Course details

General
FacultyHealth Sciences
DepartmentMedicine
Education level2nd / Post-graduate
Course codePMHRA006Trimester1
Course titleInfertility
Independent teaching activitiesHours per weekECTS
Lectures1
Exercises3
Total45
CoursetypeGeneral setting course, skills development
Prerequisite coursesNone
Teaching and assessment languageEnglish
Course URLInfertility

Learning outcomes

Aim

Upon the completion of this module, the post-graduate student will possess the basic principles of evaluating female and male fertility and he/she will be in position to select the optimal method for the management of the infertile couple, surgically or medically, comsidering the specific characteristics of each case.

Knowledge

The participants will acquire knowledge regarding:

  • The causes of female infertility
  • The causes of male infertility
  • The methods for managing male infertility
  • The methods for managing female infertility
  • The genetic basis of infertility
  • Methods of fertility preservation
  • The psychological burden of the infertile couple
Skills

The participants will be able to:

  • Select the appropriate diagnostic investigations for fertility evaluation.Select and formulate a plan for managing infertility
  • Recognise infertility due to a genetic basis
  • Select the appropriate treatment methods for minimizing the psychological burden to the couple

Syllabus

  1. Introduction to infertility
  2. Female infertility diagnosis
  3. Male infertility diagnosis
  4. Ultrasound in infertility
  5. Surgical treatment of female infertility
  6. Surgical treatment of male infertility
  7. Medical treatment of male infertility
  8. Luteal phase defect
  9. Endometriosis-adenomyosis and female infertility
  10. Psychological burden to the infertile couple
  11. The genetic basis of male/female infertility
  12. Fertility preservation

Teaching and learning methods – evaluation

Teaching methodsFace to face
Distance learning
Use of information and
communication technologies (ICT)

  • Use of information technology for teaching - Moodle Virtual learning environment (VLE) (asynchronous learning)

  • Use of information technology for clinical training - Moodle Virtual learning environment (VLE) (asynchronous learning, wikis, Online Discussion Fora, Educational Portfolio)
  • Use of information technology for the communication with the post-graduate students (e-mail, direct messages through Moodle)
Module structureWork Hours per SemesterActivity
Lectures 40
Exercises (Quiz) 10
Exercises (Online discussion fora) 25
Suggested reading20
Final assignment30
Total125
Assessment Methods
  • Final assignment, in English, up to 2500 words, that will be submitted after the completion of the module

  • Knowledge evaluation during the beginning and the end of the module through short-answer questions and short assays

  • Multiple-choice questions on a weekly basis

  • Evaluation of the fora participation for each post-graduate student during the online week

Suggested Reading

  1. Shi W, Hongwei T, Zhang W, Li N, Li M, Li W, Shi J. A Prospective Randomized Controlled Study of Laser-Assisted Hatching on the Outcome of First Fresh IVF-ET Cycle in Advanced Age Women. Reprod Sci 2016.
  2. Gleicher N, Kushnir V, Albertini D, Barad DH. Improvements in IVF in women of advanced age. J Endocrinol 2016.
  3. Bosdou JK, Venetis CA, Dafopoulos K, Zepiridis L, Chatzimeletiou K, Anifandis G, Mitsoli A, Makedos A, Messinis IE, Tarlatzis BC et al. Transdermal testosterone pretreatment in poor responders undergoing ICSI: a randomized clinical trial. Hum Reprod 2016;31: 977-985.
  4. Bosch E, Labarta E, Kolibianakis E, Rosen M, Meldrum D. Regimen of ovarian stimulation affects oocyte and therefore embryo quality. Fertil Steril 2016;105: 560-570.
  5. Zhang J. Luteal phase ovarian stimulation following oocyte retrieval: is it helpful for poor responders? Reprod Biol Endocrinol 2015;13: 76.
  6. Yu X, Ruan J, He LP, Hu W, Xu Q, Tang J, Jiang J, Han J, Peng YF. Efficacy of growth hormone supplementation with gonadotrophins in vitro fertilization for poor ovarian responders: an updated meta-analysis. Int J Clin Exp Med 2015;8: 4954-4967.
  7. Tartagni M, Cicinelli MV, Baldini D, Tartagni MV, Alrasheed H, DeSalvia MA, Loverro G, Montagnani M. Dehydroepiandrosterone decreases the age-related decline of the in vitro fertilization outcome in women younger than 40 years old. Reprod Biol Endocrinol 2015;13: 18.
  8. Szymusik I, Marianowski P, Zygula A, Wielgos M. Poor responders in IVF–is there any evidence-based treatment for them? Neuro Endocrinol Lett 2015;36: 209-213.
  9. Nagels HE, Rishworth JR, Siristatidis CS, Kroon B. Androgens (dehydroepiandrosterone or testosterone) for women undergoing assisted reproduction. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2015;11: CD009749.
  10. Nagels HE, Rishworth JR, Siristatidis CS, Kroon B. Androgens (dehydroepiandrosterone or testosterone) for women undergoing assisted reproduction. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2015;11: CD009749.
  11. Merviel P, Cabry-Goubet R, Lourdel E, Devaux A, Belhadri-Mansouri N, Copin H, Benkhalifa M. Comparative prospective study of 2 ovarian stimulation protocols in poor responders: effect on implantation rate and ongoing pregnancy. Reprod Health 2015;12: 52.
  12. Li J, Yuan H, Chen Y, Wu H, Wu H, Li L. A meta-analysis of dehydroepiandrosterone supplementation among women with diminished ovarian reserve undergoing in vitro fertilization or intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Int J Gynaecol Obstet 2015;131: 240-245.
  13. Lefebvre J, Antaki R, Kadoch IJ, Dean NL, Sylvestre C, Bissonnette F, Benoit J, Menard S, Lapensee L. 450 IU versus 600 IU gonadotropin for controlled ovarian stimulation in poor responders: a randomized controlled trial. Fertil Steril 2015;104: 1419-1425.
  14. Kolibianakis EM, Venetis CA, Bosdou JK, Zepiridis L, Chatzimeletiou K, Makedos A, Masouridou S, Triantafillidis S, Mitsoli A, Tarlatzis BC. Corifollitropin alfa compared with follitropin beta in poor responders undergoing ICSI: a randomized controlled trial. Hum Reprod 2015;30: 432-440.
  15. Giovanale V, Pulcinelli FM, Ralli E, Primiero FM, Caserta D. Poor responders in IVF: an update in therapy. Gynecol Endocrinol 2015;31: 253-257.
  16. Tournaye H, Krausz C, Oates RD. Novel concepts in the aetiology of male reproductive impairment. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2016 Jul 6. pii: S2213-8587(16)30040-7. doi: 10.1016/S2213-8587(16)30040-7.
  17. Tournaye H, Krausz C, Oates RD. Concepts in diagnosis and therapy for male reproductive impairment. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2016 Jul 6. pii: S2213-8587(16)30043-2. doi: 10.1016/S2213-8587(16)30043-2.
  18. Garg D, Tal R. The role of AMH in the pathophysiology of polycystic ovarian syndrome. Reprod Biomed Online. 2016 Jul;33(1):15-28. doi: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2016.04.007. Epub 2016 Apr 21.
  19. Palioura E, Diamanti-Kandarakis E. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Rev Endocr Metab Disord. 2015 Dec;16(4):365-71. doi: 10.1007/s11154-016-9326-7.

Teaching Staff for Infertility

Sofia Gameiro
Leonidas Zepiridis
Topic: Diagnosis of infertility in the female