IVF-Life’s experts in reproductive biology wanted to observe in this research study whether the levels of Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH) in a group of patients of different ages are related to the rate of euploidy in the embryos resulting from their IVF treatments.
The AMH analysis – a well-known biomarker of ovarian reserve – requires only a blood sample from the patient and is one of the main tests that experts prescribe for women seeking reproductive advice. It provides an estimate of the viable eggs for transfer that would result from a hormonal stimulation process.
AMH levels are expressed in ng/ml, with normal levels ranging between 1 and 6 ng/ml. Although these levels depend on different factors, age is a crucial determinant.
Additionally, it is important to mention that with increasing age, the likelihood of chromosomal abnormalities in the offspring also rises. That is why, IVF-Life employs techniques such as Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT), which allows the genetic information of embryos to be analyzed, making it possible to opt for the transfer of those that are euploid, that is, chromosomally healthy.
Although, as previously mentioned, it is known that age decreases the ovarian reserve and increases the possibilities of genetic abnormalities in embryos, the professionals at our centre sought to delve deeper into the variations of this premise, taking a wide range of ages as the object of study.
María Velasco and Rebeca Fernández, both Co-Directors of the Laboratory and Embryologists at the IVF-Life Donostia fertility clinic -as well as authors of the study-, explain that in clinical practice it is not unusual to observe cases of young women who have a considerably reduced ovarian reserve and AMH levels that do not correspond to their age, just as they have dealt with women of advanced maternal age who show just the opposite.
Within this framework, the aim of the aforementioned scientific study was to find out whether, regardless of the age of the egg, low levels of AMH could be related in some way, in addition to the ovarian reserve, to the rate of euploidy of the embryos generated once the woman or couple has undergone in vitro fertilisation treatment.
Accordingly, the AMH levels of 345 patients were observed, comparing those below 1ng/ml with those equal to or above this level. We also studied the results of 1601 embryos subjected to PGT-A, i.e. the technique used to detect aneuploidy within Preimplantation Genetic Testing.
According to the experts in charge of the study, which has already been incorporated into the scientific literature, despite not being a statistically significant increase compared to the groups with normal AMH levels, the analysis of the sample reveals that patients with levels below 1ng/ml were more likely to have aneuploid embryos in their IVF rounds, regardless of their age.
Findings from this retrospective study could thus provide a new approach for future research to help predict the prognosis of patients with low ovarian reserve and, consequently, guide their treatment towards success in a faster and more effective way.