varoblog

(sz) World-first research from an Auckland University lab has found that children conceived by IVF are taller than their naturally conceived counterparts.
The Liggins Institute study found children conceived by in-vitro fertilisation were on average three centimetres taller than others.
The research has been published in the world’s leading journal on endocrinology, the study of hormone- secreting glands.
Associate Professor Wayne S Cutfield, who designed the study, said it proved IVF children were genetically different to other children.
“They’re taller, slightly slimmer and their blood lipids which regulate fat is better,” he said.
The researchers compared 69 IVF children, aged between 4 and 10, with 71 naturally conceived children.
Dr Cutfield believes that, in the 48 hours after fertilisation, the IVF embryos can “reprogramme” themselves in the unnatural surroundings of the lab. “Some of our genes can be altered by the environment.” more…

From: »stuff.co.nz«

(sz) Acupuncture treatment can have a positive effect on those trying for a baby and can actually aid the conception process, new research reveals.
Fertility problems have increased dramatically over the past twenty years. At least 25% of couples in the UK planning a baby will have trouble conceiving, and more and more couples are turning to fertility treatments to help them start a family.
Now, a new study has found that fertility focused acupuncture treatment for women can help to increase blood flow to the reproductive organs, balance hormone levels, regulate the menstrual cycle, reduce the chance of miscarriage and help improve the lining of the uterus and quality of eggs released. Additionally, conditions like polycystic ovaries and endometriosis have also been shown to improve with acupuncture.
Benefits to male fertility have been helped by acupuncture with positive effects on sperm count, morphology and mobility, the researchers claim. more…

From: »Keep The Doctor Away« (UK)

(cz) Britain’s most successful IVF doctor today said he would make “three new babiesî to mark a temporary reprieve granted by the fertility watchdog.
Mohamed Taranissi, worth a reputed £38million, was stripped of the right to run his own clinic last month.
He was found guilty of treating patients without the correct licence and told to find another legal manager by midnight tonight, when his licence expires.
But bosses at the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) have issued a last-minute extension until next month so his appeal can be heard. It means couples can continue to be treated at the Assisted Reproduction and Gynaecology Centre in Upper Wimpole Street unless he loses.
The move came after Mr Taranissi - believed to be the country’s richest IVF doctor - vowed to continue his long-running feud with the fertility watchdog. more…

From: »The Daily Mail« (UK)

(sz) Claire Dando is ineligible for IVF on the NHS despite meeting all the criteria
When doctors told Claire Dando she could never conceive naturally she was devastated but she and her husband, Matthew, put their faith in the government’s promise of free fertility treatment to couples like them.
She ticked all the boxes laid down by government guidelines; at 33, she was in the right age group (between 23-39) and had a medically proven problem. She also felt that, since an NHS consultant had misdiagnosed and mistreated the cause of her infertility, setting her back 18 months, her local trust would be sympathetic.
But Ms Dando, a former primary school teacher who has always wanted a large family, was wrong.
Her local authority, North Hampshire, has decided to ignore the health secretary’s advice to all trusts to offer at least one free IVF cycle to infertile couples who qualify under guidelines set by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). Instead, it introduced its own age criteria of women between 36-39. more…

From: »The Guardian«

(wz) Levels of the male sex hormone testosterone in infant boys who are conceived using an assisted fertility technique called intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) are significantly lower than in their naturally conceived counterparts, according to Danish researchers.
ICSI is the main method used to overcome male infertility. With ICSI, a single sperm is injected directly into a single egg. If successful fertilization occurs, the embryo is then placed into the female to undergo development as usual.
There has been concern for the health of children conceived by assisted reproduction technologies, Dr. Anders Juul and colleagues at Copenhagen University Hospital note in their study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
The researchers investigated whether the impaired testicular function of the father might be inherited by boys conceived by ICSI.
The study involved 125 boys conceived by ICSI, 120 conceived by in vitro fertilization, sometimes called “test tube” fertilization, and 933 naturally conceived boys. Standard growth measurements were taken at birth and at 3 months, and blood samples were also taken from more than half of the infants at 3 months. more…

From: »Reuters« (US)

(sz) New research to be published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (BJOG) will reveal that some women waiting for in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment would prefer to give birth to a child with chronic disability associated with a multiple birth due to double embryo transfer, than opt for safer single embryo transfer because they believe their chances of success are reduced.
Researchers at the University of Aberdeen looked at safety versus success in elective single embryo transfer, with a focus on women’s preferences for the outcomes of IVF.
They discovered that the prospect of experiencing a live birth is of utmost importance to some women with fertility problems and risks to potential offspring may be given less weight when making decisions regarding treatment.
The study took place at Aberdeen Fertility Centre from November 2004 until March 2006 and included 74 women who were due to start IVF treatment. The participants’ preferences were tested when faced with six different birth scenarios: giving birth to a child with physical impairments; giving birth to a child with cognitive impairments; giving birth to a child with visual impairments; experiencing perinatal death; premature birth; and treatment failure where all treatment was unsuccessful and there was no pregnancy for the duration of the woman’s life. more…

From: »MedicalNews Today«

(sz) Children born from donated sperm or eggs will have the information marked on their birth certificates under sweeping changes to fertility laws proposed by an influential group of ministers and peers yesterday (July, 30th – ed.).
The move, designed to bolster childrens’ right to know their origins, is among a raft of far-reaching recommendations the government will consider ahead of its planned reforms of legislation which has been overtaken by science.
The proposals amount to a parliamentary demand for the government to tear up its draft fertility bill, published in May, in favour of a more permissive approach that would see substantial changes in ethically contentious areas, such as the creation of “saviour siblings”, the use of surplus embryos in research and the need for children conceived through IVF treatment to have a legal father figure.
The joint Commons and Lords panel was set up to scrutinise the draft human tissue bill. Over the past two months the committee has taken evidence from 46 witnesses and received more than 100 written submissions. The report from the 18-member panel, published yesterday, said there must be significant changes when the bill is included in the Queen’s Speech in November. more…

From: »Guardian Unlimited«

(wz) Doctors refusing to perform abortions. Standard. (The procedure isn’t even taught in medical schools.) Doctors refusing to provide fetal tissue for stem cells, pharmacists refusing to fill prescriptions. All of these things happen based on peoples’ belief that providing such services threatens unborn life. And as much as I don’t agree with these decisions, I get it (sort of). If these people feel, really feel, that lives are threatened by their action, then following through is a difficult choice.
But how about when doctors refuse to perform, not abortions, not stem-cell procedures, but in vitro fertilization, which actually helps create life? The California Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case in which two doctors refused a woman IVF treatment because she’s a lesbian. Which means that they felt that Guadalupe Benitez and her partner (whom Elizabeth Weil wrote about for Mother Jones last year) did not have the right to the life they hold so dear.
The case, which began in 2001 with Benitez claiming that the doctors violated California’s anti-discrimination laws, is seen as one of the most controversial the Court has heard in years. The doctors were not refusing a service—they routinely performed IVF on other patients—but instead cited religious beliefs in this specific instance. The court could find that doctors will have to take an “all-or-nothing” approach, which would mean loss of lucrative IVF business if such doctors stick to their religious standards. more…

From: »MotherJones.com«

(sz) Couples should be able to design the characteristics of children - including personality traits -during IVF treatment, according to an Oxford University expert.
Australian-born ethicist and chair of Oxford’s Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics Julian Savulescu told NEWS.com.au that couples seeking IVF should have the right to give their future-child “greater opportunities” through genetic manipulation.
“If they were having IVF for other reasons and they wanted to select from a bunch of embryos already created for some legitimate purpose, I don’t see why we shouldn’t give couples information that (manipulation is) available,” Professor Savulescu said.
“If we could enable couples to influence the degree of self-control that their children have, I think that’s the sort of thing we should be offering people.
“My own belief is that if we give children more genetic capabilities we simply give them more choices and more opportunities in life.”
Medical director at IVF Australia Peter Illingworth said Professor Savulescu’s views were healthy to the debate about how far scientists should take the philosophical debate about embryonic research. more…

From: »news.co.au«

(cz) Many NHS trusts in England are failing to follow government guidance to fund one full round of IVF treatment, a Department of Health survey has found.
The poll found fewer than half of NHS trusts fund the freezing of spare embryos created during treatment, and their implantation if required.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) says this should be part of NHS-funded care. The poll also found some people are being denied IVF completely. more…

»We believe it is unacceptable to create something as special as an embryo on the NHS but only to allow it to be transferred if you have the ability to pay«, Clare Brown (Infertility Network UK)

From: »BBC News«