What Do Men Really Want?
Beauty, grace, exotic good looks, youth. What is it that can turn a man's fancy? It's a question that has bedeviled the species for thousands of years. The female half of humankind spends untold billions of dollars each year on clothes, shoes, cosmetics, hair spray and perfumes. All in pursuit of idealized beauty. And while some self-esteem gurus might argue that it is done to make oneself feel good, others might be willing to admit that it is done in large part to attract men.
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Using Frozen Embryos Increases Pregnancy Chances
The regular use of carefully chosen frozen embryos left over from fertility treatments dramatically increases the pregnancy success rate among infertile couples, a British clinic has found.
The new regimen holds the promise of sharply reducing the time a couple has to wait for a baby, and of alleviating the risk to women of repeated cycles of side-effect-ridden fertility drugs, which can lead to polycystic ovary syndrome. Read more about Using Frozen Embryos Increases Pregnancy Chances
Protein Boosts Sex Hormones, Suggesting Infertility Therapy
Giving a special hormone to infertile women can dramatically increase their production of sex hormones, which may lead to a new infertility treatment for women with low sex hormone levels, a recent study demonstrated.
The work, which was led by Waljit Dhillo of the Department of Investigative Medicine at Imperial College London, was presented at a meeting of the Society for Endocrinology BES. Read more about Protein Boosts Sex Hormones, Suggesting Infertility Therapy
Equal Access to Fertility Treatment Urged for Obese
Overweight and obese women have the same chance of having a baby through in vitro fertilization (IVF) as normal-weight women, according to a recent study, and therefore shouldn’t be discriminated against at fertility clinics.
In Britain, where the study was done, most local health-care entities will not allow fertility treatment for obese women – that is, those with a body mass index of 30 or above. A study on 1,700 women in Aberdeen, Scotland, however, showed that there was no difference between normal, overweight or obese women in their ability to become pregnant and ultimately give birth. Read more about Equal Access to Fertility Treatment Urged for Obese
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: Read more about Overcoming Male Infertility
Little-Known Cause of Infertility
A peculiar and destructive condition that afflicts as many as 10 percent of women is the most common cause of female infertility. Women with the disorder, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), usually are overweight, miss or have irregular periods, have a profusion of small cysts (fluid-filled sacs) in their ovaries, have high levels of male hormones (androgens) and suffer from excessive hair growth, especially facial hair. Read more about Little-Known Cause of Infertility
Acupuncture May Help Some Women Conceive
A study at a Virginia University is giving hope to women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) that they will be able to return to normal fertility and become mothers. Lisa Pastore, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at University of Virginia Health System and the study's principal author, has been thrilled by her results. "Over the last year, we have seen women who never had a regular menstrual cycle start having regular periods," she said. "We can also boast several pregnancies since the study began. Now we would like to recruit more people to the study in order to complete the study. It is important for research to have enough participants to ensure that the results are scientifically credible and not due to chance." Read more about Acupuncture May Help Some Women Conceive
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. Read more about Diet and Lifestyle Changes May Prevent Infertility
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. Read more about In-vitro Baby Born from Immature Frozen Egg
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