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(wz) Women undergoing fertility treatment have had their eggs fertilised with the wrong sperm in a series of mix-ups at one of Britain’s most famous hospitals.
Embryos belonging to three couples had to be destroyed and their cycles of treatment abandoned after the errors were discovered at Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospital in London earlier this year.
In a separate blunder, a woman had the wrong embryo implanted at the same hospital in 2007.
Fertility experts say the errors, along with similar mistakes at other hospitals, raise serious concerns about the way IVF clinics are regulated. They believe the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the watchdog, is failing to deal with serious problems.
The mistakes have raised concerns about a “casual approach” to the 37,000 British couples who seek fertility treatment every year.
Critics point out that inspection reports from 2007 and 2008 warned that Guy’s and St Thomas’ was carrying out risky procedures in the preparation of sperm samples for fertilisation.
A February 2007 report by the HFEA warned that embryologists at the hospital were running the risk of confusing sperm samples from different men by preparing them in the same container. Yet errors were still being made earlier this year. more…

From: »The Times«

(cz) Several previous studies have reported the role of Chlamydia trachomatis in causing urethritis and cervicitis, and the associated sequelae, including pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), tubal factor infertility, and ectopic pregnancy. However, there are contradictory results regarding the detrimental effects of infection on seminal parameters and male fertility. Now, a study published in the journal Fertility and Sterility reports an enhanced prevalence of plasma immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to C trachomatis in the male partners of infertile couples.
Paivi Joki-Korpela, from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Helsinki, Finland, and colleagues, evaluated the association between Chlamydia trachomatis infection and infertility in 90 infertile subjects who visited a university hospital IVF clinic for IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). The control group comprised of 190 healthy blood donors who were evaluated for the presence of IgG and IgA antibodies to C trachomatis. Semen analysis was carried out in the patients from the study group. The results showed an increased prevalence of chlamydia-specific IgG antibodies in infertile subjects compared to controls, and also lower sperm counts in men with chlamydial antibodies.
A similar study, conducted by Gdoura, et al. (European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care, 2001) assessed the prevalence of C trachomatis in the male partners of infertile couples in Tunisia and also the association between chlamydial infection markers and male infertility. The researchers used Cobas Amplicor polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay to determine chlamydial DNA in urethral and semen specimens and micro-immunofluorescence to evaluate chlamydial IgG antibodies in the serum samples of 92 subjects with or without abnormal semen parameters. Also, the researchers parallelly assessed chlamydial infection markers in endocervical specimens and chlamydial IgG antibodies in serum samples obtained from the female partners of the study subjects. The following findings were reported:
• Presence of C trachomatis in 35.9% of male subjects and 38% of their female partners
• C trachomatis DNA in18.5% of urethral specimens and 16.3% of semen specimens
• Chlamydial IgG antibodies in 9.8% of the studied serum samples
• Standard semen analysis identified 88% of the semen samples as pathological
• Abnormalities in sperm viability, sperm morphology, progressive sperm motility and sperm concentration were observed in 73.8%, 34.5%, 70.2%, and 13%, respectively, of semen samples collected from male partners of infertile couples. more…

From: »IVF News.Direct!«

(sz) A joint study conducted by Cleveland Clinic, Calcutta University and AMRI Medical Centre has revealed that in Kolkata about 40-50 per cent of the infertility cases are due to male infertility alone, which is happening due to inhaling toxic fumes.
The study also points out that specifications essential for fertility like sperm motility, forward progressive sperm motility and sperm volume have all decreased significantly in males here.
It is pertinent to mention here that this teeming metropolis was described the world’s third most polluted city in a World Bank report in 2002.
According to Dr Alex Varghese, Chief Embryologist, AMRI, there is a co-relation between urbanisation and growing vehicular pollution and the increasing number of infertility clinics in Asia and the Indian Sub-Continent. That’s why it had become imperative to conduct such a study.
Sperm count in males have gone down so drastically globally that for the first time in medical history, the World Health Organisation brought down the standard from 40 million per ml to 20 million per ml.
The recent study in Kolkata selected about 4000 men with standard sperm count but still found all essential fertility requirements down in comparison to 1980s.
Professor Asok Bhattacharya of the Department of Bio-chemistry at Calcutta University, warns that toxic compounds found in automobile emissions can infiltrate into the male reproductive gamut and bind with the DNA causing genetic damage to the embryo through the sperm, leading to defective births.
The oxides of nitrogen and carbon monoxide found in the air have steadily increased in Kolkata from 1970s.
Transport is now the dominant source of CO (Carbon monoxide), NO (Nitrogen Oxide) and lead and other heavy metals in the city through growth in motor vehicle traffic in recent years.
Dwitimaan Mukherjee, a research student says that transport emissions have risen from 1825 tonnes per annum in 1990 to over 25,550 tonnes per annum now. The Respirable Particulate Matter (RPM) in the city of Kolkata is 1.5 times than the national standard. more…

From: »Thaindian News«

(sz) The prospect of women in their 50s or 60s giving birth has moved from the stuff of science fiction to the promise of medical research.
The unexpected shift came this week when Chinese scientists announced they’d used previously unknown stem cells to reverse infertility in mice.
In a series of neat experiments, the team — led by biologist Ji Wu at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University — showed they could grow healthy eggs from a newly discovered ovarian stem cell. What’s more, when they transplanted the stem cells into infertile mice, the barren rodents grew eggs, ultimately giving birth to normal wiggly-nosed pups.
This suggests the number of eggs isn’t fixed at birth, as scientists believed. Plus, there are clearly more types of stem cells than anyone dreamed. “If this can be replicated, it’s breathtaking science,” claims Peter Illingworth, medical director of IVF Australia and president of the Fertility Society of Australia.
While mice aren’t people and older women aren’t clamouring for a return to youthful fertility, if the findings hold up to scrutiny experts such as Illingworth predict they’ll change the face of reproductive medicine by revealing a new source of their own eggs for women who are infertile due to age, cancer treatment or an unlucky dip in the gene pool.
“That’s a very exciting possibility, but it’s a long way down the track,” notes Illingworth, keen not to hype a cure for female infertility. Still, he says, research is going on right now that will make fertility therapies safer and easier in the next few years. more…

From: »The Australian«

In fact, Rebecca and Jeremy Lenard have already benefited from an experimental fertility drug, corifollitropin alfa, that was trialled at IVF Australia in Sydney.

(wz) Assisted hatching, a micromanipulation technique that facilitates the embryo hatching process through the thinning or breaching of the zona pellucida (ZP), has been reported to increase the success rates of IVF. Now, a randomized, double-blinded trial reports that the procedure does not improve implantation, clinical pregnancy, or live birth rates during IVF in women younger than 38 years with embryos having ZP thickness of ≥13μm. The findings of the study have been published in the recent issue of the journal, Fertility and Sterility.
The study headed by Randall Odem, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, Missouri, determined the effects of assisted hatching in subjects aged <38 years, having embryos with a thickened ZP. The prospective crossover study involved 121 women, who underwent egg retrieval and IVF procedure during the period April 2004 to February 2007 at the university. Patients’ embryos were evaluated on the third day following fertilization, and ZP thickness measured. The eligible participants, who had embryos with ZP >12μm, were randomized into 2 groups: unhatched (no procedure) and hatched (performed by acidic Tyrode’s solution). The outcomes measured included clinical intrauterine pregnancy rate, implantation rate, spontaneous pregnancy loss and live birth rate.
The study results did not show any substantial difference in clinical pregnancy (hatched=47% vs. unhatched=50%) or live birth (hatched=46% vs. unhatched= 45%) rates between the two groups. Similar findings were observed in the two groups with respect to the rates of ectopic gestations, spontaneous abortions, monozygotic or dizygotic twinning, or chromosomal abnormalities. Also, the researchers noted that pregnancy was not significantly affected by the mean ZP thickness. Based on the findings, the scientists concluded that assisted hatching may not be beneficial to IVF patients <38 years. more…

From: »IVF News.Direct!«

(sz) More people with fertility problems can now get access to treatment, writes Professor Lisa Jardine
Figures just released by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority show that the number of women undergoing fertility treatment has doubled in the last 15 years. Now seems a good moment to ask ourselves why this is so.
Infertility is a complex matter which cannot readily be pinned down to specific factors. There are a variety of reasons why increasing numbers of people are seeking treatment.
For one thing, when HFEA began regulating the fertility sector in 1992, the idea that people could actually receive treatment which would allow them to have a longed-for child was new and controversial.
The types of treatment available were extremely limited, as was people’s access to them. So, for many people treatment simply would not have been an option.
Today the situation is quite different. There are now clinics the length and breadth of the country, and IVF is seen as almost routine.
People are also now better informed and much more aware of possible problems with reproduction, particularly as they get older.
We know that infertility is on the rise, with one in seven couples today faced with fertility problems.
There is also evidence that infertility may be a growing problem for men. In 2007, nearly 25 per cent of the 46,000 treatment cycles carried out were in response to male factor infertility.
People are also leaving it later to have children, so they may be that much older when they discover they are not able to reproduce naturally. Over the last 15 years the average age of treatment has shifted from 33 to 36. more…

From: »The New Scotsman«

(cz) In recent times, there have been some misconceptions about Assisted Reproductive Technique (ART), especially In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF). A school of thought says it is fraught with risks due to multiple births and caesarean births. Another is worried about the high cost, lack of regulation and guidelines; and indiscriminate springing up of fertility clinics. There are also fears that IVF babies cannot compete favourably with those born through natural means. Medical Director, Nordica Fertility Center, Victoria Island, Lagos, Dr. Abayomi Ajayi, in this interview with CHUKWUMA MUANYA throws more light on these misgivings on IVF, why Nordica is offering free IVF treatment to Nigerians, plans by the clinic to offer free treatment and screening services to more Nigerians; among other things.
There are heightened fears on the perceived risks associated with Assisted Reproductive Technique (ART), especially In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF). A school of taught says that it’s association with multiple pregnancies and Caesarean section increases the chances of mother and child mortality. How true is this?
Yes! Multiple pregnancies, we know that about 25 or 30 per cent of babies born from assisted conception, especially IVF will be more than one. Therefore the more the number of babies the higher the risk of operative deliveries to start with. That is one way of looking at it. Of course we know the procedure that assisted conception involves. It involves multiple ovulation sometimes even multiple transfer of embryos and therefore sensible success rate. And one of the problems of this is multiple pregnancies and multiple births. They are the attendant risk of this multiple transfer. You remember the one that happened recently in the United States which was overblown. But in this environment we tend to tolerate multiple pregnancies better than Caucasians for whatever reasons. Naturally, Nigeria and the Republic of Ireland have the highest twinning rates in the world. So, there is something in us that carries at least two better than the Caucasians. But when it gets beyond three now it becomes something.
But unfortunately the procedure of IVF also involves transferring more than one except now in Europe where they are doing what is called single embryo transfer. more…

From: »Focus (The Guardian Newspapers)«

(wz) Ultrasonix Medical Corporation, a leading developer and manufacturer of high quality diagnostic ultrasound imaging systems announced today that Chris Monaco has been promoted to Manager - Reproductive Medicine to manage the distribution of Ultrasonix’ new SonixTOUCH IVF systems in North America.
“Ultrasonix has seen significant success in the IVF market over the last couple of years and with our recent introduction of the SonixTOUCH IVF we felt the need to assign dedicated resources to this specialty. With 24 years in the industry, and his knowledge of women’s healthcare, Chris is a natural fit”, said Mr. Joe Bjorklund, VP Sales for North America.
“We have installed over 20 SonixTOUCH IVF systems in Reproductive Medicine Clinics during the month of March alone”, Mr. Bjorklund continued.
SonixTOUCH is a compact, portable diagnostic ultrasound system developed with Ultrasonix’s next generation OpenSONIX platform; the leading ultrasound platform used for developing new Ultrasound Technologies.
“I am extremely pleased with the new SonixTOUCH IVF systems we just acquired”, said Dr Michael Graubert from Palmetto Fertility Center, Florida. “The systems have a small footprint and excellent image quality. The systems are highly customizable in terms of features, and we can easily upgrade functions without hardware upgrades”, he added when asked why he purchased the SonixTOUCH. more…

From: »World News Report«

(cz) Although radiation therapy has contributed to increased survival rates among cancer patients, it frequently leads to compromised fertility and even early menopause in the reproductive age group women. A review article published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics highlights the dose-dependent association between radiation therapy and premature ovarian failure. The study also suggests the need for educating patients regarding the side effects of the treatment, and strategies that can be adopted for fertility preservation.
Jennifer Y Wo and Akila N Viswanathan, from the Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, reviewed existing studies that reported fertility, pregnancy and neonatal outcomes of female patients who had undergone abdominal, cranio-spinal, or pelvic radiation therapy.
The analysis showed that exposure to cranio-spinal irradiation caused significant changes in hormone levels, which in turn affected the ability of the subjects to conceive in the future. An increased rate of uterine dysfunction with subsequent complications, including miscarriage, placental abnormalities, low birth weight, and preterm labor, were observed in patients previously exposed to abdomino-pelvic radiation. Indicating a crucial link between low-dose ovarian radiation and early menopause, the study also suggested that adoption of strategies like ovarian transposition may help reduce the rates of ovarian dysfunction associated with radiation therapy.
Earlier, Chiarelli, et al. (Epidemiology, 2000) carried out an Ontario province-wide cohort study to compare the risks for adverse pregnancy outcomes between three groups of female cancer survivors: subjects who underwent abdominal-pelvic radiation and/or chemotherapy with alkylating agents, patients treated with non-sterilizing alkylating agents, and subjects who had undergone non-sterilizing surgery. The study participants comprised of female patients less than 20 years of age, with histologically-confirmed malignancies during 1964-1988, and surviving for a period of at least 5 years. Further analysis on 340 subjects who had undergone one or more pregnancies after the treatment was carried out regarding pregnancy outcome-related information. more…

From: »IVW NewsDirect!«

(sz) A new study suggests that acupuncture does not help women undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) get pregnant.
But the lead researcher says acupuncture may not have worked in her study because, unlike past research, her investigation wasn’t limited to women who had good quality embryos available for transfer. “I’m wondering if my sample was just not a good sample, in that most of the patients in my study were probably not the best-prognosis patients,” Dr. Alice D. Domar of Boston IVF, Inc., in Waltham, Massachusetts, told Reuters Health.
Domar designed her investigation, she explained, to replicate an “astonishing” 2002 report by German researchers who found that women who had acupuncture before and after undergoing embryo transfer — in which the “test-tube” embryo is placed in a woman’s womb — were significantly more likely to get pregnant.
Since then, several other researchers have found strong positive effects for acupuncture on IVF success, and a meta-analysis of current studies showed the same results.
To look into whether the health care team might contribute to any placebo effect, Domar and her team repeated the 2002 study, but “blinded” nurses and physicians to whether a patient was in the acupuncture or the control group.
They randomly assigned 146 women who were about to undergo embryo transfer to have acupuncture for 25 minutes before the procedure and for 25 minutes after the procedure was completed, or to rest quietly for the same amount of time. Women underwent the procedure — or rested — behind a curtain, so that nurses and doctors didn’t know to which group they had been assigned. more…

From: »Reuters« (UK)