varoblog

(wz) World Health Organization statistics imply that infertility and sterility will be the third most serious diseases in the 21st century after cancer and cardiovascular diseases, according to a Life Times report.
InvoBioscience (OTC:IVOB) is engaged in providing its InvoCell technology to help infertile couples have a baby. It has one principal product, the manufacturing and distribution of the InvoCell technology.
InvoBioscience has rapidly conquered many countries with a big market potential. Distributor contracts have been signed all over the world; registration process for clearance when it is needed has been started as well. Their strategy to focus on other countries first rather than the classic USA FDA path was very well done. InvoBioscience’s incomes have started to growth on each part of the world.
While InvoBioscience has many distribution agreements coming up or already signed for many countries, this article focuses here only on the biggest markets potential.

Chinese Market
Couples in China, the world’s most populous nation, are having difficulty conceiving. Infertility in the country has risen from 12.5 to 15 percent but that number could climb quickly to about 20, according to a report released recently at a forum in Beijing.
However the price tags are prohibitive for most people – worth several or many times their annual salary – but an increasing number of Chinese families are now able to afford the treatment.
“Actually more than 10 million Chinese families need artificial fertilization”, according to Xinhua news agency.
Professor Lu Bodong, vice president of the Second Hospital of Zhenjiang Chinese Medical University in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, attributes rising infertility rates to stressful and unhealthy lifestyles that include excessive drinking and smoking, over-indulgence, and also environmental problems, all of which are side effects of China’s dramatic social and economic changes. more…

From: »favstocks.com«

(wz) Women may find it harder to start a family because IVF clinics are facing a sperm donation shortfall.
In Victoria, new laws giving more women access to IVF are expected to increase the number of people seeking the service.
Clinics are already running low on sperm donor supplies.
Melbourne IVF has only about 20 donors.
Under old laws, Victorian women have been forced to shop for donations in NSW, Queensland, Tasmania and Canberra.
“They have been travelling to places where it hasn’t been an offence to have IVF if you do not have a male partner or are not medically infertile,” Melbourne IVF’s Dr John McBain said.
The Assisted Reproductive Treatment Act has reversed this rule. More women will try to conceive locally.
“I am anticipating a shortage,” Dr McBain said. “That’s nowhere near enough (donors) to keep up with demand that we have and that we anticipate.”
Supplies are already so low that Indian, African and Asian families struggle to find suitable donors.
“We have small numbers and some times no donors for ethic communities,” Dr McBain said.
“There are many couples from the Middle East that are unable to get a sperm donor.” more…

From: »The Herald Sun«

(sz) IVF clinics are destroying embryos with relatively minor genetic conditions such as thalassaemia, the blood disorder suffered by Pete Sampras.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the HFEA, has drawn up a list of more than 100 inherited conditions that fertility clinics can screen out without the need for special permission.
It takes into account the age of onset and the variability of the symptoms, if there is existing treatment, and if so, how invasive is it.
While some of the conditions on the list can result in deformity, severe pain, and even premature death, it also includes minor illnesses such as the blood disorder thalassaemia, and Marfan syndrome, a genetic condition that can lead to abnormal growth.
Those thought to have suffered from Marfan syndrome include Charles de Gaulle, the former French President, and Abraham Lincoln. Thalassaemia, a disorder which can cause mild anaemia, is carried by Sampras, the seven-time Wimbledon tennis champion.
The genetic conditions are currently targeted by pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), a technique that allows people with a specific inherited condition in their family to avoid passing it on to their children. Cells are removed from an eightcell embryo three days after fertilisation. The cells are put through PGD and embryos found to be carrying the defects are discarded while healthy ones are kept.
The process however has triggered criticism from pressure groups; David King, director of Human Genetics Alert, said: “It contributes to a social climate in which even minor deviations from ‘normality’ are seen as unacceptable.”
On top of the 116 conditions that can currently be screened for, the HFEA is considering adding a further 24 inherited disorders to its list of genetic conditions, decisions on which are expected this week. more…

From: »The Daily Telegraph«

(sz) In order to reduce complications associated with the conventional IVF procedure, modified natural cycle IVF (mnc-IVF) and mild IVF (m-IVF) cycles have been adopted. However, there is speculation that the pregnancy and live birth rates may be lower with both these approaches compared to conventional cycles, probably due to the lower use of medicines and shorter treatment duration. Now, a 10-year Swedish study published in the journal, Reproductive BioMedicine Online highlights that mnc-IVF and m-IVF have comparable pregnancy rates to conventional cycles.
Arthur Aanesen and coworkers from the IVF Unit, Queen Sophia Hospital, Stockholm, conducted the study on 43 patients (129 cycles) and 145 couples (250 cycles) undergoing mnc-IVF and m-IVF, respectively, between 1996 and 2007. The results were compared to patients who underwent conventional IVF cycles during the same period. The study findings are listed in the table given below.[...]
It was also found that in comparison to the least expensive conventional IVF cycle, the medication costs were lower by 97.5% and 96.3% in the mnc-IVF and m-IVF groups, respectively. Based on the analysis, the researchers noted the following with respect to the two approaches when compared to conventional cycles.
• Acceptable pregnancy rates per embryo transfer
• Reduced medication cost
• Substantially decreased risk of complications
• Psychologically more acceptable to patients
Similar findings on the efficacy of mnc-IVF and m-IVF were reported in several other studies. In one such randomized open-label prospective trial, Heijnen et al (Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde, 2008) divided 404 subjects to receive either of the two:
• m-IVF: gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist for ovarian stimulation in combination with single embryo transfer
• standard treatment: prolonged stimulation using a GnRH agonist along with the transfer of two embryos. more…

From: »IVF News.Direct!«

(cz) A new £3.3m fertility centre which is one of the largest in the UK has officially opened in Leeds.
Former facilities at Leeds Infirmary and St James’s, have now been combined to create the Leeds Centre for Reproductive Medicine.
This is one of the largest in the UK, providing approximately 2,000 IVF treatment cycles a year and will improve care for fertility patients.
Mike Collier CBE, chairman of the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, officially opened the new facility at Seacroft Hospital where two former wards have been transformed to house the service which will serve Leeds and West Yorkshire.
The new facility also offers a full range of regional services for a large part of the north of England, treating both NHS contracts and self-funding patients.
Professor Adam Balen said: “We have an international reputation for world-class research ranging from the basic science of egg and embryo development, to the management of conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome and the preservation of fertility for women about to undergo cancer therapy.” more…

From: »Yorkshire Evening Post«

(wz) A 59-year-old woman, Sue Tollefsen, has become the oldest person to be offered fertility treatment at a British clinic.
Miss Tollefsen, a retired teacher, who already has a two-year-old daughter, has been approved in principle for IVF at the private London Women’s Clinic on Harley Street, despite guidelines advising against treatment in those over 50.
The case has sparked a fierce debate over the ethics of fertility treatment for post-menopausal women and has led to calls for the Government to introduce legislation preventing it.
Miss Tollefsen, from Braintree in Essex, travelled to Russia to have her first child, Freya, two years ago, but now wishes to have a sibling for her daughter.
In September, she and partner Nick Mayer, who is 11 years her junior, approached the London Women’s Clinic, one of the most successful IVF units in the country, after being turned down by scores of other centres.
She underwent a consultation with the clinic’s medical director Peter Bowen-Simpkins who said there “compelling reasons” why she should be approved for treatment.
Mr Bowen-Simpkins said there remained a number of processes to go through before IVF could start, but the case had in principle received unanimous support from the clinic’s governance committee.
Providing Miss Tollefsen fufills a series of strict criteria the case will go before the clinic’s executive for full approval.
Last night Mrs Tollefsen told The Daily Telegraph: “I have always accepted that I would come up against a great deal of people who would be very negative about what we are doing.
“However, I think that when you look at the kind of loving and caring family we are, you have to ask: why should we be denied the opportunity to have another child and to give our daughter a sibling.
“I feel as fit as a fiddle approaching 60 and I’m confident that I could have a child, despite my age. Obviously, I do worry that, if I have another child, when he or she reaches their 10th birthday, I will be 70.
“However, my partner is 11 years younger than me, so I know that even if I am not around in the years to come, Nick would be and so our children would have their father to bring them up.
“I do sometimes wish that I had done this 20 years ago or more, so that I could know that I would definitely be able to see our children grow up, get married and have children of their own.”
She added: “If the doctors in Britain say that I can’t do it, then we would consider going back to Russia to get a second opinion. But, ultimately, having another baby isn’t something we’ve said we are going to do, no matter what - we will only go ahead if the medical advice is that it is safe for me to carry another child. more…

From: »The Daily Telegraph«

(wz) Scientists from University of Michigan have developed a novel device that could one day lead to significantly higher IVF success rates in humans. They built a device that imitates the motion that embryos experience in the body as they make their way down a mammal’s oviduct (a woman’s Fallopian tube) to the uterus.
Currently in IVF, eggs are fertilized with sperm and left to grow for several days in a culture dish that remains still. Then the embryos are transferred to the uterus.
“By making the cells feel more at home, we get better cells, which is key to having better infertility treatment,” said Shu Takayama, an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and in macromolecular science and engineering. The study showed that by gently rocking embryos while they grow during in vitro fertilization (IVF) improves pregnancy rates in mice by 22 percent.
Lead researchers Takayama and Gary Smith revealed that their device holds early-stage embryos, which are about half the size of the period at the end of this sentence, in a thimble-sized funnel. The bottom of the funnel is lined with microscopic channels that allow fresh nutrient-rich fluid to flow in and waste products out.
The funnel sits on rows of Braille pins that are programmed to pulse up and down, pushing the fluids in and out of the channels. The current the Braille pins generate simulates flows that occur in the body due to muscle contractions and the motion of hair-like projections called cilia that line the oviducts. In the body, these motions help to push fertilized eggs to the uterus and flush out eggs” waste products. more…

From: »The Times Of India«

(cz) The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) has published a position statement on the impact of the life style factors obesity, smoking and alcohol consumption on natural and medically assisted reproduction.
In a literature study the ESHRE Task Force on Ethics and Law summarised the negative effects of obesity, smoking and drinking on the natural reproductive potential of patients, on IVF results, pregnancy complications and outcomes and finally on the health of the future child. The paper is published online on 19 January 2010 in the journal Human Reproduction. The group made five recommendations.
1) In view of the risks for the future child, fertility doctors should refuse treatment to women used to more than moderate drinking and who are not willing or able to minimize their alcohol consumption.
2) Treating women with severe or morbid obesity required special justification. The available data suggested that weight loss would incur in a positive reproductive effect, although more data was needed to establish whether assisted reproduction should be made conditional upon prior life-style changes for obese and smoking females. more…

From: »Science Daily«

(sz) A couple who spent £100,000 and 25 years trying to become parents have finally succeeded after the woman gave birth to twins.
Neil Ward, 56, and his wife Monique Ward, 46, started their quest for a baby by trying to conceive naturally after they were married in May 1985. But after six months without success tests showed that Mr Ward had a low sperm count.
In 1986 they started a process on the NHS where sperm is put directly into the uterus through a catheter, but eight attempts later it had not worked.
They realised IVF was the best option and spent £12,000 on three fruitless attempts. Four years later they tried a different IVF technique, remortgaging their house to pay for four rounds with Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection at a cost of £5,000 a treatment but again all failed.
In 2002 they attended a consultation at the Midland Fertility Clinic in Aldridge, West Mids, where they were told Mrs Ward’s age meant they would need donor eggs.
There was a two year waiting list, so they started to look at other options and found the IVI Fertility Clinic in Valencia, Spain.
In November 2008, donor eggs and sperm were put directly into Mrs Ward’s uterus, but after a month it became clear it had not worked. It had cost, including travel and other expenses in the region of £17,000.
They decided to try once more and five months later the same treatment led to Mrs Ward becoming pregnant with twins.
Their sons, Benjamin and Walker, were born a month prematurely, delivered by Caesarean section at Stafford District Hospital on December 29 and have only just been allowed home. more…

From: »The Daily Telegraph«

(sz) The issue of fertility treatment for post-menopausal women raises a number of medical and ethical concerns which have become the subject of fierce debate.
One of the most pressing concerns is the ability of an older mother to care for her child in advancing years.
Many campaigners argue that it is unfair on the child to have a parent who may die when they are still very young, but supporters insist youth is no guarantee of life expectancy and the most important thing is that the youngster has a loving home.
With no upper age limit enshrined in law there are also fears that as science advances there will be those who are tempted to push the boundaries even further with women in their 70s eventually allowed to conceive.
Those opposed to IVF for older women claim the welfare of the child is being lost amid the efforts to push the scientific boundaries ever further.
But supporters of IVF for the over 50s insist maturity can be advantageous in parenting as older people tend to have more spare time and money to lavish on their child.
Pro-life groups also argue that if a woman cannot conceive naturally due to her age then science should not intervene.
But fertility expert Professor Ian Craft points out that there have been cases of women giving birth after the menopause which he argues justifies giving IVF to women in their 50s. more…

From: »The Daily Telegraph«