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.

Modern ultrasound for male contraception

The ideal male contraceptive would be inexpensive, reliable, and reversible. It would need to be long acting but have few side effects. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology used commercially available therapeutic ultrasound equipment to reduce sperm counts of male rats to levels which would result in infertility in humans.

30 Jan 2012

Younger breast cancer survivors face more serious mental issues

Quality of life in younger patients treated for breast cancer is seriously compromised and these women suffer from severe psychological distress, infertility, premature menopause, a decrease in physical activity and weight gain, according to a study by researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

24 Jan 2012

Artificial testes being developed to help infertile men produce sperm

Californian researchers are trying to create an artificial testicle that will produce human sperm. Dr. Paul Turek, director of the Turek Clinic in San Francisco, which specializes in male infertility, said the goal is not to create a testicular implant for men, but a “sperm-making biological machine” that will help scientists learn more about just what causes male infertility. “We’re trying to recreate the process of sperm production in a three-dimensional system,” Turek said. “Simple laboratory conditions can’t get it done in humans. Our concept is to actually recreate the testicle itself.”

22 Jan 2012

Younger women with breast cancer experience a decrease in health-related QOL

Younger women with breast cancer experience a decrease in their health-related quality of life (QOL), associated with increased psychological distress, weight gain, a decline in their physical activity, infertility and early onset menopause, according to a study published January 20 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

21 Jan 2012

Implanting more embryos for IVF may do more harm than good: Study

Researchers have suggested that implanting multiple embryos for In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) may do more harm than good. This finding appeared in the current online version of the journal Lancet. The study argues against common practice of implanting multiple embryos in order to maximize a woman’s chances of conception during in vitro fertilization.

15 Jan 2012

TCM therapy makes fertility treatments far more effective: Study

Traditional Chinese medicine has long been used to ease pain, treat disease, boost fertility, and prevent miscarriage. Known in the Western medical community by its acronym TCM, these traditional remedies include herbal preparations and acupuncture. Now Tel Aviv University researchers have discovered that a combination of TCM therapy and intrauterine insemination (IUI) is a winning solution for hopeful mommies who are having trouble conceiving.

10 Jan 2012

Twins born five years apart thanks to advanced reproductive technology

Floren Blake is a miracle baby for her parents. At just under two months of age she also has a “twin” five-year-old brother Reuben. Even the clinicians who delivered the baby girl in November last year were ecstatic said her 38-year-old mother, Jody Blake, as the family shared the excitement brought about by advances infertility treatment over the past 20 years.

5 Jan 2012

Twin births on the rise in the U.S.

Over the last three decades there has been a rise in the number of twins born in the U.S. Mostly this is the result of test-tube babies and women waiting to have children until their 30s, when the chances of twins increase. In 2009, 1 in every 30 babies born in the U.S. was a twin, an astounding increase over the 1 in 53 rate in 1980, according to a government report issued Wednesday.

5 Jan 2012

President Obama honors mentoring program for minority girls in science and health

Teresa Woodruff, the Thomas J. Watkins Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, received the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring at the White House from President Barack Obama Monday, Dec. 12.

17 Dec 2011

Children of childhood cancer survivors do not have increased risk for birth defects

A large, retrospective study of the children of childhood cancer survivors who were treated with radiation therapy and/or some forms of chemotherapy found that the offspring do not have an increased risk for birth defects compared to children of cancer survivors who did not receive such treatments.

14 Dec 2011

ZEN bust-enhancing supplements may increase risk of breast cancer

Women who use bust-enhancing dietary supplements containing the mycoestrogen zearalenone (ZEN), a naturally occurring toxin that widely contaminates agricultural products, could be increasing their risk of breast cancer. That is the warning from breast health experts in a paper published online ahead of print publication in the January issue of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

9 Dec 2011

The Hormone Foundation publishes fact sheet about harmful hCG diet

In an effort to provide clarity to the confusion surrounding the human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) diet, The Hormone Foundation, the public education affiliate of The Endocrine Society, today published, "Myth vs. Fact: The Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) Diet."

9 Dec 2011

Women & Infants the first to offer digital breast tomosynthesis in southeastern New England

There is still a one in eight lifetime risk that a woman will develop breast cancer, and the best tool against the disease remains early detection. Now, Women & infants Hospital of Rhode Island has taken the breast cancer battle to the next level with the installation of the most advanced imaging technology available, called digital breast tomosynthesis.

8 Dec 2011

Established human embryonic cell lines vary from newly derived stem cell lines

Established human embryonic cell lines, including those approved for federal research funding under former President George W. Bush, are different than newly derived human embryonic stem cell lines, according to a study by UCLA stem cell researchers.

2 Dec 2011

Novel breast cancer surgical technique now available in New England

Jennifer Gass, MD, chief of surgery at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island and a breast surgeon with the Breast Health Center in the hospital's Program in Women's Oncology, recently completed a one-month sabbatical in Paris with the world-renowned breast surgeon Krishna B. Clough, MD, medical director of the Paris Breast Center.

30 Nov 2011

Peninsula Foundation secures funding for PCOS and diabetes research

The Peninsula Foundation, the charitable arm of the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, has secured funding of -15,000 from The Duchy Health Charity for research into Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and diabetes. The research led, by Professor Jonathan Pinkney at the Knowledge Spa campus in Truro, will be the first non commercial medical research to be carried out at the site.

29 Nov 2011

Clinical value of OrSense NBM 200 non-invasive Hb monitor for maternal health to be presented at 4th COGI

OrSense Ltd., announced today that two oral presentations on the clinical value of its NBM 200 non-invasive hemoglobin (Hb) monitor for maternal health and anemia monitoring prior, during and post delivery of pregnant women will be presented at the 4th Asia Pacific Congress on Controversies in Obstetrics Gynecology and Infertility (COGI).

21 Nov 2011

Annual report on sexually transmitted infections reveals rising trends

New figures reveal that cases of some common sexually spread diseases continue to increase in the United States. These numbers come in the annual report on sexually transmitted disease released by health officials this Thursday.

17 Nov 2011

Insulin sensitivity in the ovaries and the pituitary linked to infertility

Infertility is common among obese women, but the reasons remain poorly understood and few treatments exist. Now a team of Johns Hopkins Children's Center scientists, conducting experiments in mice, has uncovered what they consider surprising evidence that insulin resistance, long considered a prime suspect, has little to do with infertility in women with type-2 diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome and metabolic syndrome, all obesity-related conditions.

16 Nov 2011