Myo-inositol rather than D-chiro-inositol is able to improve oocyte quality in intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles. A prospective, controlled, randomized trial

V. Unfer, G. Carlomagno, P. Rizzo*, E. Raffone*, S. Roseff**

AGUNCO Obstetrics and Gynecology Centre, Rome (Italy) *Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Messina, Messina (Italy) **Palm Beach Center for Reproductive Medicine, Wellington, FL (USA)

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• Gynecology
• Obstetrics

Objective: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common cause of infertility due to menstrual dysfunction, and the most promising treatments for this disease are insulin sensitising agents. Myo-inositol and D-chiro-inositol are insulin sensitizing agents used in PCOS treatment.
In the present paper, we aimed to compare the effects myo-inositol and D-chiro-inositol on oocyte quality in euglycemic PCOS patients.

Materials and Methods: Eighty-four euglycemic PCOS patients, undergoing ovulation induction for ICSI, were recruited for this study. Forty-three participants received Myo-Inositol 2 g twice a day and forty-one patients received D-chiro inositol 0.6 g twice a day.

Results: The results of our study showed that the total number of oocytes retrieved did not differ in the two treatments groups. However, the number of mature oocytes was significantly increased in the myo-inositol group compared to D-chiro-inositol. Concurrently, the number of immature oocytes decreased in myo-inositol treated patients. Furthermore, the myo-inositol-treated group showed an increase in the mean number of top quality embryos and in the total number of pregnancies compared to the D-chiro-inositol-treated group.

Conclusions: Our data show that, in PCOS patients having a normal insulin response, myo-inositol treatment rather than D-chiro-inositol is able to improve oocyte and embryo quality during ovarian stimulation protocols.

Corresponding Author: Vittorio Unfer, MD; e-mail: vunfer@gmail.com