The Association between Follicular Fluid Leptin, Insulin Resistance and ICSI Outcome in Women with Unexplained Infertility

Abstract

n 25% of the infertile cases, etiology of infertility cannot be found. This is unexplained infertility which usually refers to a diagnosis made in couples in whom all the standard investigations such as tests of ovulation, tubal patency and semen analysis are normal and failure of achieving pregnancy after at least 1year of unprotected intercourse. Various studies have been performed to discover the causes of infertility, among them high leptin level has been considered as one of the important and effective factors in several studies. The purpose of this study was to investigate if follicular fluid leptin concentrations and insulin resistance are correlated with ICSI success. This was a prospective study of 34 women with unexplained infertility who underwent ICSI in assisted reproductive technology unit of Ain Shams University Hospital. Before beginning any of the controlled ovarian hyperstimulation protocols, a fasting blood sample was taken measuring Serum glucose and insulin to calculate insulin resistance using HOMA-IR.