This feed is for patients, physicians, journalists and others who want to read the latest news and information in the world of infertility -- including high tech fertility treatments such as IVF and PGD. http://www.ivf1.com 2009-11-20T16:03:06+01:00 http://www.ivf1.com http://www.ivf1.com/images/M_images/mambo_rss.png text/html http://www.ivf1.com http://www.ivf1.com/swine-flu-pregnancy/ Questions About the H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccine Dr. Morris understands there is much concern about the swine flu. This particular type of influenza is a new variety. Because Dr. Morris doesn’t have experience or research on this type of the flu, he is relying on the opinion of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), whose experts have been sudying this infection since its outbreak this spring. The following information is from the CDC and addresses many of the questions about the H1N1 vaccine. Like the seasonal flu vaccine, the H1N1 vaccine is being recommended for women who are, or will be pregnant during the influenza season (October-March). The H1N1 vaccine is expected to become more available in the next few weeks. The seasonal influenza vaccine should already be available. text/html http://www.ivf1.com http://www.ivf1.com/cycling-fertility/ Researchers have recently found that professional cyclists should consider the risks involved with the combination of cycling and infertility. In theory, riding a bicycle or motorcycle could cause abnormalities in either sperm concentration, sperm motility or sperm appearance or morphology. In a recent study, 15 male triathletes around the age of 33 were asked not to have sex for 3 days prior to giving a sperm sample. Semen samples were assessed for morphology by using the Kruger Method. This is also known as strict morphology. In this method for looking at sperm, fertile men typically will have more than 14% of their sperm look “normal”. Some studies have identified fertility problems when men have only between 4 and 14% normal appearing sperm. There is agreement that a normal morphology rate of less than 4% is strongly associated with a decrease in male fertility. Their semen results of the triathletes were compared with their training routines. Only cycling- not swimming or running- was shown to have an adverse effect on the sperm morphology. Cycling for an average of 9 times/ week for 8 years was linked to <10% normal looking sperm Men that cycled for >186 miles /week were linked to a morphology of 4% normal sperm What could be causing the problem? Heat from the tight clothing Friction or pressure on the testes from the bicycle seat Stress from the high amounts of energy used during rigorous exercise Increase in free radicals in the male reproductive tract Researchers are doing further research to investigate how cycling may affect metabolic processes in the body which lead to the development of abnormal sperm. Solutions: In order to avoid fertility problems, elite cyclists could consider several options Decreasing the time actually on the bike Freezing sperm before any problems occur Antioxidants – to reduce the levels of free radicals Modify training regimens to adjust for recovery Unfortunately, there is no data to indicate whether any of these measures will have a positive impact of sperm morphology in these cyclists. Don't Worry! The average man bicycles for recreation only would be unlikely to suffer from fertility problems. Only extremely high levels of exercise and cycling may contribute to decreased sperm quality. Men training for triathlons are spending a lot more time on their bikes than average. text/html http://www.ivf1.com http://www.ivf1.com/predicting-ivf-success/ An infertility doctor (services/) from Ireland presented research at the 25th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in July 2009 that appears to show that IVF success (ivf/) may partly depend on genetic factors. IVF is a treatment that more couples are trying due to the overall high success rate compared to other treatments. IVF involves stimulating a woman's ovaries with fertility medications (fertility-drugs-for-ivf/) so that multiple eggs mature. The eggs are then extracted from the ovaries and put together with sperm. Those eggs which fertilize are grown in the laboratory for several days. A few embryos are then selected and placed into the woman's uterus. In the uterus, the embryos must continue to grow and develop and eventually implant into the uterine lining for a pregnancy to be established. text/html http://www.ivf1.com http://www.ivf1.com/increase-pregnancy-chances/ Daily sex (or ejaculating daily) for seven days improves men’s sperm quality by reducing the amount of DNA damage, according to an Australian study presented recently to the 25th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Amsterdam. This study made headlines around the world. However, there is still no evidence that frequent ejaculation will improve the actual chances to have a baby. text/html http://www.ivf1.com http://www.ivf1.com/ivf-speeds-pregnancy/ Patients who come to a fertility specialist (about-dr-morris/) want to become pregnant as soon as possible. There are various treatment options now available for infertility; some have higher pregnancy rates (ivf-pregnancy-rates/) and some have lower pregnancy rates. These treatments have markedly different costs and differing levels of complexity. Very commonly patients may start with a less effective treatment because it is easier to do or less expensive. It is not unusual to see a couple first try treatment with clomid (clomid-clomiphene-serophene/) , perhaps combined with IUI (intrauterine insemination) (iui-intrauterine-insemination/) for three or four attempts. If not pregnant, they may proceed to using injectable fertility medications (fertility-drugs-for-ivf/) , known as gonadotropins, also combined with IUI. In vitro fertilization, IVF (ivf/) , is sometimes viewed as the treatment of last resort despite the fact that it has the highest chance for success. The reason for this is that IVF (ivf/) is the most expensive treatment and the most complex. A randomized clinical trial was recently done to determine whether it would be more beneficial for infertile women aged 21-39 years to shorten the standard infertility procedure protocol. text/html http://www.ivf1.com http://www.ivf1.com/letrozole-cotreatment-women-over-40/ Unfortunately, a significant decline in reproduction success occurs as women get older. This includes poor egg quality, reduction in recruitment of eggs, and a reduction in response to internal and external hormones. In some cases, there have been advances in fertility treatments to compensate for these losses in reproductive success. One commonly used treatment is the use of fertility medications to stimulate multiple egg development (also known as controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH)) combined with intrauterine insemination (IUI) (iui-intrauterine-insemination/) . This infertility treatment is often used for unexplained infertility (iui-infertility/) , early stage endometriosis (endometriosis-ivf/) , and mild male factor infertility (male-age-infertility/) . text/html http://www.ivf1.com http://www.ivf1.com/body-mass-index-and-miscarriage/ Recurrent miscarriage (miscarriage/) is defined as 3 or more consecutive miscarriages (miscarriage/) . This condition affects 1% of fertile couples and in 50% of cases, the cause remains undiagnosed. Because of this, it remains one of the most distressing and stressful problems affecting couples trying to conceive. Recently, it has been suggested that body mass index (BMI) plays a role in the risk of miscarriage (www.ivf1.com/miscarriage-risk/) in women with recurrent miscarriage. text/html http://www.ivf1.com http://www.ivf1.com/multiple-births/ A study was done in 2009 to determine whether a policy of elective single-embryo transfer (e-SET) in IVF (ivf/) lowers the rate of multiple births (twins, etc.) without compromising the live birth rate. Elective single-embryo transfer (e-SET) is the transfer of one embryo into the uterus during IVF (ivf/) as compared to two. text/html http://www.ivf1.com http://www.ivf1.com/yury-verlinsky/ Yury Verlinsky (09/01/1943- 07/16/2009) We regret to announce the death on 16th July, 2009 after a period of illness of Dr. Yury Verlinsky, Aged 66. Dr. Yury Verlinsky, born September 1, 1943, in Siberia, graduated and obtained his PhD in Cytogenetics and Embryology from Kharkov University. He started his research career in genetics in Ukraine already in the late 1960s. He was among the first in the world, and the first in the United States to introduce chorionic villus sampling (CVS) for prenatal diagnosis in the early 80s, and also pioneered the polar body testing for preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) in 1990, which became one of the two major approaches for preimplantation diagnosis. He also developed the methods for karyotyping of second polar body and individual blastomeres for preimplantation diagnosis of translocations. Nine years ago he introduced for the first time an approach for preimplantation diagnosis of genetic disorders (PGD) combined with HLA testing. This resulted in the well-known study where the birth of an unaffected child after PGD whose cord blood was used for saving life of an affected sibling with Fancoin anemia. This ‘designer baby’ led to headlines across the world, and the technique is now used widely for improving access to HLA compatible stem cell transplantation for genetic and acquired disorders. He also initiated preimplantation diagnosis of late onset disorders. This work resulted in the birth of the first child free from cancer predisposition determined by p53 tumor suppressor gene mutation. Then he extended the use of this technique for the world’s first case of Alzheimer disease, demonstrating the great usefulness of preimplantation diagnosis for the wide range of common disorders of adult life. His latest contribution to International Science has been the establishment of the world’s first bank of human embryonic stem cells with genetic disorders. This bank of stem cells is presently the unique in-vitro model for developing cellular therapy for many diseases for which there is no cure, which is being used for research work all over the world. He also introduced the novel approach for obtaining individual specific human embryonic stem cells using human embryonic stem cell cytoplast, called stembrid technology. Yury was the laboratory Director of our IVF program here at IVF1. He published close to 200 papers, including five books on prenatal and preimplantation genetics, including an Atlas of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis, which provides a detailed manual for the establishment and realization of preimplantation diagnosis in the framework of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics Services. He was heavily involved in coordination of the international activities in preimplantation diagnosis in the capacity of a chairperson of the International Working Group on Preimplantation Genetics and then as Founding President of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis International Society (PGDIS). He was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2007, but remained active until June this year. We will miss Yury as will the medical and scientific community to which he contributed so greatly. text/html http://www.ivf1.com http://www.ivf1.com/age-birth-defects/ With an overall prevalence of 3%-5%, babies born with birth defects are the leading cause of infant death in the United States. Down syndrome is the most common chromosomal cause for birth defects. The most common non-chromosomal birth defects are congenital heart defects, cleft lip and palate, and abdominal wall defects (gastroschisis or omphalocele). New data suggests that if a women gives birth between the ages of 25 and 30, then the risk of babies with non-chromosomal birth defects is at its lowest. Women who are both older and younger than this seem to have a greater risk for this type of birth defects.