Fertility News and Research

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New test detects genetic and chromosomal abnormalities in embryos - ready for clinical trials

One-step screening for both genetic and chromosomal abnormalities has come a stage closer as scientists announced that an embryo test they have been developing has successfully screened cells taken from spare embryos that were known to have cystic fibrosis.

30 Jun 2009

Women with cystic fibrosis can have safe and successful fertility treatment

Women with cystic fibrosis can have fertility treatment to help them have babies without any long-term adverse effects on either themselves or their children, according to new research presented at the 25th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Amsterdam today (Tuesday).

30 Jun 2009

Research shows it is possible to freeze embryos and reduce multiple pregnancies in PGD cycles without adversely affecting pregnancy rates

Transferring just one embryo at a time to a woman's womb after embryos have undergone preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and freezing at the blastocyst stage has become a real option after researchers achieved pregnancy rates that were as good as those for blastocysts that had not had a cell removed for PGD before freezing. Their results mean that it will be possible to reduce the number of multiple pregnancies after PGD and the consequent complications associated with these pregnancies.

30 Jun 2009

First ever study of European patients shows large numbers crossing borders for reproductive therapies

A substantial number of European patients travel to other countries for fertility treatment, both because they think that they will receive better quality care abroad and in order to undergo procedures that are banned in their home country says a study of the subject launched at the 25th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.

29 Jun 2009

First baby born after new ovarian transplant technique

A new technique for transplanting the ovaries of women who have lost their fertility as a result of cancer treatment was outlined to the 25th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today (Monday 29 June).

29 Jun 2009

Intense cycling training damages sperm

The high-intensity training undertaken by triathletes has a significant impact on the quality of their sperm, the 25th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology heard today (Monday 29 June). Professor Diana Vaamonde, from the University of Cordoba Medical School, Cordoba, Spain, said that the triathletes who did the most cycling training had the worst sperm morphology.

29 Jun 2009

New, less invasive genetic test greatly improves pregnancy rates in older women with poor prognosis

A new test examining chromosomes in human eggs a few hours after fertilisation can identify those that are capable of forming a healthy baby, a researcher told the 25th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today (Monday 29 June).

29 Jun 2009

New treatments for infertility could be in the pipeline

Scientists at the University of Otago have found in their research into the brain circuits which control human fertility, that instead of the usual synapses, fertility is controlled by a thousand or so special neurons, which are linked by long, branch-like dendrites and they believe their discovery could lead to the development of new treatments for infertility.

23 Jun 2009

Women warned not to wait too long to have a baby

Women are being warned that they should consider starting a family before the age of 35 or they will risk missing out on motherhood.

21 Jun 2009

New theory for global diabetes epidemic

A new "fertility first" hypothesis published this week by a group of international experts in the American Journal of Human Biology, proposes that the global epidemic of Type 2 diabetes has its origins in the struggle, over millennia, to sustain human fertility in environments defined by famine.

19 Jun 2009

Low dose bisphenol-A exposure shows significant reproductive health effects in rats

New research from North Carolina State University and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) shows significant reproductive health effects in rats that have been exposed to bisphenol-A (BPA) at levels equivalent to or below the dose that has been thought not to produce any adverse effects.

17 Jun 2009

GPs have an opportunity to help infertile couples say North-East scientists

A major study into infertility in the UK has found that GPs could save years of anguish and heartache for couples desperate to have children.

16 Jun 2009

New findings on how stress causes sexual dysfunction and infertility

University of California, Berkeley, researchers have found what they think is a critical and, until now, missing piece of the puzzle about how stress causes sexual dysfunction and infertility.

16 Jun 2009

Bringing life back into the bedroom for cancer survivors

For the more than 6 million female cancer survivors living in the U.S. today, the celebration of continued life and love can be interrupted by cancer treatment's side effects, including in the bedroom. Experts at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center offer survivors advice on how to get their relationships back on track.

2 Jun 2009

Low antioxidant intake is associated with low reproductive capacity in semen

Low antioxidant intake is associated with low reproductive capacity in semen. This is the finding of a new study carried out in two infertility centres in Alicante and Murcia, and which has been published online in the journal Fertility and Sterility.

2 Jun 2009

Taiwan aims to boost fertility rates

Targeting the issue of low birth rates, the Taiwanese government implemented the Mega Warmth Social Welfare Program (MWSWP) in 2006 after its fertility rates dipped lower than most industrial nations.

1 Jun 2009

Discovery of gene associated with a three-fold increase in risk for testicular cancer

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have uncovered variation around two genes that are associated with an increased risk of testicular cancer.

31 May 2009

Half million people in the UK have undiagnosed coeliac disease

Coeliac UK, the national charity for people with coeliac disease, is calling on the Government to ensure a new guideline launched this week by NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) is taken up by the medical profession to identify half million people in the UK who have undiagnosed coeliac disease.

31 May 2009

Worldwide increase in assisted reproduction

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) is responsible for an estimated 219,000 to 246,000 babies born each year worldwide according to an international study. The study also finds that the number of ART procedures is growing steadily: in just two years (from 2000 to 2002) ART activity increased by more than 25%.

27 May 2009

Discovery of genetic factors that influence the age at which natural menopause occurs in women

For the first time, scientists have been able to identify genetic factors that influence the age at which natural menopause occurs in women. Ms Lisette Stolk, a researcher from Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, told the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today ( Monday 25 May) that a greater understanding of the factors influencing age at menopause might eventually help to improve the clinical treatment of infertile women.

25 May 2009