INCREASED INCIDENCE OF ABERRANT MORPHOLOGICAL PHENOTYPES IN HUMAN EMBRYOGENESIS - AN ASSOCIATION WITH ENDOMETRIOSIS

Purpose: After noticing specific aberrant forms of development in prei mplantation embryos from women with endometriosis, we embarked upon th is study in order to examine the frequency of these events as compared with controls. Methods: A total of 235 embryos representing 30 women undergoing 56 cycles of in vitro fertilization were retrospectively an alyzed on videotape and placed into categories based upon the incidenc e of specific morphological criteria found during observations made on the first and second days following oocyte retrieval. Results: Severa l of the aberrant nuclear and cytoplasmic events were found to be stat istically increased in the group of embryos from women with endometrio sis. Conclusions: The incidence of defined aberrant phenotypes in embr yos from women with laparoscopically documented endometriosis may allo w us to identify specific embryotoxic events with reference to endomet riosis and other diagnoses.