17/08/2011 by admin.

Here is a  round up of the fertility stories in the BBC news in the last couple of months:

Women with a history of eating disorders may struggle to fall pregnant quickly, research suggests.

They are also more than twice as likely to need fertility treatment, a study of more than 11,000 UK mothers has found.

Pregnancy rates after six months were lower in women with anorexia or bulimia, but by a year they were the same as the general population.

Would-be mothers should seek help early for any symptoms of eating disorders, say researchers.

They may need extra support during and after pregnancy, a team from King’s College London and University College London reported in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

BBC News 3/8/2011

Read the full story here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-14370824

Stem cell sperm study leads to successful mouse births

By Caroline Parkinson Health editor, BBC News website 4/8/11

Fertility experts are hailing a mouse study in which working sperm cells were created from embryonic stem cells in mice as “hugely exciting”.

Japanese researchers successfully implanted early sperm cells, made from the stem cells, into infertile mice.

The working sperm which they made was then used to father healthy, and crucially fertile, pups, Cell journal reports.

A UK expert said it was a significant step forward in infertility research

Read the full story here:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-14404183

Clue to male infertility found

By Helen Briggs Health editor, BBC News website 21/7/11

As many as a quarter of men have a genetic change which makes them less fertile than usual, research suggests.

The discovery could lead to a new screening test to identify those who will take longer to father a child, experts report in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

The change is in a gene that codes for a key protein found on the outside of sperm.

Sperm lacking in the substance find it harder to swim to the egg.

Researchers believe a man with the altered gene can still get his partner pregnant, but this will take longer than usual.

Dr Edward Hollox of the University of Leicester is a co-author of the study.

We understand little about the subtle molecular events which occur in sperm as they make their journey through the woman’s body to fertilise an egg”

Dr Allan Pacey University of Sheffield

He told the BBC: “If you’ve got this gene variant you should allow that little bit longer if your partner’s planning to get pregnant.

“It takes two - it’s the genetic variation in a man that affects fertility in this particular case.”

Read the full story here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-14219907

Posted in Infertility news, Fertility news, Fertility research | Print | 1 Comment »

13/05/2009 by admin.

Just read this article in Daily Mail online

Chemicals in food, cosmetics and cleaning products are ‘feminising’ unborn boys and raising their risk of cancer and infertility later in life, an expert warns today.

Professor Richard Sharpe, one of Britain’s leading reproductive biologists, says everyday substances are linked to soaring rates of birth defects and testicular cancer, and to falling sperm counts.

The government adviser’s report published today is the most detailed yet into the threat posed to baby boys by chemicals that block the action of the male sex hormone testosterone, or mimic the female sex hormone oestrogen.

Professor Sharpe says many could be harmless on their own - but warned that their cumulative effect could be devastating for developing foetuses and warned women trying for a child to avoid them.

‘You can’t do anything about chemicals in the environment but you can control what you expose a baby to through your lifestyle choices,’ he said.

Read the full article here

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1180957/Gender-bending-chemical-timebomb-fear-boys-fertility.html

Posted in Chemicals & fertility, Fertility research, lifestyle and fertility, Pregnancy, Male Fertility Issues | Print | 1 Comment »

10/05/2009 by admin.

Breaking fertility research news from USA

A biologist at Wichita State University has made a breakthrough discovery about human reproductive hormones that scientists say could give women worldwide new hope in solving fertility problems.

http://www.kansas.com/news/story/806670.html

Posted in Fertility news, Fertility research | Print | 1 Comment »

09/05/2009 by admin.

Just read about this article from last year about ongoing research at University of Nottingham into how chemicals in the enviroment affect fertility

http://research.nottingham.ac.uk/NewsReviews/newsDisplay.aspx?id=472

Posted in Fertility news, Fertility research, Fertility | Print | 1 Comment »