Background: An ectopic pregnancy, or eccyesis, is a complication of pregnancy in which the pregnancy implants outside the uterine cavity. Theoretically, differences between conception via ART and natural conception may affect the risk of ectopic pregnancy. Data on the risk factors for developing ectopic pregnancy after IVF are still inconsistent. There is controversy whether ART increase or decrease the ectopic pregnancy. Objectives: To describe the occurrence or risk factors of ectopic pregnancy following IUI, IVF and spontaneous pregnancy. Patients and Methods: The recorded cases of ectopic pregnancy in the period between January 2010 to January 2011 in four teaching hospitals and two private hospitals were surveyed. New cases in the period between July 2011 to July 2012 in two teaching hospitals were also included in this study. The data was collected from medical records and interview. Results: A total of 86676 pregnancies were recorded during the period of the study with, the number of ectopic pregnancy out of total pregnancies in Baghdad was 408 during the period of this study. It was found that the type of conception was significantly associated with infertility (P < 0.001), ovulation induction (P<0.001), dilatation and curettage (P = 0.016), and history of contraception (P =0.002). Conclusion: Although several risk factors for ectopic pregnancy are known, the causes of increasing incidence of ectopic pregnancy remain unknown. The risk factors of ectopic pregnancy following IUI, IVF and spontaneous pregnancy included history of infertility, medication used for ovulation induction, history of contraception, and dilatation curettage as these factors are tightly linked with the types of conception. Increasing knowledge of risk factors for ectopic pregnancy may improve understanding of the causes of infertility.
Background: Endometrial receptivity is defined as a temporary unique sequence of factors that make the endometrium receptive to the embryonic implantation. Histological evaluation, now considered to add little clinically significant information, should be replaced by functional assessment of endometrial receptivity. A large number of functional molecular mediators have been identified to date, including adhesion molecules. Thus, endometrial biopsy samples can be used to identify molecules associated with uterine receptivity to obtain a better insight into human embryo implantation. Objectives: To investigate E-cadherin expression in the endometrium throughout the menstrual cycle of fertile females. Patients, Materials and Methods: Under simple analgesia, fractional endometrial biopsies from anterior, posterior, fundal walls, and the cervix of (32) fertile females (age= 29.91± 5.9 year, parity= 3.6±2.1) were taken at different days of the menstrual cycle. The immunohistochemical (IHC) stained tissues were analyzed using computerized image analysis for measurement of PI of E-cadherin which is ratio of the number of stained cells to the number of total cells. PI were measured in three regions: stromal, membranous, and glandular epithelium. Results: E-cadherin expression in the endometrium is up-regulated in the proliferative phase and down-regulated in the secretory phase of the menstrual cycle. The PI of E-cadherin in the glandular epithelium of the anterior wall of the endometrium was significantly lower than that of posterior and fundal walls (P=0.027). The PI of E-cadherin in the endocervical epithelium was significantly higher than that in the anterior, posterior, and fundal walls of the endometrial cavity (P=0.004). Conclusion: E-cadherin might have a role in embryo implantation.