The advent of newer chemotherapeutic drugs has increased concerns about their genotoxic effects in young patients undergoing chemotherapy. Although several strategies have been proposed to conserve female fertility before and during cancer treatment, there is a lack of evidence-based data that can substantiate the efficacy and safety of these techniques. The use of chemotherapeutic medications that do not induce oocyte damage or prevent it may emerge as a new option for fertility preservation. A recent study, elucidating the pathway linked to chemotherapy-induced death of oocytes, reports the protective effect of the anticancer drug, imatinib in preserving the oocytes during such treatments. The results of the study are published online in the journal Nature Medicine. Continue Reading

Several assisted hatching (AH) techniques, such as mechanical dissection, zona thinning with acidified Tyrode’s solution or proteolytic enzymes, and laser energy, have been evaluated with varying reports on their clinical efficacy. Now a new method of hatching, in which the zona pellucida (ZP) is mechanically expanded using hydrostatic pressure has been developed, helping to increase the implantation rates of day-3 frozen-thawed embryos in IVF/ICSI cycles. The findings of this prospective study have been published in the latest issue of Fertility and Sterility. Continue Reading

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), affecting around 5-10% of all reproductive-aged women, is one of the most common causes of anovulation. The identification of the role of insulin resistance in women with PCOS, who are also commonly resistant to clomiphene citrate (CC), resulted in the use of insulin sensitizers. The use of metformin, an insulin-sensitizing agent, in PCOS patients undergoing IVF or ovulation induction has been extensively researched, but with divergent results. Now, a new study reports that metformin significantly reduces the incidence of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) and miscarriage, while positively affecting the oocyte and embryo quality in CC-resistant PCOS women undergoing IVF. The results of the randomized controlled study have been published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Continue Reading

Several studies have cautioned that children conceived using assisted reproduction technologies (ART) may be at an elevated risk of developing genetic disorders, including retinoblastoma, the most common pediatric intraocular tumor. Now, in a nationwide study conducted from 1995 to 2007, Danish researchers have reported an enhanced risk of retinoblastoma in IVF-conceived children. The study, an extension of an earlier one performed by the same team of Danish researchers during 1995 to 2002, has been published in the online edition of Human Reproduction. Continue Reading

The amended and updated Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Act 1990 came into force on October 1, 2009 in the United Kingdom. This implementation, accounting for the single largest change affecting the UK fertility sector in the last two decades, provides a futuristic framework and will form the basis for regulating the practice. Continue Reading

The risk of total fertilization failure (TFF) during IVF treatment is reported to be as high as 23% but the exact cause is not clear in most cases. Now, a study published in the recent issue of the journal Fertility and Sterility reports that polymorphisms in the protein C inhibitor (PCI) gene in men could possibly play a role in IVF fertilization failure. Continue Reading

Preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) is based on the hypothesis that the analysis of blastomeres extracted from a preimplantation embryo can represent the entire chromosomal constitution. Now, a recent randomized controlled study published in the journal Human Reproduction, highlights the potential of PGS in detecting genetically abnormal embryos, but the technique was not effective for evaluating their exact chromosomal constitution. Continue Reading

Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is one of the promising genetic and reproductive technologies that was developed during the mid 1980s in the United Kingdom, as an extension or alternative to prenatal diagnoses. With the technology opening up new avenues for genetic research, it offers hope to couples at a high risk of transmitting genetic disorders to their offspring, and also to those suffering from recurrent pregnancy loss and repetitive IVF failure. Continue Reading

Written by Professor Robert Norman

Over the past three decades, assisted reproductive technology has made startling progress with respect to clinical protocols, pharmaceutical drugs, embryology, and quality management systems. We have seen pregnancy rates rise from single figures to those that exceed natural conception while we are able to drop the multiple pregnancy rates to below 5% in the top clinics by performing single embryo transfer. We have revolutionised the way assisted reproductive technology is practiced and are rightly proud of all that we have achieved for our patients. Continue Reading

Owing to the exclusion of natural selection barriers and the increase in human intervention and manipulation, greater emphasis has been placed on the evaluation of the effect of ART procedures on the neurological development of children. In a recent prospective assessor-blinded, cohort study, researchers have concluded that in vitro procedures and ovarian hyperstimulation do not enhance the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in ART-conceived children. The findings of the study have been published in the recent edition of the journal, Human Reproduction. Continue Reading