Laser irradiation pretreatment improves endometrial preparation of frozen-thawed embryo transfer in recurrent implantation failure patients

Abstract

Recurrent implantation failure (RIF) remains a clinical dilemma. Helium-Neon (He-Ne) laser irradiation has recently become more popular under certain clinical conditions. Given the unique therapeutic effects, we were interested in determining whether pretreatment with He-Ne laser irradiation prior to frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) would improve the microcirculation and cause the release of growth factors and cytokines, thus improving endometrial receptivity and the clinical pregnancy rates. Patients chose for themselves whether to proceed with (n = 29) or without (n = 31) pretreatment with He-Ne laser irradiation prior to FET. The clinical pregnancy rate (37.9%) and implantation rate (20.3%) were higher in the laser-treatment group than in the control group (35.5% and 15.9%, respectively, p = .844 and .518, respectively). The live birth rate was higher in the laser-treatment group (27.6% vs. 25.8%, respectively, p = .876) and the miscarriage rate was lower in the laser-treatment group (18.2% and 27.3%, respectively, p = .611). No side effects or complications from laser irradiation were encountered in patients who received the laser treatment. We concluded that pretreatment with He-Ne laser prior to FET may be an alternative choice for RIF-affected women; however, additional well-designed prospective studies are necessary to determine the precise clinical value of this treatment.

摘要

反复种植失败（RIF）仍是一个临床难题。近年来, 氦氖（He-Ne）激光照射在某些临床条件下越来越普遍。鉴于其独特的治疗效果, 我们想确定在冻融胚胎移植（FET）前用氦氖激光预处理是否能改善微循环并释放生长因子和细胞因子, 从而提高子宫内膜容受性和临床妊娠率。患者自行选择是否在FET前进行He-Ne激光照射治疗（n=29）或不进行He-Ne激光照射治疗（n=31）。激光治疗组的临床妊娠率（37.9%）和着床率（20.3%）分别高于对照组（35.5%和15.9%, P=0.844和0.518）。激光治疗组活产率较高（27.6% vs. 25.8%, P=0.876）, 流产率激光治疗组较低（18.2% vs. 27.3%, P=0.611）。在接受激光治疗的患者中, 激光照射没有副作用或并发症。我们的结论是, 在FET前用氦氖激光预处理可能是RIF女性的另一种选择。然而, 需要过多的前瞻性研究来确定这种治疗的确切的临床价值。

The Chinese abstracts are translated by Prof. Dr. Xiangyan Ruan and her team: Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100026, China.

Keywords:

• He-Ne laser irradiation
• recurrent implantation failure
• frozen-thawed embryo transfer
• pregnancy

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to the subject matter or materials discussed in this article.

Additional information

Funding

This article was supported by grants from the Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan (VGHKS106-070 to HWT), the Ministry of Science and Technology, Executive Yuan (MOST 103-2314-B-010-043-MY3), Taipei Veterans General Hospital (V107C-136; V106D23-001-MY2-1; and V107A-022).