Fertility News and Research

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Simple strategies can make big difference in maternal mortality

Aissata Sall Yade, a communications assistant for the Senegal Urban Reproductive Health Initiative, part of IntraHealth International, writes in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog about Aissatou Dia Fall, a head midwife at Senegal's Gallo Dia Health Center in Yeumbeul, and her efforts to improve access to health care for women in the community.

19 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

Northwestern scientists to request EPA to update guidelines for reproductive health research

A team of Northwestern University scientists will meet with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrators in Washington D.C. Oct. 18 to advocate for important changes in the agency's guidelines for reproductive health research.

17 Oct 2012

Blog examines contraceptive coverage in sub-Saharan Africa

"Between 1970 and 2010, most emerging countries achieved impressive gains in contraceptive coverage," but, "[b]y contrast, many sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries ... have started their contraceptive revolution very late and progress to date has been minimal," John May, a visiting fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD), and Jean-Pierre Guengant, researcher emeritus at the Research Institute for Development (IRD) in Marseille, France, write in CGD's "Global Health Policy" blog.

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

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

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

Preterm births fell for the fifth straight year in 2011

Preterm births fell for the fifth straight year in 2011, and the improvement was across the board -- every racial and ethnic group benefited, and there were fewer preterm babies born at all stages of pregnancy, according to preliminary birth data released today by the National Center for Health Statistics.

4 Oct 2012

GnRH agonist may protect breast cancer patient fertility

Treatment with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist may reduce the risk for chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea, research shows.

1 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

New partnership to provide access to contraceptives for more than 27M women

A new partnership announced today at the United Nations will make a safe, effective, long-acting, reversible method of contraception available to more than 27 million women in the world's poorest nations.

28 Sep 2012

Three USU doctoral students to receive Henry M. Jackson Fellowships

The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc. has selected three promising Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) doctoral students to receive fellowships for the 2012-13 academic year. The program, established in 1988, includes two Henry M. Jackson Fellowships and one Val G. Hemming Fellowship. Each fellow receives a stipend and travel support.

28 Sep 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

PTEN inhibitor can trigger growth of small eggs

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have discovered that a chemical can trigger the maturation of small eggs to healthy, mature eggs, a process that could give more women the chance of successful IVF treatment in the future. The results have been published in the revered journal PloS ONE.

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

Sagard Capital acquires IntegraMed

Sagard Capital Partners, L.P. and IntegraMed America, Inc., a leader in developing, marketing and managing specialty healthcare facilities in the fertility and vein care markets, today announced the completion of Sagard Capital's acquisition of IntegraMed for $14.05 per share in cash, representing a total equity purchase price of approximately $169.5 million.

21 Sep 2012

EmbryoScope Time-lapse system identifies abnormal development events in embryos

Which embryos have the best opportunity to develop into a viable pregnancy? A new technology provides a surprising answer. A major challenge in the field of IVF is selecting the single best embryo which is likely to result in a live birth. Currently, embryologists must remove the embryo from a standard incubator to perform 2 or 3 short evaluations of the developing embryo under the microscope, at fixed time-points over 3-5 days, in order to assess embryo quality prior to transferring an embryo to the patient.

18 Sep 2012

No link between low-level electromagnetic field exposure from mobile phones and health risks

There is no scientific evidence that low-level electromagnetic field exposure from mobile phones and other transmitting devices causes adverse health effects, according to a report presented by a Norwegian Expert Committee. In addition, the Committee provides advice to authorities about risk management and regulatory practice.

18 Sep 2012