Fertility News and Research

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Adoption rates plummet to a three decade low

Adoption rates in Australia have touched an all time low since 1970’s. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare revealed that in the last financial year there were just 412 adoptions. That is compared with a peak of more than 8,000 adoptions a year in the early 1970s.

14 Dec 2010

Women & Infants Hospital participates in new fertility drug study

The emotional and physical demands on a couple seeking fertility treatment can be daunting. Researchers are constantly on a quest to improve fertility to increase a couple's chances of becoming pregnant in the most time and cost efficient manner.

13 Dec 2010

Hamilton Thorne launches new Stiletto laser for regenerative medicine and stem cell research markets

Hamilton Thorne Ltd., a leading provider of advanced laser systems for the regenerative medicine and stem cell research markets, today announced the launch of its new Stiletto™ laser system. The Stiletto™ laser system has broad applications for research with a variety of cells, allowing the Company to enter new and exciting research markets, including developmental and advanced cell biology.

9 Dec 2010

Oral contraceptives account for less than 1% of estrogen in drinking water

Contrary to popular belief, birth control pills account for less than 1 percent of the estrogens found in the nation's drinking water supplies, scientists have concluded in an analysis of studies published on the topic.

9 Dec 2010

New research indicates that older women can deliver healthy babies

Career women who put babies on hold until after 40, or even 45, will be reassured by new research from Tel Aviv University. Even though there are associated risks for babies when postponing child-bearing, the neonates can overcome them, says Prof. Yariv Yogev of Tel Aviv University's Sackler School of Medicine and the Hospital for Women at Rabin Medical Center.

8 Dec 2010

New scientifically-based family planning tool

A scientifically-based family planning tool developed by researchers from Georgetown University's Institute for Reproductive Health, a part of Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC), is now available as an easy-to-use iPhone -, iPod touch- or iPad- application. iCycleBeads- is the first software application that enables a woman to plan or avoid pregnancy easily and effectively, entirely through the information provided by the application.

3 Dec 2010

Exposure to BPA during perinatal development impairs reproductive capacity of female offspring

Exposure to a ubiquitous environmental chemical during pregnancy may impair reproductive capacity of female offspring, according to a study published online in advance of print on December 2 in Environmental Health Perspectives. Fertility decreased over time in female mice that had been exposed during fetal and neonatal (perinatal) development to doses of bisphenol-A (BPA) that were lower than or equal to human environmental exposure levels.

2 Dec 2010

Evidence of evolutionary protection against inbreeding in women?

Through an innovative use of cell phone records, researchers at UCLA, the University of Miami and Cal State, Fullerton, have found that women appear to avoid contact with their fathers during ovulation.

30 Nov 2010

WomanCare Global expands product portfolio to include Roselle, Optinor

WomanCare Global is pleased to announce an expansion of their global product portfolio to include Roselle, a combined oral contraceptive (COC) pill containing 150 micrograms of levonorgestrel and 30 micrograms of ethinylestradiol and Optinor, a progesterone-only emergency contraception pill (ECP) containing 750 micrograms of levonorgestrel.

29 Nov 2010

Merck announces initial results from ISENTRESS Phase III study in HIV-1

Merck today reported initial results from the Phase III study investigating the efficacy and safety of a treatment regimen including ISENTRESS® (raltegravir) Tablets once daily in treatment-naïve adult patients infected with HIV-1. ISENTRESS is indicated in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced adults.

29 Nov 2010

ESF report: Reduced male fertility may contribute to low birth rates

Reduced male fertility may be making it even harder for couples to conceive and be contributing to low birth rates in many countries, reveals a new European Science Foundation (ESF) report launching today at the IPSEN meeting in Paris.

28 Nov 2010

Study suggests less than 10% of UK adults with CAH receive specialist endocrine care

A new study suggests that less than 10% of the estimated 3,591 adults in the UK with the genetic condition congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) receive specialist endocrine care, and that there is no standard treatment for these patients.

26 Nov 2010

Chronic jet lag alters brain's intricate role in memory processing

Chronic jet lag alters the brain in ways that cause memory and learning problems long after one's return to a regular 24-hour schedule, according to research by University of California, Berkeley, psychologists.

25 Nov 2010

Erbitux development program featured in ASCO's Clinical Cancer Advances report for third consecutive year

For the third year in a row, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has included Erbitux® (cetuximab) research in its annual report, Clinical Cancer Advances, which features the most significant studies of 2010. The report cites as a notable advance this year the finding that BRAF mutation status is a prognostic, not predictive, marker for Erbitux efficacy in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

23 Nov 2010

Variation at gene locus associated with greater reproductive success

Since 1871, when Charles Darwin wrote The Descent of Man, it has been widely accepted that "Variability is the necessary basis for the action of selection." Variability is associated with the ability to adapt, which is clearly beneficial at a species level. But there is increasing evidence that genetic variability may also give rise to advantages at the level of the individual.

22 Nov 2010

VYTORIN reduces major vascular events in patients with chronic kidney disease

In a new investigational study of VYTORIN, the cholesterol-lowering medicine from Merck, VYTORIN 10/20 mg reduced the incidence of first major vascular events defined as non-fatal heart attacks or cardiac death, stroke or any revascularization procedure by a highly statistically significant 16.1 percent compared to placebo, Study of Heart and Renal Protection study involved more than 9,000 patients who, on average, had advanced or end-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD)

22 Nov 2010

Merck wins third FOSAMAX bellwether trial

Merck & Co., Inc. today said a federal court jury in New York found in its favor in the Graves v. Merck case, rejecting the claims of a Florida woman who blamed her dental and jaw related problems on her FOSAMAX use. With today's verdict, Merck has won three of the first four bellwether cases in the FOSAMAX litigation.

20 Nov 2010

New direct labeling system for oocytes, embryos

Researchers from the Department of Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), in collaboration with researchers from the Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona (IMB-CNM) of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), have developed an identification system for oocytes and embryos in which each can be individually tagged using silicone barcodes.

19 Nov 2010

Merck announces FDA Advisory Committee approval of GARDASIL for anal cancer and AIN treatment

Merck announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee has advised that the data presented support an indication for GARDASIL® [Human Papillomavirus Quadrivalent (Types 6, 11, 16, and 18) Vaccine, Recombinant] for the prevention of anal cancer and anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN) in both males and females 9 through 26 years of age.

18 Nov 2010

8 states get better grade on 2010 March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card

Eight states earned a better grade on the 2010 March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card and 32 others and the District of Columbia saw their preterm birth rates improve.

17 Nov 2010