In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) News and Research

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BMA response to new guidance on embryo selection

The BMA believes that it is right to use advances in medical technology to reduce suffering and impairment and we therefore welcome today's decision to extend the criteria for embryo selection.

10 May 2006

Brits warned against foreign IVF treatment

British couples considering going abroad for in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) and other types of fertility treatment have been warned against the practice.

1 May 2006

Pigs help study of links between polycystic ovary syndrome, obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes

Despite the exaggerated, wrinkly snout and long, coarse, spiky hair reminiscent of the 1980s television space alien ALF, some very special swine are helping researchers at Purdue and Indiana universities understand human infertility, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

4 Apr 2006

Combining old with new could resolve fertility problems

Many women with fertility problems could have a significantly better chance of having a baby if modern IVF techniques are combined with more traditional surgical interventions, according to a leading fertility specialist.

From Sheffield Hallam University 21 Mar 2006

New tool helps predict pregnancy outcomes

Physicians must consider a number of variables when treating couples who cannot naturally conceive because of factors involving both the woman and man.

23 Feb 2006

New understanding of the molecular genetics of successful fertilization

A new paper in the February 15th issue of Genes & Development lends novel insight into the cellular changes that occur in sperm while they reside in the female reproductive tract - providing a new understanding of the molecular genetics of successful fertilization.

14 Feb 2006

Preimplantation cell number may affect birthweight

Dr Lieberman et al. at the Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Biology at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA have measured the quality of human embryos by counting and assessing the properties of their individual cells.

2 Feb 2006

Oocyte cryopreservation - allows women to freeze their eggs

Researchers at the Yale Fertility Center are now offering a cutting edge reproductive procedure called oocyte cryopreservation that allows women to freeze their eggs and use them at a later time to conceive a child.

27 Jan 2006

Women with endometriosis undergoing IVF benefit from treatment with GnRH agonists

The live birth rate per woman was significantly higher in women with endometriosis who received gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist for three to six months before commencing in vitro fertilisation (IVF), compared to control groups.

25 Jan 2006

Australian stem cell breakthrough

A University of New South Wales (UNSW) researcher based at the Diabetes Transplant Unit (DTU) at Sydney's Prince of Wales Hospital has produced a human embryonic stem cell (hESC) line without the use of any animal products. The breakthrough eliminates the risk of animal-to-human contamination in potential stem cell therapy treatments.

23 Jan 2006

Missing protein C/EBPb may be cause of infertility

The absence of a key protein may lead to infertility. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign report that experiments involving mice -- to be detailed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences -- indicate that the transcription factor protein C/EBPb must be present in the uterus for pregnancy to occur.

18 Jan 2006

Bacterial DNA and IVF contamination risk on New Scientist

Some children conceived by a common method of IVF could be carrying chunks of bacterial DNA in their chromosomes, according to a study in mice. The researchers who conducted the work say that such accidental genetic modification would be very rare, but they argue that fertility doctors should take more precautions to exclude it.

30 Nov 2005

IVF gives women false expectations

Experts are warning that women are risking their chances of having children because they are delaying motherhood on the basis of "false expectations" about the success of IVF treatment.

20 Oct 2005

Screening test would give hope to childless couples

According to new research thousands of childless British couples could greatly improve their chances of having a baby if a test that weeds out faulty embryos were carried out.

20 Oct 2005

Fertility treatment most successful in summer

When it comes to considering fertility treatment, scientists say that women who have the treatment during the summer are twice as likely to become pregnant as those who have it in the winter.

19 Oct 2005

Men who smoke cigarettes may experience a significant decline in their capacity to father a child

Sperm from nearly two-thirds of the chronic smokers in the study failed a special test that measures the ability of sperm to fertilize an egg. On average, those men showed a 75 percent decline in fertilizing capacity when compared to nonsmokers. Lead researcher Loni Burkman, Ph.D., presented the results today (Oct. 17, 2005) at the American Society of Reproductive Medicine annual meeting in Montreal, Quebec.

17 Oct 2005

Microfluidics can be used successfully for IVF in mice

Technology that more closely mirrors the natural fertilization process is showing promise as a new method of in-vitro fertilization, researchers at the University of Michigan Health System have found.

12 Oct 2005

Israeli scientists successfully transplant ovaries in sheep and trigger early embryonic development

Israeli scientists report in Human Reproduction that they have successfully transplanted whole frozen and thawed ovaries in sheep, retrieved oocytes from these ovaries and triggered them in the laboratory into early embryonic development.

26 Sep 2005

85 percent of embryos transferred during in vitro fertilization fail to become live births

Published in the August issue of Fertility and Sterility, the study reviewed seven years of U.S. statistics from all the fertility clinics that report data on reproductive techniques.

20 Sep 2005

Nitric oxide could one day help women in their 30s and 40s remain fertile longer

Researchers have found that an important chemical compound, nitric oxide, appears to slow or reverse the aging of eggs in mouse ovaries. The finding suggests nitric oxide could one day help women in their 30s and 40s remain fertile longer and increase their chances of having healthy babies, the scientists say.

7 Sep 2005