Infertility News and Research

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Infertility primarily refers to the biological inability of a person to contribute to conception. Infertility may also refer to the state of a woman who is unable to carry a pregnancy to full term.

Fibroid tumors affecting many American women lack a key protein helps hold tissues together

Fibroid tumors — the sometimes painful uterine growths affecting many American women — lack a key protein that plays a role in holding tissues together, according to a study by researchers from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health.

2 Jun 2004

Cellular garbage plays a key role in the process of cytokinesis, or cell division

A cellular structure discovered 125 years ago and dismissed by many biologists as "cellular garbage" has been found to play a key role in the process of cytokinesis, or cell division, one of the most ancient and important of all biological phenomena.

27 May 2004

Outlaw teen sexuality!

That’s right ban it, make it illegal, against the law, verboten. May is teen pregnancy prevention month. Let’s get real about the problem that is confronting us. The United States now has more teen pregnancies than any other country in the industrialized world. Over 1 million teenagers get pregnant every year and 78% of teen pregnancies are unintended.

26 May 2004

Researchers have identified the first gene linked to the productivity of the stem cells that produce sperm in mammals

Researchers have identified the first gene linked to the productivity of the stem cells that produce sperm in mammals. The discovery was made by applying the latest laboratory methods to a strain of mice restored from embryos frozen since the early 70s.

23 May 2004

WHO to tackle heart disease, diabetes, cancers, road safety as well as diseases

The World Health Assembly, the supreme decision-making body of the World Health Organization, has raised global public health to a new level, by resolving to take more action to prevent death and illness resulting from heart disease, diabetes, cancers, road safety, and lack of access to health services as well as from diseases spread by viruses, bacteria and other dangerous microbes.

22 May 2004

Clinical trial of traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of male infertility

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) researcher Jann Mehmet knows the effectiveness of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine in treating male infertility. Now she is putting her observations to the test in a formal clinical trial of the benefits of TCM, the first time such a study has been conducted in Australia - or overseas.

18 May 2004

Interventional radiologists now are able to treat using minimally invasive procedures

Interventional radiologists at Temple University Hospital now are able to treat many patients with minimally invasive procedures not available only a few years ago. “Conditions that used to require extensive surgery now take an hour or less, and patients leave with a bandaid and walk home,” says Gary Cohen, M.D., Section Chief of Interventional Radiology and Vice Chairman of Radiology. “How can you beat that?”

17 May 2004

Father's sperm packs more than just a fertilizer

The major function of a man's sperm was fertilization, scientists once thought. True, sperm contains the father's chromosomes; but new studies from Wayne State University show that RNAs critically important to early growth of an embryo are also delivered.

13 May 2004

People infected with chlamydia is at an all-time high

The number of people in Washington infected with chlamydia is at an all-time high. According to the Washington State Department of Health 16,796 people were diagnosed with chlamydial infection in 2003. The Department of Health is advising all sexually active women age 25 and younger to be tested at least once a year for chlamydia.

12 May 2004

Scientists tackle the decline in male fertility

This week, Australian scientists will gather at The University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) to discuss the causes of an alarming decline in male fertility in Australia and worldwide.

11 May 2004

Protein in the male reproductive tract is a potent anti-bacterial agent

Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found that a protein they discovered three years ago in the male reproductive tract is a potent anti-bacterial agent.

6 May 2004

New York health department issues advisory on gonorrhea

In response to a recent increase in drug resistant gonorrhea, the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) is issuing a health alert to New York City medical providers announcing alternative treatment recommendations for individuals infected with gonorrhea.

5 May 2004

Drug-resistant gonorrhea is a major public health concern

The increasing resistance to fluoroquinolones effectively eliminates an entire class of antibiotics and leaves only one class of drugs -- cephalosporins -- as the first-line therapy in the treatment of gonorrhea. There are currently no other major groups of antibiotics left to treat gonorrhea.

2 May 2004

Chlamydia may cause infertility in men as well as long-term health problems for women

Swedish study suggests Chlamydia the most common sexually transmitted infection might cause infertility in men as well as long-term health problems for women.

29 Apr 2004

Leading experts to debate controversial issues over IVF and infertility treatment

Leading experts including broadcaster Professor Lord Robert Winston will debate controversial issues over IVF and infertility treatment – including Bristol’s ‘postcode lottery’ lack of NHS IVF treatment - in Bristol on Wednesday April 28.

26 Apr 2004

Infertile couples may be unaware of multiple birth risks

Multiple births -- twins, triplets or more babies in one pregnancy -- have more risks of infant death and long-term disabilities such as cerebral palsy than births of single babies do. However, many couples seeking infertility treatments desire multiples and have poor knowledge particularly about the risks for twins, a University of Iowa study reported.

20 Apr 2004

First IVF embryo research licenses issued in Australia

Australia’s first licences allowing research using excess human embryos were issued today by the Embryo Research Licensing Committee of the National Health and Medical Research Council, (The NHMRC Licensing Committee).

17 Apr 2004

IVF improvements in United States

Since its introduction in the United States, assisted reproduction technology has helped allow women to conceive more than a million babies.

16 Apr 2004

Fertility specialists find multiple birth rate declining

During the past decade in the United States, increasing attention has been paid to lowering the incidence of multiple gestations resulting from the use of assisted reproductive technology. To determine whether such efforts have been successful, we assessed national trends in embryo-transfer practice patterns and in outcomes after the use of assisted reproductive technology.

14 Apr 2004

Genetic mutation raises interesting questions about the evolution of the Y chromosome

The names and dates comprising a family tree contain branches that can extend backward centuries in time. People use these diagrams to discover their ancestral origin. Scientists use them to study the genealogical origins of entire species, tracing evolutionary history down to changes in a single gene.