A Lifestyle Intervention to Improve in Vitro Fertilization Results

NCT ID: NCT02648555

Last Updated: 2016-01-07

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

UNKNOWN

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

240 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2016-05-31

Study Completion Date

2018-05-31

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

Embryo adhesion and placentation depend on tissue plasminogen activator (tPA)-mediated activation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, vascular endothelial growth factor and other growth factors, formation of hemidesmosomes, and degradation of extracellular matrix and basement membrane, either directly or by activating matrix metalloproteinases.

Since glucose and insulin stimulate release of a major tPA inhibitor by endothelial cells - plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 - the investigators hypothesized that lifestyle interventions proven effective in maintaining glucose and insulin levels within the normal range would increase the take home baby rate in women undergoing assisted reproduction.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) has a well-known role in the coagulation pathway. tPA converts plasminogen to plasmin. Plasmin dissolves fibrin clots, thus limiting thrombus formation to the site of vascular injury.

In the extravascular compartment, tPA is a pivotal mediator of tissue formation and remodeling. Due to its proteolytic activity, tPA participates in processes as diverse as embryo adhesion, placental angiogenesis and vasculogenesis, and neuronal plasticity. Embryo adhesion and placentation, for example, depend on tPA-mediated activation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, vascular endothelial growth factor and other growth factors, formation of hemidesmosomes, and degradation of extracellular matrix and basement membrane, either directly or by activating matrix metalloproteinases.

Assuming low tPA activity would impair both blood clot dissolution and placentation, the investigators postulated that patients with consecutive first-trimester abortions would have a high prevalence of severe dysmenorrhea, accompanied by the passage of large clots.

In 2011, the investigators assessed the prevalence of severe dysmenorrhea during early adolescence in two groups. The first one was made of women with ≥ 2 consecutive first-trimester abortions, and the other, of women with ≥ 2 living births, and no losses or preterm deliveries. Severe dysmenorrhea was defined as suprapubic menstrual cramp, intense enough to cause repeated absenteeism from school or fainting in the absence of analgesia. Early adolescents are unlikely to use contraceptives, or to have become pregnant, two situations that may reduce the pain. In this study, severe dysmenorrhea increased the chances of having consecutive first-trimester miscarriages by sevenfold (95% Confidence Interval: 3.4 to 14.1; p\<0.001).

Since glucose and insulin stimulate release of a major tPA inhibitor by endothelial cells - plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 - the investigators hypothesized that lifestyle interventions proven effective in maintaining glucose and insulin levels within the normal range would increase the take home baby rate in women undergoing assisted reproduction.

The protocol has already been tested at a Brazilian tertiary care center in women with unexplained consecutive first-trimester abortions, conceiving spontaneously. The objective of this study was to observe the impact of lifestyle interventions on the take home baby rate, and to observe if the intervention could reduce the prevalence of preeclampsia and neonatal hypoglycemia.

From 2011 to 2015, 480 patients aged 18 to 42 years with ≥ 2 consecutive first-trimester abortions documented by pathology or ultrasonography, were randomly assigned to protocol Walking and Diet (W+D) or to standard follow-up (controls). Women were enrolled independent of having had severe dysmenorrhea during adolescence. Patients assigned to protocol W+D were instructed to walk briskly for ≥ 40 minutes seven days a week. In addition, they were recommended to avoid high-carbohydrate meals such as snacks, candies, fiber-free juices, coconut water and sugar-sweetened beverages, and to eat two daily servings of meat, poultry, fish (e.g. 2 g/kg) or other protein-rich food, starting when they decided to get pregnant and continuing until delivery. Women with antiphospholipid antibodies, second- or third-trimester losses, multiple pregnancies, anatomical abnormalities that could increase the risk of first-trimester abortions, or any condition requiring a priori anticoagulation were excluded.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Sterility Placenta; Implantation Risk Reduction Behavior Lifestyle Neonatal Hypoglycemia

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Participants

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Standard follow-up (controls)

Given that depressive disorders may increase the risk of spontaneous abortions, antidepressants will be not discontinued. However, expectant mothers on paroxetine or sertraline, which have been reported to increase the incidence of cardiac malformations, will be switched to fluoxetine.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

W+D protocol (lifestyle intervention)

Daily walking and dietary recommendations. Expectant mothers on paroxetine or sertraline will be switched to fluoxetine

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Daily walking

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Participants will be instructed to walk briskly for \>40 minutes, 7 days a week.

Dietary recommendations

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Participants will be instructed to eat at least two daily servings of meat, poultry, fish (e.g. 2 g/kg) or other protein-rich food, starting at least one week before embryo transfer and continuing until delivery. They will be also recommended to avoid high-glycemic index meals (high-carbohydrate, low-fiber), such as snacks, candies, fiber-free juices, coconut water, and sugar-sweetened beverages, particularly carbonated soft drinks and sport drinks.

Patients suffering from nausea usually do not tolerate solid food. As a result, fiber-free juices and sugar-sweetened beverages account of most of their caloric intake, which may cause non-adherence to the protocol. Women with nausea or vomiting will be treated with ondansetron.

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

Daily walking

Participants will be instructed to walk briskly for \>40 minutes, 7 days a week.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Dietary recommendations

Participants will be instructed to eat at least two daily servings of meat, poultry, fish (e.g. 2 g/kg) or other protein-rich food, starting at least one week before embryo transfer and continuing until delivery. They will be also recommended to avoid high-glycemic index meals (high-carbohydrate, low-fiber), such as snacks, candies, fiber-free juices, coconut water, and sugar-sweetened beverages, particularly carbonated soft drinks and sport drinks.

Patients suffering from nausea usually do not tolerate solid food. As a result, fiber-free juices and sugar-sweetened beverages account of most of their caloric intake, which may cause non-adherence to the protocol. Women with nausea or vomiting will be treated with ondansetron.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* women undergoing assisted reproduction

Exclusion Criteria

1. liver failure, kidney failure or other conditions that prevent the patient from eating proteins.
2. multiple pregnancy.
3. paraplegia, hemiplegia, arthropathy and other conditions that prevent the participant from exercising.
4. participants lost to follow-up.
5. conditions that may strongly affect pregnancy results, such as a serious accident
6. participants assigned to non-intervention group following the recommendations given to intervention group.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

40 Years

Eligible Sex

FEMALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

Gaffree & Guinle Universitary Hospital

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Hospital dos Servidores do Estado do Rio de Janeiro

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Silvia Hoirisch Clapauch

MD, PhD

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Silvia Hoirisch-Clapauch, MD, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Hospital Federal dos Servidores do Estado, Ministry of Health

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

Hospital Federal dos Servidores do Estado, Ministry of Health

Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Site Status

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

Brazil

Central Contacts

Reach out to these primary contacts for questions about participation or study logistics.

Silvia Hoirisch-Clapauch, MD, PhD

Role: CONTACT

+55-21-999737500

Facility Contacts

Find local site contact details for specific facilities participating in the trial.

Silvia Hoirisch-Clapauch, MD, PhD

Role: primary

+55-21-99973-7500

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

Protocol W+D

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

More Related Trials

Additional clinical trials that may be relevant based on similarity analysis.