title: Effect of repeated assisted reproductive technology cycles on ovarian response.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the effect of repeated assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycles on the ovarian response in patients treated with human menopausal gonadotropins and GnRH agonists.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tertiary referral center.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three thousand two hundred forty-nine patients who had completed at least two in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles (minimum two, maximum six cycles per patient).
  
  
  METHODS
  Nine thousand three hundred seventy-nine repeated IVF/ICSI cycles.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mean number of cumulus oocyte complexes (COC) retrieved per cycle, mean number of ampules used per attempt.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Repeated ART cycles did not exert a significant effect on the mean number of COC retrieved per attempt in contrast to maternal age, which was inversely related to the mean number of COC retrieved in all cycles performed. Across repeated ART attempts, an increase in the mean number of ampules used per cycle was observed. This was due to an effect of maternal age, which increased in line with the mean number of ampules used per cycle, as well as to an age-independent effect of repeated cycles.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An age-independent deterioration of the ovarian response appears to occur across repeated ART cycles.
authors: Centre for Reproductive Medicine, Dutch-Speaking Brussels Free University, Brussels, Belgium. stratis@easynet.be
authors: Efstratios
authors: E
authors: Kolibianakis
authors: Kaan
authors: K
authors: Osmanagaoglu
authors: Michel
authors: M
authors: Camus
authors: Herman
authors: H
authors: Tournaye
authors: Andre
authors: A
authors: Van Steirteghem
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: Devroey
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D006801:Humans; D008423:Maternal Age; D009865:Oocytes; D010053:Ovary / Q000503:physiopathology*; D019233:Retreatment; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020554:Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016896:Treatment Outcome