Introduction: A firm consensus on the effectiveness of psychological interventions during infertility treatment has not been reached yet in terms of mental health and pregnancy rates. Moreover, the influence of these interventions on embryo cleavage kinetics has not been investigated. Objective: The aim of this work was to study whether stress management in couples undergoing an intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycle influences stress levels, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) levels in granulosa cells, and cleavage-stage embryos. Methods: Infertile couples were randomized into a treatment as usual (TAU) group (n = 30) and stress management program (SMP) group (n = 29) at the beginning of an ICSI cycle. Couples in the SMP group attended education and relaxation sessions at each visit to the clinic for folliculometry. The perceived stress scale (PSS) was used to assess stress levels at the beginning and end of the cycle. Moreover, mtDNA levels of granulosa cells and embryo morphokinetics were evaluated. Results: Post-intervention, women in the SMP group had significantly lower PSS scores than their initial PSS (p #x3c; 0.001; effect size, ES = 0.5) and than the final PSS of the TAU group (p = 0.02; ES = 0.09). Additionally, mtDNA levels were significantly lower in luteal granulosa cells of the SMP group than the TAU group (p = 0.02). An earlier time of pronuclei appearance (p = 0.03) and time to 2 cells (p = 0.015) and a faster time to full compaction (p = 0.045) were detected in the embryos of the SMP group compared with the TAU group. Conclusion(s): The implemented program may reduce stress levels, retard first embryo cleavage, and accelerate embryo compaction. Further studies with an active control group are needed to confirm these results.
Psychother Psychosom

中文翻译：

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胞浆内精子注射周期中的压力管理可能会减慢第一次胚胎分裂并加速胚胎压实：一项试点随机对照试验

简介：在心理健康和怀孕率方面，尚未就不孕症治疗期间心理干预的有效性达成明确的共识。此外，尚未研究这些干预措施对胚胎卵裂动力学的影响。目的：这项工作的目的是研究进行卵胞浆内单精子注射 (ICSI) 周期的夫妇的压力管理是否会影响压力水平、颗粒细胞中的线粒体 DNA (mtDNA) 水平和卵裂期胚胎。方法：不孕夫妇随机分为常规治疗（TAU）组（ n = 30）和压力管理计划（SMP）组（ n= 29) 在 ICSI 周期开始时。SMP 组的夫妇在每次访问诊所进行卵泡测量时都参加了教育和放松课程。感知压力量表 (PSS) 用于评估周期开始和结束时的压力水平。此外，还评估了颗粒细胞的 mtDNA 水平和胚胎形态动力学。结果：干预后，SMP 组女性的 PSS 得分显着低于其初始 PSS（p #x3c；0.001；效应量，ES = 0.5）和 TAU 组的最终 PSS（p = 0.02；ES = 0.09）。此外，SMP 组的黄体颗粒细胞中的 mtDNA 水平显着低于 TAU 组（p = 0.02）。较早的原核出现时间 ( p= 0.03) 和 2 个细胞的时间 ( p = 0.015) 以及与 TAU 组相比，在 SMP 组的胚胎中检测到更快的完全压实时间 ( p = 0.045)。结论：实施的程序可以降低压力水平，延迟第一次胚胎分裂，并加速胚胎压实。需要对主动对照组进行进一步研究以证实这些结果。
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