title: Effect of follicular fluid oxidative stress parameters on intracytoplasmic sperm injection outcome.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between the follicular fluid (FF) reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and ROS-TAC score and pregnancy after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 138 consecutive women who had ICSI were included in this study. FF ROS and TAC were measured by enhanced chemiluminescence and colorimetric assay, respectively, and then the ROS-TAC score was calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of the 138 included patients, 42 (30%) achieved pregnancy after ICSI. Log ROS, TAC, and the ROS-TAC score were not significantly different across diagnoses. Pregnant cycles were associated with significantly lower ROS (P < 0.001), higher TAC (P < 0.001) and higher ROS-TAC scores (P < 0.001). After adjusting for age, there was a significant positive correlation between log ROS and the number of follicles on the day of HCG administration (correlation 0.20, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.39) as well as the number of oocytes retrieved (correlation 0.18, 0.001, 0.36) but not with TAC. Interestingly, in women with endometriosis, higher TAC levels and higher ROS-TAC scores were associated with a higher likelihood of finding normal oocytes (P = 0.005 and P = 0.002, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Higher FF TAC, higher FF ROS-TAC scores and lower FF ROS levels are associated with pregnancy after ICSI. Oxidative stress parameters may be markers of metabolic activity within the follicle.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Mohamed A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bedaiwy
authors.forename: Sherief A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Elnashar
authors.forename: Jeffrey M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Goldberg
authors.forename: Rakesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Edward J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Mascha
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arrigain
authors.forename: Ashok
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Agarwal
authors.forename: Tommaso
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Falcone
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D015571:Follicular Fluid / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007246:Infertility / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011379:Prognosis; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D020554:Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species