Study summary · research use only
Plasma inhibin A determination at start superovulatory FSH treatments is predictive for embryo outcome in goats
Plain-language summary
Paraphrased from the published abstract below — not a verdict on whether anything works.
In this goat study, 50 does were treated with 45 mg FGA sponges for 16 days plus a single 100 microg cloprostenol dose on Day 14, then eight doses of 1.25 ml Ovagen twice daily for 4 days. Follicles >=2 mm were assessed by transrectal ultrasound and plasma inhibin A measured by dimeric assay. The authors report a positive correlation between number of follicles >=6 mm (8.8 +/- 0.5) and inhibin A at first FSH dose (193.2 +/- 14.5 pg/ml), and that embryos recovered related to the number of 4-6 mm follicles and to inhibin A levels. They conclude superovulatory embryo response in goats could be predicted from follicle population or plasma inhibin A at treatment start.
Abstract
To test whether inhibin A assays can be used for the prediction of yields in embryo programmes in goats, 50 does were treated with 45 mg FGA sponges (Chronogest) for 16 days plus a single dose of 100 microg i.m. cloprostenol on Day 14, just before the start of administration of eight doses of 1.25 ml of Ovagen twice daily for 4 days. At first FSH injection, the number and size of all follicles > or =2 mm was assessed by transrectal ultrasound and plasma inhibin A levels were measured by specific dimeric assay. There was a positive correlation between number of follicles > or =6 mm (8.8 +/- 0.5) and inhibin A levels at first FSH dose (193.2 +/- 14.5 pg/ml, P<0.05). The mean number of corpora lutea on Day 7 after sponge removal was related to the total number of follicles with a diameter of 2-6 mm at the onset of the FSH treatment (15.3 +/- 0.7, P<0.05). The total number of embryos recovered was related to the number of follicles with 4-6 mm in size (6.2 +/- 0.5, P<0.05) and to the inhibin A levels at first FSH dose (P<0.05). These results suggest that follicles > or =4 mm are the source of inhibin prior to FSH stimulation and are the main source of oocytes resulting in the number of viable embryos recovered after a superovulatory treatment. Hence, the response to superovulatory treatments in goats in terms of the number of embryos can be predicted from either the population of follicles determined by ultrasound or the plasma inhibin A levels at start of the superovulatory FSH treatment.
pepmg summarizes the peer-reviewed literature and links to every source — it sells nothing, ships nothing, and gives no medical, dosing, or human-use guidance. Don't just trust this summary: follow the citation to its source and read it yourself. Research use only.