Month: July 2012

Fertility Clock Headlines, Fertility Headlines

Ovary transplant could put menopause ‘on ice’

brigitte

Women will be able to give birth in old age following an ovary transplant breakthrough that means they can postpone menopause until well after their 50s.

The technique to remove parts of an ovary, store them for decades and then transplant them, could effectively put menopause “on ice”, doctors have said. Only physical ability to carry a baby would prevent women from becoming mothers, meaning they would no longer have to think about the “biological clock”.

A conference in Istanbul was told that 28 babies had been born to infertile women who had ovary tissue transplants, and that most of the children were conceived naturally without the need for IVF or drugs.

Dr Sherman Silber, an American surgeon who has been involved in transplants for 11 women at a hospital in St Louis, Missouri, said: “A woman born today has a 50 per cent chance of living to 100. That means they are going to be spending half of their lives post-menopause.

“You could have grafts removed as a young woman and then have the first replaced as you approach menopausal age. You could then put a slice back every decade.

“Some women might want to go through the menopause, but others might not.”

Scientists said the treatment could also have health benefits, by avoiding the increased risk of osteoporosis and heart disease linked to menopause. They admitted, however, it may raise the risk of breast and womb cancer.

Read full article.

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Parents Peek into Gene Pool

brigitte

PARENTS who fear the prospect of abortion due to genetic problems are going to extraordinary lengths to ensure that unborn children are free of genetic diseases.

Hundreds of parents with no fertility problems are making appointments at Monash IVF and – before going through the artificial pregnancy process – are having embryos tested to ensure genetic conditions plaguing their families like Huntington’s disease, cystic fibrosis or spinal muscular atrophy are not passed on to their children.

The testing process is known as as pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and has a 98per cent success rate.

Couples who do not go through the PGD process have a 50per cent chance of passing on a genetic disease if they conceive naturally.

PGD co-ordinator Dr Elissa Osbourne from Monash IVF says it’s hard for parents to see family members suffer from a genetic condition.

“They want to know they’ve done everything to prevent their children from going through the same thing, ” Dr Osbourne said.

“A lot of them struggle with the concept of termination of pregnancy and they’d rather know that if they do get pregnant, that the pregnancy is unaffected.”

Read full article.

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Cell phones may damage sperm, health advocacy group says

brigitte

Men who carry their cell phone or Blackberry on their belt loop or in their pocket may be posing a risk to the health of their sperm and their fertility.

A major health advocacy group released a new report on the potentially harmful effects of cell phones on sperm. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) reviewed the scientific literature and reported that 10 studies have found significant changes in sperm exposed to cell phone radiation.

The study reported: “In the most striking findings, men who carried their phones in a pocket or on the belt were more likely to have lower sperm counts and/or more inactive or less mobile sperm.”

“People are so preoccupied with brain tumors that the fertility issue gets very little play,” said Louis Slesin, editor of Microwave News, a newsletter on electromagnetic radiation.

Exposure to cell phone radiation has also been associated with markers for sperm damage, such as higher levels of reactive oxygen species (chemically reactive molecules containing oxygen), oxidative stress, DNA damage and changes in sperm morphology.

“We have enough evidence to issue precautionary health warnings,” said Dr. Joel Moskowitz, director of the Center for Family and Community Health in the School of Public Health at the University of California at Berkeley. “The evidence for sperm damage is quite consistent across many studies,” he added.
“The issue is far from settled, yet the proposals put forward by EWG are low-cost precautionary actions,” Slesin said.

Read full article.

Fertility Clock Headlines, Fertility Headlines

Single-Embryo IVF Cuts Risk to Baby: Study

brigitte

WEDNESDAY, July 4 (HealthDay News) — Transplanting just one embryo during assisted reproduction treatments reduces the risk of preventable infant deaths that occur just before or shortly after birth, which is termed perinatal mortality, Australian researchers report.

“The number of embryos transferred per procedure is the major determinant of multiple pregnancy and multiple delivery, which contribute to an elevated risk of preterm birth and low birth weight, and its [health consequences],” said Elizabeth Sullivan, from the perinatal and reproductive epidemiology research unit of the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

“These are risks in addition to those already faced by women being treated for infertility,” Sullivan said in a news release from the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.

For the study, researchers examined more than 50,200 births resulting from in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intra cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment. IVF involves removing an egg from a woman, placing it with sperm in a test tube, then transferring the resulting embryo to the woman’s womb. With ICSI, a form of IVF, sperm is injected directly into the egg.

The babies were born at more than 20 weeks’ gestation and/or weighed more than 14 ounces (400 grams) at birth. They found 813 perinatal deaths overall, which included 630 stillbirths and 183 deaths within the first 28 days of life.

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A birth control gel for men lowers sperm count sharply

brigitte

A birth control gel for men sharply lowered sperm counts with few side effects, researchers reported Tuesday. The gel, containing testosterone and a synthetic progestin called Nestorone, will require substantially more testing, but it has the potential to become the first effective chemical birth control agent for males.

The male hormone testosterone can turn off the production of reproductive hormones controlling the production of sperm. Progestin, a synthetic hormone similar to the naturally occurring hormone progesterone, can amplify the effects of testosterone. The two have been used together in the past in pills, implants or shots, but progestin has androgenic effects that can produce side effects such as acne and changes in cholesterol levels. Nestorone is a new synthetic progestin, developed by the Population Council, that apparently does not have those side effects.

A team headed by Dr. Christine Wang of the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center enrolled 99 men in a preliminary study of the drug combination. A third of them received a gel containing testosterone and a placebo, which they applied daily for six months. The rest received a gel containing testosterone and one of two concentrations of Nestorone. Fifty-six men completed at least 20 weeks of the study and adhered to the protocol.

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Fertility Drugs’ Link to Breast Cancer Hinges on Pregnancy, Study Says

brigitte

Do fertility drugs affect a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer? A new study suggests that the risk hinges on whether they actually help a woman get pregnant.

Scientists have been concerned about the effects of fertility drugs in recent years, citing a possible relationship between the hormones altered by the drugs and those implicated in breast cancer. Studies attempting to pinpoint the link between fertility drugs and cancer risk have varied widely in their conclusions. Some have found a reduction in cancer risk, some an increased risk. Others found no connection at all.

But researchers at the National Institutes of Health found that although the drugs seem to reduce breast cancer risk in young women, the risk goes up when they get pregnant.

Researchers studied pairs of sisters, in total following more than 1,400 women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer before age 50 and more than 1,600 of their sisters who had never had breast cancer. Of these women, 288 reported using ovulation-stimulating fertility drugs, clomiphene citrate and follicle-stimulating hormone, at some point; 141 women reported a pregnancy lasting 10 weeks or more after taking the drugs.

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Fertility Clock Headlines, Fertility Headlines

A Pill For Men?

brigitte

Just who should take responsibility for birth control is a subject that divides many couples.

There are only two forms of male contraception — condoms and vasectomies, and they have disadvantages.

Though condoms have a 98 per cent success rate with perfect use, in reality and with human error, they prevent pregnancy only in 85 per cent of cases — an unacceptable risk for many couples.

Vasectomies are designed to be a permanent form of contraception (though a reversal is possible) and involve otherwise healthy men going under the knife.

Female contraceptives, on the other hand, such as the Pill or implants are effective and reversible, though they can cause nasty side-effects such as weight gain, depression and blood clots.

So why are there not more options for men?

Read full article.

Fertility Clock Headlines, Fertility Headlines

15 Top Medical Organizations Agree on Hormone Therapy Use; 10 Years Have Passed Since Women’s Health Initiative Raised Questions

ASRM News and Research

After 10 years of debate regarding the risks and benefits of hormone therapy, 15 top medical organizations have come together to issue a statement of agreement regarding the benefits of hormone therapy for symptomatic menopausal women.