < 60), and group 4 (n = 43): high (ROS ≥ 60). A comprehensive analysis of SP and semen parameters, including conventional semen characteristics, measurement of total antioxidant capacity (TAC), sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI), chromatin maturation index (CMI), H19-Igf2 methylation status, and untargeted seminal metabolic profiling using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-NMR), was carried out. Result(s) The methylation status of H19 and Igf2 was significantly different in specimens with high ROS (P < 0.005). Metabolic fingerprinting of these SP samples showed upregulation of trimethylamine N-oxide (P < 0.001) and downregulations of tryptophan (P < 0.05) and tyrosine/tyrosol (P < 0.01). High ROS significantly reduced total sperm motility (P < 0.05), sperm concentration (P < 0.001), and seminal TAC (P < 0.001) but increased CMI and DFI (P < 0.005).
Human Reproduction, 2016
In subfertile women with poor ovarian reserve undergoing IVF does a mild ovarian stimulation stra... more In subfertile women with poor ovarian reserve undergoing IVF does a mild ovarian stimulation strategy lead to comparable ongoing pregnancy rates in comparison to a conventional ovarian stimulation strategy? SUMMARY ANSWER: A mild ovarian stimulation strategy in women with poor ovarian reserve undergoing IVF leads to similar ongoing pregnancy rates as a conventional ovarian stimulation strategy. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: Women diagnosed with poor ovarian reserve are treated with a conventional ovarian stimulation strategy consisting of high-dose gonadotropins and pituitary downregulation with a long mid-luteal start GnRH-agonist protocol. Previous studies comparing a conventional strategy with a mild ovarian stimulation strategy consisting of low-dose gonadotropins and pituitary downregulation with a GnRH-antagonist have been under powered and their effectiveness is inconclusive. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: This open label multicenter randomized trial was designed to compare one cycle of a mild ovarian stimulation strategy consisting of low-dose gonadotropins (150 IU FSH) and pituitary downregulation with a GnRH-antagonist to one cycle of a conventional ovarian stimulation strategy consisting of high-dose gonadotropins (450 IU HMG) and pituitary downregulation with a long mid-luteal GnRH-agonist in women of advanced maternal age and/or women with poor ovarian reserve undergoing IVF between May 2011 and April 2014. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: Couples seeking infertility treatment were eligible if they fulfilled the following inclusion criteria: female age ≥35 years, a raised basal FSH level >10 IU/ml irrespective of age, a low antral follicular count of ≤5 follicles or poor ovarian response or cycle cancellation during a previous IVF cycle irrespective of age. The primary outcome was ongoing pregnancy rate per woman randomized. Analyses were on an intention-to-treat basis. We randomly assigned 195 women to the mild ovarian stimulation strategy and 199 women to the conventional ovarian stimulation strategy. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: Ongoing pregnancy rate was 12.8% (25/195) for mild ovarian stimulation versus 13.6% (27/199) for conventional ovarian stimulation leading to a risk ratio of 0.95 (95% CI: 0.57-1.57), representing an absolute difference
Annals of Hematology, 2006
Factor V Leiden (FVL) G1691A, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T, and factor II (F... more Factor V Leiden (FVL) G1691A, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T, and factor II (FII) G20210A mutations are three important causes of thrombophilia, the condition that might be related to infertility and recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA). In this study we evaluated the presence of these three mutations in 36 female patients with unexplained infertility, 65 female patients with unexplained RSA, and 62 healthy fertile women as control group. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples and PCR-RFLP was performed for the molecular diagnosis of each mutation. In addition, activated protein C resistance (APC-R) was also evaluated. The frequencies of FVL, MTHFR, and FII mutations (heterozygous and homozygous) in the control group were 0.0%, 38.7%, and 3.2%, respectively. The frequency of FVL mutation in patients with infertility (30.6%) or RSA (20.0%) was significantly higher than that of the control group. A significantly higher MTHFR mutation rate was also observed in patients with RSA (63.1%) as compared to controls. However, the mutation rate of MTHFR in patients with infertility (50.0%) was not statistically different from that in controls. No significant difference was observed in the frequencies of FII mutations between the patients and controls. Decreased levels of APC-R were observed in 25.0% of infertile patients and 18.9% of patients with RSA. In conclusion, our results show a skew towards higher mutation frequencies of FVL and MTHFR in patients that may necessitate detection of such mutations in these Iranian patients.
Journal of Family & Reproductive Health, 2021
Objective: To analyze and compare four methods for estimating the chance of treatment success in ... more Objective: To analyze and compare four methods for estimating the chance of treatment success in infertile couples. Materials and methods: In a retrospective cohort study, information on demographic and clinical features, including age, body mass index (BMI), duration of infertility, semen analysis, previous history of treatment and clinical examination of infertile couples were analyzed. Treatment success (childbearing) was calculated with four methods as live birth ratio, conditional probability and survival analysis (life table and Kaplan-Meyer method) and results are compared. Results: The fertility ratio for the first treatment cycle was 29.72% which decreased to 23.13% by total treatment cycles. The success rate was 75.4%. With conditional probability calculation at the end of the five treatment cycles. With the life table method in a five-year period, the probability for live birth was 78% and by Kaplan-Meyer method 73.1% and the median of treatment time was 562 days. Conclus...
PubMed, 2010
Spermatogonia are the male germ line stem cells whose life long expansion is needed for permanent... more Spermatogonia are the male germ line stem cells whose life long expansion is needed for permanent production of spermatozoa. The present study was designed to examine the effect of hCG treatment on germ cell proliferation following stem cell transplantation in mice. Spermatogonial stem cells were isolated from neonatal mice testes and characterized by alkaline phosphatase, immunoreactivity and morphological analysis. hCG was injected into normal and cell transplanted mice. We then evaluated the testosterone levels and cell number in normal mice. After that, cyclin B1 gene expression was investigated in transplanted mice. Different doses of busulfan were injected to investigate the effects of chemotherapy on morphological criteria and preparation of recipient mice for transplantation. In this report we show proliferative potential of spermatogonial stem cells after cytotoxic treatment, transplantation efficiency by semi-quantitative RT-PCR, and hCG effect on stem cell regeneration in normal mice and following cell transplantation. The results indicate that spermatogonial stem cells can proliferate after transplantation, and the efficiency of their transplantation depends on hormonal treatment. Therefore, hormonal treatment after stem cell transplantation will be a powerful avenue for increasing the efficiency of transplantation and fertility restoration.
Cartilage tissue culture is a new biotechnological field that has been recently emerged to provid... more Cartilage tissue culture is a new biotechnological field that has been recently emerged to provide an alternative cell culture to the treatment of damaged human tissues such as liver, bladder, chondrocytes, etc. In this study, we investigated culture method and the general characteristics of chondrocytes derived from knee articular cartilage of patients. Main aim of present study was try and research for more applicable method with admissible efficiency level in order to chondrocyte culture and propagation. Human cartilage fragments were harvested by arthroscopic biopsy. Fragments were digested with enzyme. The chondrocytes obtained were then cultured in mixture of Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium: Nutrient Mixture F-12 (DMEM/F-12) medium with concentration of fetal bovine serum and supplemented media with or without ITS, TGF and ß FGF. The cells were kept for up to 4 weeks and were then characterized both morphologically and immunofluorescence studies (IHC). The results showed that after a few days, the cells began to change their appearance as polygonal to fibroblast like morphology. ITS supplementation provided several fold increase in chondrocytes compared to the standard-culture medium significant difference in the growth rates was shown using various growth media. IHC results showed that the collagen type II expression reduces after every passage and the collagen type I is expressed as early as passage one. This study has demonstrated that obtaining a sufficient number of human chondrocytes requires long duration process, current time-consuming procedure accelerated by above growth factors in human chondrocytes monolayer culture.
BMC Women's Health
Background With the increasing number of young women surviving cancer and a growing trend among h... more Background With the increasing number of young women surviving cancer and a growing trend among highly educated women to postpone childbearing for educational or professional pursuits, there is a rising demand for egg freezing services to ensure a successful pregnancy. This study aims to assess the knowledge and beliefs surrounding oocyte cryopreservation, both for medical and social reasons, among female students in Tehran, Iran. Methods An online cross-sectional survey was carried out from March to August of 2022, involving a total of 1279 childless students pursuing master’s and doctoral degrees at universities in Tehran. The participants were between the ages of 18 and 38. Knowledge and beliefs about medical and social oocyte cryopreservation were assessed through Fertility Preservation Survey (FPS) instrument. Results The mean age of the participants was 26.38 ± 4.9. The majority of students expected to be “30–34 years” when they become pregnant with their first child (41.1%, M...
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Papers by Mohammad Mehdi akhondi