title: The serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor concentration prior to initiation of an in vitro fertilization cycle predicts outcome.
abstract: Our objective was to determine if the concentration of circulating brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) prior to cycle initiation predicts outcome in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). Stored serum samples from 226 women - 54 with a live birth, 45 with a spontaneous abortion, 38 with a biochemical pregnancy, 54 who did not become pregnant and 35 with an ectopic pregnancy- were retrospectively blindly tested for BDNF by ELISA. The median serum concentration of BDNF was highest in women with an extrauterine ectopic pregnancy (7.3ng/ml), intermediate in women whose embryos did not implant (5.5ng/ml) and lowest in women with a spontaneous abortion (4.2ng/ml), biochemical pregnancy (3.8ng/ml) or a live birth (3.6ng/ml) (P<0.0001). Among women with a positive pregnancy test an elevated BDNF level predicted an ectopic pregnancy with a sensitivity of 0.853 (0.689, 0.950) and a specificity of 0.949 (0.897, 0.979). We conclude that elevated BDNF in serum obtained before IVF cycle initiation is predictive of an extrauterine pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Division of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA; Ronald O. Perelman and Claudia Cohen Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Ilana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ramer
authors.affiliation: Division of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Tomi T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Kanninen
authors.affiliation: Division of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sisti
authors.affiliation: Division of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address: switkin@med.cornell.edu.
authors.forename: Steven S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Witkin
authors.affiliation: Ronald O. Perelman and Claudia Cohen Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Steven D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Spandorfer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D007246:Infertility / Q000628:therapy*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011271:Pregnancy, Ectopic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor
keywords: Brain derived neurotrophic factor; Ectopic pregnancy; In vitro fertilization; Pregnancy outcome