Doctoral defence: "The impact of endometriosis and physical activity on female reproduction"

On 4. November at 15:00 Deniss Sõritsa will defend his doctoral thesis "The impact of endometriosis and physical activity on female reproduction".

Supervisors:
Andres Salumets, University of Tartu
Helle Karro, University of Tartu
Kadri Matt, University of Tartu
Maire Peters, University of Tartu

Opponent:
professor Artur Wdowiak, Medical University of Lublin (Poland)

Kokkuvõte

Infertility is nowadays a common disorder among individuals of reproductive age. Women are postponing childbearing, mainly due to sociological factors, which leads to age-related decline in oocyte numbers and increases the risk of infertility. In addition, gynaecological diseases, such as endometriosis, increase the risk of infertility. Causes of endometriosis-associated infertility are unclear and the treatment mainly consists of medical or surgical approaches or combination of both, and in vitro fertilization (IVF) is often needed. Insufficient knowledge on the molecular mechanisms of endometriosis pathogenesis also hinders the search for new ways to diagnose and treat endometriosis. Success of infertility treatment depends on the cause of infertility, female and male age, gamete and embryo quality, endometrial receptivity, and suitability of the chosen treatment regimen. Lifestyle factors, such as physical activity during the IVF treatment may also affect the outcome of the procedure.

The current study focused on the role of endometriosis treatment and physical activity in infertility treatment outcome and tried to unveil the molecular mechanisms behind endometriosis development. This study showed that women significantly decreased physical activity after starting the IVF treatment. The level of physical activity was not associated with pregnancy success, but physically more active women obtained higher numbers of oocytes and embryos in their treatment cycle. Endometriosis-related research showed that the combined treatment approach (laparoscopy, hormonal therapy and IVF) is suitable for endometriosis-associated infertility. Expression of genes associated with endometrial receptivity is not affected in women with endometriosis. Molecular studies revealed that endometrial cells in eutopic and ectopic locations react differently to treatment with cytotoxic compounds, a phenomenon that may be related to the altered expression of several genes involved in endometriosis pathogenesis.