Glycopenic endometrium in infertility

Authors

  • Prateek Shivappa Department of Pathology, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab, India http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2250-7967
  • Roma Isaacs Department of Pathology, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab, India
  • Kavita Mandrelle Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab, India
  • Sunita Goyal Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20221976

Keywords:

Endometrium, Glycogen, Histopathological examination, Infertility

Abstract

Background: Infertility is a global health problem affecting 8-10% couples worldwide. Endometrium is considered to be sensitive indicator of ovarian, pituitary and hypothalamic function. The endometrium, which fails to produce adequate amount of glycogen is termed as ‘glycopenic uteri’. Glycopenic endometrium is said to be unfavourable for early blastocyst implantation leading to infertility in spite of ovulation. Endometrial aspiration/biopsy can be histologically dated based on the Dallenbach-Hellweg criteria which forms an essential part of histopathological examination of endometrium for infertility work-up. The aim of the study was to study the correlation of glycogen content with endometrial histomorphology in infertility.

Methods: Cross-sectional observational study in which one hundred twenty-two endometrial specimens sent as curetting/ biopsy were studied. The Glycogen content of endometrium was graded from + to ++++ as given by Arzac and Blanchet. Statistical analysis was done on SPSS version 26.0. The categorical variables were represented by count (percentage) and the continuous variables were represented by mean±SD. The Chi-square test was used to find the association of glycogen content with infertility, the various phases of the endometrium and age.

Results: Glycopenic endometrium was seen in 36.9% cases of infertility. Out of which, glycopenic endometrium was much more prevalent in patients with secondary infertility (47%) as compared to patients with primary infertility (35.1%).  

Conclusions: Glycogen depletion in secretory phase results in inadequate preparation of endometrium at the time of implantation. Assessment of glycogen is considered to be an essential part of histopathological examination.

Author Biography

Prateek Shivappa, Department of Pathology, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab, India

Senior resident, Pathology

References

Purkayastha N, Sharma H. Prevalence and potential determinants of primary infertility in India: Evidence from Indian demographic health survey. Clin Epidemiology Glob Health. 2021;9:162-70.

Padubidri VG, Daftary SN. Infertility and Sterility. Shaws Textbook of Gynaecology. 16th ed. New Delhi: Reed Elsevier India Private Limited; 2014: 237-262.

Rohatgi K, Singh VK, Rajvanshi VS. Study of endometrial glycogen in cases of dysfunctional uterine haemorrhage and subfertility. J Obstet Gynaecol India. 1977;27(6):905-10.

Girish CJ, Manjunath ML. Morphological patterns of endometrium in infertile woman a prospective study. Int J Appl Biol Pharm Technol. 2011;2:512-20.

Bancroft JD, Layton C. The hematoxylins and eosin. In: Suvarna KS, Layton C, Bancroft JD, eds. Bancroft’s theory and practice of histological techniques. 8th edition. China: Elsevier; 2019: 126-137.

Layton C, Bancroft JD. Carbohydrates. In: Suvarna KS, Layton C. Bancroft JD, eds. Bancroft’s theory and practice of histological techniques. 8th ed. China: Elsevier; 2019: 177-196.

Arzac JP, Blanchet E. Alkaline phosphatase and glycogen in human endometrium. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1948;8(4):315-24.

Dallenbach-Hellweg G. The Histopathology of the endometrium. Histopathology of the endometrium. 3rd ed. Hiedelberg: Spinger Verlag; 1981: 89-256.

Dean M. Glycogen in the uterus and fallopian tubes is an important source of glucose during early pregnancy. Biol Reprod. 2019;101(2):297-305.

Zawar MP, Deshpande NM, Gadgil PA, Mahanta AA. Histopathological study of endometrium in infertility. Indian J Pathol Microbiol. 2003;46(4):630-3.

Ikeme ACC, Ezegwui HU. Histological analysis of endometrial curettings performed for infertility in Nigeria. J Obstet Gynaecol. 2004;24(8):914-5.

Girish CJ, Kotur NS, Nagarajappa AH, Manjunath ML. A correlative study of endometrial glycogen content and other contributory factors on female fertility. Intl J Biomel Adv Res. 2012;3(1):30-5.

Kafeel S, Mushtaq H, Alam S. Endometrial histological findings in infertile women. J Islamabad Med Dental Coll. 2012;1(2):61-4.

Nandedkar SS, Patidar E, Gada DB, Malukani K, Munjal K, Varma A. Histomorphological Patterns of Endometrium in Infertility. J Obstet Gynecol India. 2015;65(5):328-34.

Kaur P, Kaur A, Suri AK, Sidhu H. A two-year histopathological study of endometrial biopsies in a teaching hospital in Northern India. Indian J Pathol Oncol. 2016;3(3):508-19.

Sharma V, Saxena V, Khatri SL. Histopathological Study of Endometrium in Cases of Infertility. J Clin Exp Pathol. 2016;6(2):1-3.

Murmu S, Baitha B. A Histopathological Study of Endometrium in Infertility. IOSR J Dent Med Sci. 2017;16(2):56-60.

Gupta A, Mathur SK, Gupta A. Co-orelation of histological dating and glycogen content by histochemical stain during various phases of menstrual cycle in primary infertility. Open J Pathol. 2013;3(2):65-8.

Pradhan SP, Dash A, Choudhury S, Mishra DP. A Study on Endometrial Morphology and Glycogen Content in Infertile Women. J Evid Based Med Healthc. 2017;4:528-31.

Gupta PL, Jethani M. Endometrial Glycogen - An Important Parameter of Infertility. J Obstet Gynaecol India. 1994;80:4-7.

Achalkar GV. Histopathological Study of Endometrium in Infertility. J Evol Med Dent Sci. 2018;7(24):2870-3.

Downloads

Published

2022-07-27

How to Cite

Shivappa, P., Isaacs, R., Mandrelle, K., & Goyal, S. (2022). Glycopenic endometrium in infertility. International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 10(8), 1663–1667. https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20221976

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles