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Chapter 9 - Prospects for Bioenergetics for Embryo Selection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 April 2023

By
Jonathan Van Blerkom
Edited by
Catherine Racowsky ,
Jacques Cohen  and
Nicholas Macklon
Catherine Racowsky
Affiliation:
Hôpital Foch, France
Jacques Cohen
Affiliation:
IVF 2.0, New York
Nicholas Macklon
Affiliation:
London Women's Clinic
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Summary

The role of ‘energy’ in the establishment and persistence of developmental competence for the growing and maturing oocyte and its ability to develop normally after fertilization has become a central focus of interest in understanding possible etiologies of outcome success or failure. This has become especially evident in the context of experimental studies that have applied costly, sensitive instrumentation to measure noninvasively, metabolic/respiratory activity levels in single oocytes and embryos for selective and diagnostic purposes. While the term energy is used freely in the clinical IVF literature, it is rarely defined or discussed in the context of how it can affect critical activities that are the foundation of embryo competence. Here, the intent is to familiarize the reader with current concepts related to cellular bioenergetics, and to evaluate the relative benefits and clinical applicability of current methods that have sufficient sensitivity for selective and diagnostic purposes of embryo viability. In particular, a low-cost observer-based autofluorescent method is described that may have direct application in this regard.

Type
Chapter
Information
Manual of Embryo Selection in Human Assisted Reproduction , pp. 81 - 99
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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References

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