Sperm Proteins May Reveal Cure for Male Infertility
Male infertility is little understood, but if aberrant sperm proteins can be identified, the discoveries may reveal new approaches to infertility testing and treatment, according to a paper by two researchers at San Francisco State University.
"Up to 50 percent of male-factor infertility cases in the clinic have no known cause, and therefore no direct treatment," said co-authors Diana Chu, assistant professor of biology, and Tammy Wu, a postdoctoral fellow, in a recent issue of Molecular and Cellular Proteomics.
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Overcoming Male Infertility
When it comes to infertility, our culture and media generally make it seem like the problem lies almost exclusively with women. But the fact is that approximately 30 percent of infertility problems are caused by men, and an additional 20 percent stem from a combination of factors on both the male and female sides. So men are involved in fully 50 percent, more or less, of infertility problems. This translates to more than 3 million men having either no sperm, malformed sperm or directionless sperm. The chief way male infertility can be overcome is through healthy living, says Edward Marut, medical director of Fertility Centers of Illinois. Healthy approaches can include:
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Diet and Lifestyle Changes May Prevent Infertility
A study published in the latest issue of Obstectrics and Gynecology has found that women who followed a combination of five or more lifestyle factors, including changing specific aspects of their diets, experienced more than 80 percent less relative risk of infertility due to ovulatory disorders compared to women who engaged in none of the factors. According to studies in the U.S. and Europe, infertility affects one in six couples. In 18 to 30 percent of those cases, ovulatory problems have been identified.
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In-vitro Baby Born from Immature Frozen Egg
On June second, the first baby conceived from an egg that was matured in the lab before undergoing in-vitro fertilization was born in Canada and is progressing normally. The mother, as well as three other women, became pregnant through a clinical trial at the McGill Reproductive Center in Montreal. The twenty women involved in the study had polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which can cause female interfertlity.
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Embryonic Stem Cells
Embryonic stem cells have been making headlines recently. But among the talk, there is rarely a pause to explain what embryonic stem cells are, what makes them unique, and why they stir up so much debate.
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Pesticides Found in Pregnant Women
Researchers have found the presence of numerous harmful pesticides in the placentas of pregnant women. According to a study by the University of Granada, fifteen different substances linked to pesticides have been found in pregnant women. Additionally, 100% of the women involved in the study had contamination with an average of 8 pesticides in their placentas during pregnancy. Researchers say these organochlorine substances may be potentially harmful to genitor-urinary development.
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Conception Date and Development
A new study shows that the month of conception may impact future academic achievement of children. Scientists at the Indiana University School of Medicine have observed a connection between academic progress and the time of year a child was conceived. Led by neonatologist Paul Winchester, researchers linked test scores found in the statewide testing programs to the month of conception. The results found that the math and language scores were the lowest for children who had been conceived in the months of June through August. [Astrologers may take note: although scientifically discounted, the practice of forecasting constitutional factors according to month of conception is an ancient empirical tradition in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine]
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Ice Cream and Infertility
Isn’t it great when medical research validates our vices? Like, the research recently released that dark chocolate is good for the cardiovascular system and the brain. Well, more good news tonight for women: eating ice cream could actually help improve one’s fertility!
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In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) - Making Futures Possible
Today, thanks to the miracle of science, thousands of couples desperately wanting children, who can't conceive naturally, are able to become parents. "In the in vitro fertilization process women are given hormonal treatments to try to stimulate their ovaries to release eggs, and then we remove those eggs fertilize them outside the body in a laboratory with sperm and place the embryos back into the uterine cavity," says Dr. Daniel Stein of St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital. But, one of the greatest challenges with IVF is multiple births. "We often have to replace more than one embryo back into the uterus, about a third of pregnancies from in vitro fertilization are multiple pregnancies, the majority of those are twin pregnancies, but there is also an increased rate of triplet and quadruple pregnancy rate, we want to try to reduce the multiple pregnancy rate because there are so many problems associated with multiple pregnancy, like cerebral palsy, other types of neurological damage, increase c-section rates for the mom," says Dr. Stein.
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