Larisa Symposia: Physiology of Reproduction — Infertility, Larisa, 3/2011

The 17th in the series of symposia organised by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the University of Thessaly. Although held in Greece, the official language of the symposium is English, to allow exchange between Greek and international invited speakers. This year’s theme was Reproductive Physiology and Infertility.

The symposium opened with the topic block “Physiology of Infertility” and continued with “Recent developments in IVF and ICSI”.

The second day focused on “Anovulation” and “Recent perspectives in assisted reproduction”.

Invited lecture:

The role of progesterone levels on the day of hCG in GnRH antagonists cycles

The lecture highlighted the importance of measuring serum progesterone on the day of hCG administration (Pregnyl or Ovidrelle). Elevated progesterone levels significantly reduce the chance of pregnancy, because they substantially reduce endometrial receptivity, leaving the endometrium unable to support implantation of the transferred embryos. The solution in such cases is to freeze the embryos and transfer them in a subsequent natural cycle.