Do embryo morphokinetics vary according to female infertility indication?

Creative Commons License

İrez T., Öztaş A., Kahraman S.

American Journal of Biomedical Science and Research, cilt.31, sa.2, ss.248-260, 2026 (Hakemli Dergi)

Özet

Objective: This study aimed to characterize embryo morphokinetic dynamics in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis, and to investigate their association with basal hormonal parameters

Materials and Methods: Patients treated at the Istanbul Memorial Hospital Assisted Reproductive Technologies and Reproductive Genetics Center between [year] and [year] were retrospectively evaluated. Embryo development in women aged 25–38 years diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) (n=50), endometriosis (n=50) or unexplained infertility (UEI) (n=50) was compared with that of a control group (n=1,043) using outcomes obtained from the Time-Lapse Embryo Monitoring System (TLEMS). A total of 150 egg retrieval cycles and the corresponding embryos were retrospectively analyzed. Clinical pregnancy was defined by elevated serum hCG levels and confirmation of a positive gestational sac. Embryo transfer involved a single embryo selected based on embryoscope assessment, while sperm selection was performed using IMSI. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS version 26.

Results: The study demonstrated that embryos derived from women with endometriosis exhibited significantly delayed developmental kinetics compared with those from the other study groups, particularly at the tPNf, t2, tSC, tM, tSB, tB, and tEB stages (p<0.05). In contrast, embryos from patients with PCOS showed accelerated developmental progression during the tSC stage compared with the EMS group (p<0.05). AMH levels were significantly lower in the endometriosis group and significantly higher in the PCOS group relative to the other groups (p<0.05). Basal LH concentrations were also significantly elevated in the PCOS group (p<0.05), whereas oocyte maturation rates were significantly reduced compared with the remaining groups (p<0.05). Despite these differences in morphokinetic and hormonal parameters, pregnancy outcomes were comparable among all groups.

Conclusion: Embryos from women with endometriosis exhibited slower development. Additionally, low AMH levels were noted in patients with endometriosis. The relationship between oocyte maturation, AMH, and LH levels with rapid embryo morphokinetics in patients with PCOS warrants further investigation using molecular markers and PCOS phenotypes.

Keywords: Endometriosis, PCOS, UEI, embryo morphokinetics, AMH, LH