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.

SSRIs should be prescribed with great caution to those attempting to get pregnant

Elevated risk of miscarriage, preterm birth, neonatal health complications and possible longer term neurobehavioral abnormalities, including autism, suggest that a class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) should only be prescribed with great caution and with full counseling for women experiencing depression and attempting to get pregnant, say researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Tufts Medical Center and MetroWest Medical Center.

31 Oct 2012

SSRIs should be prescribed with great caution to those attempting to get pregnant

31 Oct 2012

IVF process negatively impacts women’s sexual relationships

An Indiana University study has found that women undergoing in-vitro fertilization report that the process of infertility treatment has many negative impacts on their sexual relationship with their partner. Little attention has been given to the sexual dynamics of couples as they navigate infertility and treatments such as IVF, despite the important role that sex plays in a couple's attempt to conceive a child.

30 Oct 2012

Common misconceptions about breast cancer risks

From the food we eat to the products we use, there are a lot of misconceptions about what may increase the risk of developing breast cancer. There are known factors, like genetics, that are well documented. But what about lifestyle issues like having a nightly cocktail or using deodorant? So, what is fact and what is fiction? Wendy Chen, MD, MPH, a breast cancer expert at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston says an overabundance of information can be confusing, and it often is incorrect to some degree.

20 Oct 2012

Losing weight does not lead to improved fertility in women

Losing weight does not lead to improved fertility in women, but does improve sexual function, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

19 Oct 2012

Study explains link between infertility and hyperprolactinaemia

One of the most frequent is the existence of tumours that induce an over-secretion of this hormone. These women present with chronic infertility due to anovulation. Thanks to the work of the Inserm researchers from unit 693 "Steroid receptors: endocrinian and metabolic physiopathology", the intimate mechanism of the hyperprolactinaemia alterations affecting reproduction in mice has been discovered.

19 Oct 2012

FGF21 hormone markedly increases life span in mice

A study by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers finds that a starvation hormone markedly extends life span in mice without the need for calorie restriction.

17 Oct 2012

Male infertility linked to an enzyme complex issue

An enzyme complex present in sperm plasma membranes plays an important role in the overproduction of reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress in sperm with abnormal morphology, researchers have shown.

15 Oct 2012

Johns Hopkins, Iverson enter licensing agreement for molecular diagnostics

Iverson Genetic Diagnostics, Inc. announced today an exclusive licensing agreement with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine under which Iverson receives global exclusive commercialization rights for molecular diagnostics that are designed to help physicians to assess cardiovascular risk in men and women and infertility risk in women.

12 Oct 2012

Roundup: Labor activist's work for Blue Shield raises conflict concerns; R.I. to mandate flu shots for health workers; Minn. safety net hospitals brace for cuts

At a time when public-sector unions across the country are fighting to hold on to generous retirement and health benefits, one of the loudest voices standing up for their rights is Dave Low. A longtime labor activist, Low carries considerable clout as executive director of the California School Employees Assn., a 215,000-member union that represents bus drivers, custodians and other school workers.

10 Oct 2012

Clinical trial to investigate safety and effectiveness of Elagolix against endometriosis

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), endometriosis, a gynecological disorder in which cells from the uterus lining grow in other areas of the body, is the number one reason for a hysterectomy in women ages 18-35. Current treatment options for endometriosis are severely limited by side effects of existing medications and surgical options have more risks. A nationwide clinical trial is testing an investigational drug as a potential new option for patients with moderate to severe pain from this disease.

9 Oct 2012

Recombinant protein may treat male factor fertility

Male factor infertility resulting in failed oocyte activation from dysfunctional sperm phospholipase C-zeta may be remedied through the use of a recombinant form of the protein, leading to efficient blastocyst formation, say scientists.

8 Oct 2012

Fertility treatment may increase MS disease activity

Findings published in Annals of Neurology suggest that assisted reproduction technology treatment increases multiple sclerosis disease activity.

8 Oct 2012

Researchers identify genetic risk allele for uterine fibroids

Uterine fibroids are the most common type of pelvic tumors in women and are the leading cause of hysterectomy in the United States. Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) are the first to discover a genetic risk allele (an alternative form of a gene) for uterine fibroids in white women using an unbiased, genome-wide approach.

5 Oct 2012

Assisted reproduction technology may increase risk of MS activity among women

Researchers in Argentina report that women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who undergo assisted reproduction technology (ART) infertility treatment are at risk for increased disease activity.

4 Oct 2012

Kisspeptin reverses hyperprolactinemia-induced ovarian acyclicity

Kisspeptin neurons appear to play a role in hypogonadotropic anovulation caused by excessive levels of prolactin, research shows.

1 Oct 2012

Marijuana and testicular cancer: an interview with Victoria Cortessis

This is a set of malignancies that arise in germ cells of the testicles, the specialized cells that produce sperm. Taken together, testicular cancers are the most common form of malignancy that occurs in young men (approximately 15 to 35 years of age).

24 Sep 2012

Adding missing protein to infertile human sperm can 'kick-start' its ability to fertilise eggs

Adding a missing protein to infertile human sperm can 'kick-start' its ability to fertilise an egg and dramatically increase the chances of a successful pregnancy, a team of Cardiff University scientists have uncovered.

21 Sep 2012

Single HPV protein is required for cervical cancer growths to survive

Human papillomavirus (HPV) has long been implicated in cervical cancer, but details of how it happens have remained a mystery. Now researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found that a single HPV protein is required for cervical cancer and even pre-cancer growths in the cervix to survive.

17 Sep 2012

Local Talent Global Impact event at Queen's University to be held on Sep. 13

Members of the public are being invited to Queen's University at lunchtime on Thursday (13 September) to meet and hear from the people behind some of the biggest scientific, medical and technological breakthroughs of recent times.

13 Sep 2012