Fertility and pregnancy
Fine-tuning freezing improves fertility rate
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By using sodium-deleted, choline-substituted culture medium and a slow-freeze, rapid-thaw protocol, researchers in Los Angeles have achieved pregnancy success rates of 63 percent resulting from the use of frozen eggs (oocytes).
Dr. John K. Jain and his associates at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California reported their institution’s outcomes at the annual meeting of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine in Montreal.
Sperm alteration may enhance fertility
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The findings from an animal study suggest that the common practice of using intact sperm in assisted reproduction procedures actually increases the risk that the egg will become damaged or destroyed.
Acrosomes are structures that cover the head of the sperm and contain a variety of enzymes that help the sperm penetrate the outer membrane of the egg. During normal fertilization, the acrosome never actually enters the egg, whereas in an assisted reproduction procedure called intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), it is directly injected into the egg along with the rest of the sperm.
Egg cells derived from bone marrow in mice
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Stem cells from bone marrow may serve as a source of egg cells, at least in mice, and may lead to new fertility treatments if the same proves true in people, scientists reported Thursday.
Their study, published in the journal Cell, challenges long-held scientific belief that mammals including mice and humans generate egg cells only when they are fetuses—and are born with all the eggs they will ever have.
Relationships matter for sex after menopause
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Changes in relationship status or negative feelings about partners both have significant impacts on women’s sex lives after menopause, and have a stronger influence than hormone levels, researchers from Australia and Europe have found.
These findings demonstrate “the powerful effects of psychosocial factors on female sexual function,” write Dr. Lorraine Dennerstein of the University of Melbourne and her colleagues in the journal Fertility and Sterility.
High-tech fertility treatment growing
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A high tech treatment for infertility has become the most common therapy in Europe to help couples have children, according to figures released on Wednesday.
Scientists are not sure why ever more fertility clinics are carrying out ICSI, or intracytoplasmic sperm injection, but it could be due to rising infertility in men.
The technique involves injecting a single sperm - selected for its quality - directly into an egg. In regular IVF treatment, thousands of sperm are mixed with the egg in the laboratory but still have to get through the egg wall.
Catholic Church victorious in Italy fertility vote
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An emotionally charged referendum intended to dismantle Italy’s strict law on assisted fertility failed on Monday due to low turnout, in what was widely seen as a victory for the Roman Catholic Church.
Just under 26 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot during two days of voting—leaving the referendum far short of the quorum of 50 percent plus one.
