Researchers at the 68th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine presented research showing that by screening all the chromosomes in an embryo the number of successful pregnancies could be increased over traditional methods of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART).
Tag: research
Are Doctors Too Wary of Drug Companies?
Not long ago, I asked a colleague for advice on a patient. He offered up a couple of treatment options, then stopped to show me a new medical app on his electronic tablet. With a few swipes of his finger, he summoned a compilation of research articles, synopses and even entire textbooks that, printed and bound, would have filled shelves in a library.
“But do you know what the best part is?” he asked with a twinkle in his eye. I thought of the exhaustive reference material and the seemingly endless scroll of diagnoses that were all so easy to access on the small screen balanced on his knees.
“The best part is that none of this is sponsored by Pharma!” he said with a broad smile. “There’s no bias.” Read full article.
US Appeals Court Panel Rules Federal Funding of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Is Allowed by Law
This morning, a three judge Federal Appeals Court panel unanimously affirmed a lower court decision in Sherley v. Sebelius, allowing NIH funding of human embryonic stem cell research to continue.
The Emotional Road to Becoming a Dad
by Iris Waichler, L.C.S.W.
I read an article called “Deconstructing Dad” about how becoming a father changes men. The article looks at research showing how men are emotionally, physically, and biologically impacted by …
Disappointment. Frustration. Anger. Grief. Guilt. Shame. Hopelessness. Exhaustion.
by Alina Ashjian, R.N., B.S.N.
As one can imagine, the stress of infertility can take quite a toll on patients. In fact, recent research has shown that the stress that infertility patients experience is equivalent to the stress of patients with …
Issues to Consider Prior to Pursuit of International Adoption
By Leonette Boiarski, ACSW, LSW
So many times, I have taken calls from families who are dissatisfied with their adoption agencies. Often, this is caused by a lack of proper research on the part of hopeful parents when they are selecting …
Long-term contraception more effective than pills
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A large real-life test of several types of contraception found more women got pregnant while using short-acting methods such as pills, patches and vaginal rings — and the failure rate was highest when they were used by women under 21.
“We found that participants using oral contraceptive pills, a transdermal patch or a vaginal ring had a risk of contraceptive failure that was 20 times as high as the risk among those using long-acting reversible contraception,” said the research team, led by Dr. Brooke Winner of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Even if your husband had a vasectomy years ago, it may not be too late to reverse it
New research just out, led by Dr. Paul Turek, a San Francisco-based specialist in male fertility and sexual health, shows that even very old vasectomies — as old as those done 38 years ago — can be reversed with good results, he says. “For decades, conventional wisdom has been that the older the vasectomy, the less likely that ejaculated sperm returns after microsurgical vasectomy reversal. But this may not be true,” said Turek in a press release about the new research, which was presented this week at the American Urological Association in Atlanta.
Turek and his colleagues studied 343 men who’d had vasectomy reversals, comparing those with “younger” vasectomies (those from one to 15 years old) and “older” vasectomies (those 16 to 38 years old) to see if there was a difference in the amount of the sperm in the ejaculate following the reversal. Says Turek, the research found that “older vasectomies up to 38 years did not have worse outcomes after reversal surgery.” That should be reassuring, he says, adding, “don’t be shy about looking into vasectomy reversal for a vasectomy older than 15 years; it can often be reversed quite well.” Turek notes that a limitation of his research was that it did not examine pregnancy rates, but only ejaculated sperm counts in men who’d had their vasectomies reversed.
If your husband has had a vasectomy and you’re considering a round of IVF, it may be worth talking to a specialist in reversals — not least because of the very different costs of the two procedures: “In general, a vasectomy reversal is about one-third to one-half the price of one IVF cycle,” notes Turek, adding that a reversal costs about $5,000 to $9,000, on average. About 5 to 7 percent of vasectomized men get a reversal procedure.
Turek adds that while “you can get great results reversing a vasectomy of any age in the right hands, the problem is that not everyone can do it well.” To find the right specialist, read Turek’s “Insider’s Guide to Vasectomy Reversal.”
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Survey Says: Use Embryos for Research
A survey found almost half of South Australians believe embryos left over from fertility treatments should be used for research. Of the 2693 surveyed, 21 percent said the leftover embryos should be donated to would-be parents. Just 6 per cent believed they should be discarded.
Sex & Alcohol: Unpredictable Bedfellows
by Harry Fisch, M.D.
A lot of research suggests that alcohol should be bad for sex. Scientists have measured how alcohol affects penile swelling, vaginal engorgement, time required to achieve orgasm (both during intercourse and masturbation) …