Testing It Up

A great understanding of a woman’s fertility is beginning to reveal why 30 is a point where women feel their biological clocks ticking. The study, a partnership between the Universities of Edinburgh and St Andrews, revealed a better estimate of the number of eggs a woman carries in her ovaries from the point at which she’s conceived to the point at which she goes through menopause. The research marks a precedent in the scientific community, it’s the first time that the human ovarian reserve has ever been followed and correctly catalogued from birth to around age 50 when menopause begins. As a result previously standing theories that the human females eggs were limited to a certain number that gradually declined as she aged have been cemented.

The data was based on British, European and American information on the subject. Apparently a woman’s ovarian reserve peaks at about 20 weeks after conception and gradually declines as she ages and approaches menopause. While previous studies tracked the decline of a woman’s reserve until menopause none had determined information from conception. Based on this research data it has been established that in 95% of women only 12% of all eggs created still remain by the time she reaches the age of 30 and only 3% remain at the age of 40. These findings could have a major effect on fertility treatments and understanding of the way a woman’s body begins to become less fertile as she ages.

The question may sound a bit off-base, but according to a feature on the Los Angeles Times, chemicals found in furniture, electronics and plastics may be contributing to a reduction in fertility among women.

A study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives measured the levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), which are commonly used as flame retardants, in the blood samples of more than two hundred pregnant women. The women were then asked to recall how long it took them to get pregnant, generally interpreted as “being sexually active without the use of birth control.”

What the researchers found out is that women who had higher concentrations of PBDEs in their samples took longer to get pregnant that those who had lower concentrations of the chemical. While it did not hinder them from conceiving, the study’s lead author, Kim Harley, said that the women took “very different” lengths of time to get pregnant.

It is said that majority of Americans – 97%, according to the feature – have detectable levels of PBDEs in their blood. The substance may also be found in dairy products and higher-fat meat and fish, but it is household products that constitute a “major source of exposure.”

Still, the researchers have no explanation as to exactly how PBDEs are affecting the fertility of a woman. Harley gave the followings statement, however: “One of the strongest associations of PBDEs is with thyroid hormone. Thyroid hormone does seem to play an important role in fertility. Either too low or too high levels can impair fertility. PBDEs also seem to mimic estrogen. It could be through a hormonal mechanism. But we need more research on that.”

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According to a Danish study small increases in cancer risk from certain fertility drugs used for longer duration.  The research group identified higher uterine cancer risk among women who had used follicle-stimulating hormone and human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) for duration longer than 10 years. Similar risk was seen among women who at any point took six or more cycles of clomiphene(treatment for women not ovulating normally) or when clomiphene didn’t work when women were injected with six or more cycles of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). Uterine cancer risk seemed about two times the usual risk in each of these scenarios though the absolute risk of developing uterine cancer is still not very high.

The study was based on 16 years of research on a group of 54,362 women who underwent fertility treatment between 1965 and 1998. The team compared the use of fertility drugs among 83 who developed uterine cancer and 1,241 of similar age who did not develop cancer of the uterus. 51 and 50 percent of the women who did and did not develop uterine cancer, respectively, used fertility drugs. Differences in risk became clear in investigations of specific fertility drugs used and the length of use. These risks weren’t ruled out when the investigators further allowed for use of a single or multiple fertility drugs, number of births, causes of infertility, and any history of oral contraceptives.

While you may have read that recent research could make it possible to transplant a human womb in as little as two years researchers say that this is an estimate that’s far off the mark. An overly optimistic assertion the news became widespread recently and indicated new hope for women who had difficulty in conceiving due to damage to, removal or the lack of a uterus. The reality is that such research has only begun and despite recent success with testing and research on rabbits, human subjects aren’t likely to be tested for years yet. Even if research did get as far as humans there’s no guarantee that it would become a procedure that would be given medical merit either due to its potential for failure and the risk of it being labeled a “cosmetic” procedure.

What many are unaware of is that rather than being a simple transplant of the uterus alone this research in rabbits also includes the transplant of major blood vessels and even an aorta. It was also a small research group that involved 5 rabbits of which 2 only lived for 9-10 months after the procedure. It’s also worth noting that while their bodies maintained blood flow to the uterus they never conceived due to blockage in the fallopian tubes.  The damage could be caused by a cut that was made to the fallopian tubes that the researchers say they would not do un humans however. While the study does have merit and could show promise toward eventually helping women with fertility issues it shouldn’t be hailed just yet.

Hormonal imbalance is becoming more and more common in younger women. Doctors are still unsure as to how to deal with it and misdiagnosis can lead to various problems with a woman’s overall health, such as heart ailments, infertility and cancer.

There are many possible causes of hormonal imbalance. One such cause is stress, where the body produces too much cortisol and other hormones are secreted to cancel it out. Another cause is an imbalanced diet. Improper exercise also leads to hormonal imbalance, as too much or too little can impede with the production of hormones. Taking hormonal supplements such as birth control pills also puts the body’s hormone balance out of whack.

Certain diseases like cancer and PCOS also create hormonal imbalance in a woman’s body. Some forms of cancer affecting females feed on the body’s hormones. PCOS causes the body to secrete too much androgen. Lastly, environmental toxins can also lead to hormonal imbalance.

For full version of this article, please visit “7 Most Common Causes of Hormonal Imbalance“.

New drugs that trick the body into thinking it’s getting a calorically restricted diet are now being tested for use against aging.  When such a diet was tested among mice it resulted in a 30-40% longer life span with only one side effect, a reduction in fertility. People find following this diet (a reduction in daily calories by 30%)almost impossible so although it had proven helpful in mice it had long gone ineffective in humans. Now however drugs have been made that attempt to provide the benefits without actually having to maintain the diet. The main benefit of which is a reduction in the amount of degenerative diseases that affect the subject. Resveratrol , a small ingredient found in red wine and grapes, is one of these  and another is sirtuin activators, both are linked to the calorie restricted diet’s effects and have been linked to the extended healthy life span of the French, a matter that had previously been a mystery. It’s thought that by activating sirtuins in the body these effects could help reduce the effects of aging on the body,  this is due to research that found that sirtuins locate the energy reserves of a cell and can become active when they are exhausted. The outcome of this research could prove helpful whether the drugs do prove effective or not, giving us some insight on how the body maintains itself.

We are now faced with what may be called an ethical dilemma. For the more religious among us, reproduction is a sacred process that should never be tampered with, but advancements in technology have trickled into it in an ever increasing manner. The question is: where do we draw the line between right and wrong?

We did a post a few days ago on designer babies and mentioned about a fertility clinic that has been looking into the possibility of parents ‘ordering in’ physical traits that they would like to see in their children. It all sounds so bizarre to some, although there are those who are open to the idea and have actually signed up to do it.

There seems to be a lot of reaction to that concept since the goal is more aesthetic than anything else. But what if genetic testing of embryos will actually ensure fuller, healthier lives for these children? Should we deny them this privilege in the name of faith?

To date, there has been genetic testing done to set up a process to identify an embryo’s risk for breast and ovarian cancer. Recently, a Dutch team has released a statement that they have been able to develop a test that can tell when an embryo has genetic abnormalities that can make them susceptible to neurofibromatosis type 1 and Von Hippel-Lindau disease. These diseases are passed on in the family, and would-be parents who turn to in vitro fertilization in order to conceive can choose to implant only those embryos which will not develop these diseases for implantation into the mother’s womb.

What of the embryos not chosen for implantation? I guess you know what happens to them.

Reproductive technology has certainly come a long way. While we may be thankful for the hope that research and technology has provided parents who are unsuccessful at their attempts at bearing children, we have, more often than not, been plagued with the consequences of the other side of the coin. In the world of science, can we really say, whoops, we have gone far enough?

Some of these technologies have been regarded as blessings. We have test tube babies. Women who find love and start to live life after menopause now have the option to have children using their eggs. If there is an inherited disease in the family, we can now opt for embryo selection to eliminate the possibility of passing that on to our children. Embryo selection can also be used to provide donor material for a sibling who has fallen ill. Sperm sorting can allow parents of all boys to finally conceive that long-awaited daughter.

In the wake of the single mom who gave birth to octuplets, another announcement from the world of reproductive medicine has triggered the question of when is technology going too far. The Los Angeles Fertility Institutes has revealed plans for a new service: for eighteen thousand dollars, you can, setting all niceties aside, ‘design’ the look for your new baby. Talk about Kate Hudson’s character photoshopping her and Matthew McConaughey’s would-be children in a photo album on How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days – scary or great?

A technique called pre-implantation diagnosis or PGD, which was created in the 1990s originally for the purpose of preventing parents from passing on genes for life-threatening diseases, will be used to allow prospective parents to choose their children’s physical traits. Couples who are planning on conceiving through in vitro fertilization can choose to avail of the service and determine beforehand their child’s gender, eye, hair, and skin color, among others. The Institute revealed that there are already about five requests for the procedure, and the first ‘designer baby’ may be born next year.

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You have waited long enough, and you have achieved everything else you wanted to achieve before becoming a parent. You want to get pregnant, and you want to get pregnant now. Here are 5 ways to help you achieve this goal.

1. Get a check up. Before taking the plunge, submit yourself to a pre-conception check up. Ask your gynecologist about prenatal vitamins to ensure that your body has the right amount of nourishment that your baby will need. This is also the surest way to detect underlying medical problems that need to be addressed to ensure a safe pregnancy.

2. Get to know your monthly cycle. Women who wish to get pregnant should fully understand their cycle and determine when they are most likely able to conceive, which is during ovulation. You can consult your gynecologist and inform yourself about the symptoms of ovulation, such as changes in cervical mucus.

An easier way of monitoring ovulation is by using home ovulation prediction kits to help determine the best time to get pregnant.

3. Take it easy. You will want to take it slow if you want to get pregnant – in life in general, and in the act of trying to get pregnant in particular. While it may not be totally true that lying in bed with your feet up after intercourse will help you get pregnant, it is still good advice to rest awhile and allow nature to take its course. Don’t jump up and run to the kitchen to do the dishes.

On a more general note, you and your partner should try to de-stress and lay low from work and other worries as you try to get pregnant. Stress can actually affect ovulation, so taking a spa break once in a while is certainly not a bad thing to do.

4. Don’t try too hard. Too much of a good thing can still turn out to be bad, so don’t overdo it and try too hard, even if you are ovulating. A man’s sperm count can actually decrease if ejaculation happens too often, so as mentioned previously, try, and then take it easy.

5. Be healthy. Make sure that you lead a well-balanced and healthy lifestyle. Exercise, but not too much. Eat a sensible diet, and if you’re a smoker, try to stop. It’s all about making sure that your body is ready for the changes that you are about to subject it to.

Fertility medicine and the fertility clinics have been considered as heaven-sent by those who have tried – and failed – to bear children the natural way. Dr. Tien Chiu, a fertility doctor in Montebello, California, has helped many couples build families, and the photos of some of these children adorn the walls of his office.

Since reproduction through artificial means sometimes results in multiple births, including the more uncommon triplets and quadruplets, the government and the fertility industry itself are rethinking the advantages. The issue is currently in the forefront following the case of California woman Nadya Suleman, who gave birth to octuplets recently. Ms. Suleman has also undergone six previous births through in vitro procedures.

About a third of in vitro procedures result in multiple births and the government is now pushing fertility medicine practitioners to try to reduce that incidence rate. It is citing several health consequences that may stem from multiple births, which include infant mortality, low birth weights, long-term disabilities, and, as a result, the need to spend thousands of dollars in medical care.

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine has taken steps towards this end by adopting guidelines in 2008. It encourages the transfer of only one embryo and not more than two for women under 35, except in special circumstances. For older women, a maximum of five embryos is allowed.

These policies, though, are more suggestions than mandates, as the United States does not have laws to enforce these guidelines. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a surveillance system that monitors fertility clinics, but there are no sanctions if clinics are not reporting data.

The result is that fertility doctors continue to implant more embryos in order to increase a woman’s chances for pregnancy. As of 2006, only eleven percent of in vitro procedures involve single-embryo implants.

The difficulty for fertility medicine practitioners lies in a woman or couple’s desire to have babies. So then, the question arises: when does it become too much?