Assisted reproductive technologies for women with polycystic ovarian syndrome

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is the most common cause of anovulatory fertility problems in women of reproductive age, with a prevalence as high as 40% to 75%. There are different treatment modalities for increasing the chance of pregnancy in PCOS patients. Since most of the PCOS patients suffer from ovulatory problems, therapeutic efforts are focused mainly towards restoring normal ovulation. However, even after pharmacological interventions to ameliorate ovulatory irregularities, women with polycystic ovary are still at high risk of fetal loss. Thus, assisted reproductive techniques (ARTs) have become popular approaches which significantly increase the chances of successful pregnancy in these women, bypassing the conditions of PCOS. The present mini-review ‘pinpoints’ on the suitability of ARTs for PCOS patients who fail to ovulate following the conventional infertility treatment. The article also briefly explains how intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), the most effective ART, correlates with better biological parameters, fertilization rate and better quality of embryos in PCOS women.