varoblog

(cz) IVF pregnancy rates could double and the incidence of serious complications, such as miscarriage and pre-eclampsia, could be halved thanks to a new procedure developed at the University of Adelaide.
Researchers have created a formula which will help embryos better survive their five days out of the womb, and help the foetus and placenta develop more normally.
The head of the research teams, Claire Roberts said today the development, which has been successful in mice, was “absolutely fantastic” and could change the face of fertility treatments.
“This is just fabulous,” she said. “The molecules we are using in this culture are universal across all mammals so I feel very confident this will translate well to humans.”
Associate Professor Roberts has been awarded a $294,750 Federal Government grant to demonstrate that the treatment is safe and improves pregnancy outcomes and the postnatal health of babies.
Human trials are expected to begin with two years and if successful, could eventually help the 15 per cent of couples in first world countries who are either infertile or suffer from recurrent miscarriages, the university said. more…

From: »Sydney Morning Herald«

(sz) Using oral contraceptives before attempting IVF can allow women and their physicians to better know the timing of ovulation. Cynthia Graber reports.
In vitro fertilization efforts can be helped by, oddly enough, oral contraceptives. That’s the finding from Tel Aviv University, site of the largest study on using birth control to help IVF.
One of the challenges to IVF is timing. Current hormone treatments to stimulate ovulation have to coincide with a particular moment in the woman’s cycle. Not knowing the exact timing for scheduling the egg retrieval and fertilization can be stressful, which can lower the odds of success. In the Tel Aviv study, researchers looked at women who underwent a 12 to 17 day treatment of oral contraception. The women were checked to make sure there was absolutely no activity in their ovaries or uterus. Then they began stimulation hormones to start the clock. Women who went through this protocol had similar numbers of pregnancies to a control group that didn’t use birth control. Which means that oral contraception didn’t harm their ability to conceive.
The researchers say that this treatment demands a slightly longer cycle and higher levels of ovulation-inducing hormones. But they also say it could allow couples to more accurately plan for procedures, which might be give couples more peace of mind. more…

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From: »Scientific American«

(sz) A milder form of fertility treatment that is safer for women also results in higher quality embryos that are more likely to develop successfully inside the mother, according to researchers who compared the method with conventional methods. They say the technique, which is cheaper because it uses lower doses of hormone-mimicking drugs, should be used more widely by fertility clinics.
In conventional IVF doctors begin by massively stimulating the woman’s ovaries to produce 10 or more eggs. When these are mixed with sperm this gives the doctors plenty of choice about which embryos to implant back into the womb. But the new study suggests that many of these embryos will be genetically defective and so will not develop. Even under natural conditions around 30% of early embryos do not progress to the foetus stage because of genetic abnormalities.
“It has always been thought that the more eggs the better. We like to have a nice assortment of embryos to choose from,” said Dr Esther Baart, an embryologist at the University Medical Centre in Utrecht who carried out the study. But her research suggests that the number of normal eggs is about the same as those delivered by the gentle technique even though the total drops from around 12 to around eight. more…

From: »The Guardian«

(sz) A retrospective analysis conducted at a large infertility center evaluated pregnancy outcomes for 225 donor egg recipients
A retrospective analysis of anonymous oocyte (egg) donation cycles, comparing the pregnancy outcomes between vaginally-administered progesterone versus intramuscular (IM) progesterone injections, demonstrates that vaginally-administered progesterone and IM progesterone achieve equal pregnancy outcomes, according to data presented by Brian Berger, MD, Boston IVF, at the Pacific Coast Reproductive Society annual meeting in Rancho Mirage, CA. The retrospective study was supported by a grant from Columbia Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRX).
“We found no significant differences in pregnancy outcomes between patients treated with vaginal progesterone versus progesterone administered intramuscularly,” said Dr. Berger. “Further, vaginal progesterone has the added advantage of avoiding painful intramuscular injections.”
In 225 egg donor cycles, 105 patients received vaginally-administered progesterone (CRINONE® 8% (a bioadhesive progesterone gel)) and 120 received IM progesterone. The implantation rate was 43.8% for vaginal progesterone versus 37.1% for IM progesterone (p=0.175). Recipients treated with vaginal progesterone achieved a 58.1% pregnancy rate and a 51.4% delivery rate, versus a 53.3% pregnancy rate (p=0.503) and a 48.3% delivery rate (p=0.689) for patients receiving IM progesterone. The pregnancy loss rate was 10.5% for patients using vaginal progesterone and 10.8% for IM progesterone users (p=1.00).
“This study clearly demonstrates that vaginal progesterone gel achieves the same pregnancy outcomes as progesterone administered via an intramuscular injection. This is important confirmation that CRINONE® 8% offers patients an efficacious and more convenient option for providing progesterone support in infertility treatment,” Berger added.
Boston IVF is one of America’s most successful fertility centers, providing patients with unparalleled medical care and the best experience with the expertise of premier doctors and professional staff, who are affiliated with Harvard Medical School. It is world renowned for its highly successful and innovative infertility treatments, highest quality service, state-of-the-art methods, ongoing scientific research, and on-site complementary healthcare at its Domar Center. more…

From: »Columbia Laboratories / BusinessWire« (press release)

(cz) Pantec Biosolutions reports promising preclinical in vitro data in support of the company’s novel Please intraepidermal drug delivery platform.
Pantec Biosolutions has achieved further important milestones in the replacement of injection-based therapies with painless needle-free transdermal systems In vitro permeation proof-of-principle studies with a series of small and large molecular weight therapeutics, demonstrate that Please (painless laser epidermal system) significantly increases drug transport of poorly and non-permeating therapeutic agents.
Proof-of-principle, according to Yogeshvar Kalia, (school of pharmaceutical sciences, University of Geneva and scientific advisor to Pantec Biosolutions), “means cumulative drug permeation that is at least equivalent to delivery from the existing dosage form, e.g, by subcutaneous injection”.
The company has completed in vitro permeation studies with several key hormones in its primary focus area of in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
The results formed the basis of collaboration agreements with a pharmaceuticals company and a patch development and manufacturing company.
Development of transdermal patch systems, optimised for use with the Please technology, is underway with clinical results expected in 2009. more…

From: »laboratorytalk«

(wz) A generational and class divide over the suitability of single women and lesbians as IVF mothers has been exposed by the Times/Populus poll.
Public opinion as a whole is opposed to the proposal to change the requirement that fertility clinics consider a child’s need for a father before treating patients to a “need for supportive parenting”.
Extensive support for the move among young people, however, suggests that attitudes towards IVF for lesbians and single women are changing.
The over-55s are strongly against the plans, with 50 per cent saying the law should not be changed and 19 per in favour. Among young people, however, the findings are reversed: 44 per cent of 18 to 34-year-olds back the reform and 26 per cent oppose it.
The poll also found significant differences in opinion between social groups: though all classes came out against the measure, opposition was strongest among manual workers.
Conservative voters are also much more likely to reject the reform, by a net 28 points, while Liberal Democrats support it by a 14-point margin. Labour voters are split, with 32 per cent in favour and 36 per cent against. more…

From: »The Times«

(sz) Mothers’ health may be put at risk in the quest for high pregnancy rates at British IVF clinics, warn experts
The UK has one of the worst fertility treatment safety records in Europe, according to new figures published by the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology.
The chances of developing serious complications are up to four times higher in the UK than in other countries carrying out similar numbers of fertility treatments. Experts warn that women’s lives are being jeopardised in order to improve the numbers of successful pregnancies.
Britain has the highest levels of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), the most serious and potentially fatal side-effect of IVF treatment, the figures show. At least two women with OHSS have died in the past three years, and there are fears of more cases going unrecorded.
Complications from IVF treatment from the use of drugs to stimulate the production of eggs can range from severe bloating and vomiting, to kidney failure, and even death in rare cases. Fertility experts say they fear many serious cases are not being recorded, because women go straight to casualty or end up in intensive care, the cause of their symptoms going unnoticed by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).
Germany carried out in 2003 almost three times as many IVF cycles – implantations of fertilised embryos – as the UK, researchers found, but the UK had nearly three times more cases of OHSS. In 2004, France carried out nearly twice as many IVF cycles as Britain, but its OHSS rate was a quarter of that in UK clinics. more…

From: »The Independent«

(wz) A lack of sperm donations at HCMC’s premier fertility center has left infertile couples desperate to conceive by any means necessary.
Ho Chi Minh City’s leading fertility center in the Tu Du Obstetric Hospital reports that it’s facing a severe lack of donor sperm for couples and single women trying to become pregnant.
According to doctors at the hospital’s InfertilityDepartment, the amount of viable sperm available has been lacking since the sperm bank first opened its doors in 2005.
Dr. Le Tan Canh says that traditional Vietnamese society is generally unfamiliar with the process of sperm donation and there is a marked lack of public education and awareness about the issue.
“In other countries, sperm donation is publicized like blood donation. If people care about those who suffer from infertility, the situation needs to improve,” he added.
Dr. Ho Manh Tuong, meanwhile, says most Vietnamese men are reluctant to donate sperm because they may be embarrassed or discouraged by what they believe to be complicated procedures.
Doctors report that the situation is getting worse as more couples than ever before are reporting infertility problems and seeking donor sperm.
According to Dr. Vuong Thi Ngoc Lan, one in every six couples of reproductive age now suffers from infertility and around 110 couples are in need of donor sperm every month. more…

From: »Thanh Nien News«

(wz) Iran has unexpectedly liberal ideas about contraception and assisted reproduction techniques, the result of pragmatic decisions, and consequent laws, arrived at by Shia interpretations of religious tenets.
Every morning Salma runs her hand across her empty belly. It has been the same fruitless swipe for three years now and Salma’s heartache has filled the space inside with misery. She is 29, has a degree in civil engineering, a job and a husband who cares about her happiness. Firoz and Salma have known each other since they were children. Salma believes that they were pre-destined to be together so it seems cruel that they have been unable to have a baby. Salma struggles to find a way to live with the disappointment she believes she has brought upon herself, her husband and their families.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), infertility affects approximately 8-12% of couples of reproductive age (15-49 years) worldwide. A 2000 study suggests that in Tehran infertility is about 12%, in line with WHO calculations. Infertility is defined as the inability to conceive after 12 months of unprotected intercourse. It is also the inability to carry a baby to term or have a family – and the feeling of exclusion from the human experience that can bring. Although male and female factors contribute equally to infertility, the term has historically and unfairly been used to describe the reproductive status of women, since they become pregnant and give birth. more…

From: »Le Monde diplomatique«

(cz) Molecular Biometrics Uses NIR Spectroscopy to Detect Embryo Viability by Creating Metabolic Profiles
While viewing an exhibit of Monet’s impressionistic paintings, Jim Posillico, Ph.D., president and CEO at Molecular Biometrics in Chester, NJ, noted the similarity of the art with his company’s metabolomics platform.
Like the discrete brush strokes, textures, and colors that interact to form an impressionistic image, “metabolomics looks at the bigger picture from its constituent parts,” Dr. Posillico explains. The individual pieces of information in metabolomics are molecular biomarkers in biological samples, which give an accurate diagnostic profile of a biological condition or state of cellular activity.
The technology platform at Molecular Biometrics combines metabolomics with near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. The company’s lead product, ViaTest-E™, tests the viability of embryos at in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics to increase the chance for a successful pregnancy. The test uses NIR spectroscopy to detect biomarkers of oxidative metabolism that strongly correlate with embryo viability.
The groundwork for the company’s biospectroscopy-based metabolomics platform was done in the laboratory of chemist David Burns, Ph.D., at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. Dr. Burns and Dr. Posillico, an endocrinologist, cofounded Molecular Biometrics in 2005 and licensed five broad patents from McGill University, which cover applications of metabolomics and different forms of spectroscopy to different medical conditions including fetal development and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. more…

From: »Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News«