POLAR BODY DIAGNOSIS OF COMMON ANEUPLOIDIES BY FISH

Purpose: The purpose of this work was to investigate the reliability a nd accuracy of polar body analysis for preimplantation diagnosis of co mmon aneuploidies in IVF patients of advanced maternal age. Design: We have previously introduced polar body analysis as an approach for non destractive evaluation of the genotype of human oocytes. The method ha s recently been applied in a clinical trial involving 45 infertile pat ients, demonstrating the feasibility of preconception diagnosis of com mon aneuploidies by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). The pres ent paper describes the experience of polar body diagnosis in 135 IVF patients (161 cycles) of advanced maternal age. Results: FISH results of the first and/or second polar bodies were available in 648 (72.4%) of 895 biopsied oocytes subjected to FISH analysis. Of 648 oocytes wit h FISH results, 208 demonstrated chromosomal abnormalities. Of 440 ooc ytes predicted to be free from monosomy or trisomy of chromosomes X, 1 8, and/or 13/21, 314 were normally fertilized, cleaved and transferred in 122 treatment cycles, resulting in 6 healthy deliveries and 12 ong oing pregnancies following confirmation of the polar body diagnosis by CVS or amniocentesis. Conclusion: The method may be useful for detect ion of oocytes with common chromosomal trisomies in IVF patients of ad vanced maternal age.