Ετικέτα: IVF treatment

DHEA for Increased IVF Success Rates?

Last modified: 4 Δεκεμβρίου, 2021

DHEA hormone administration can significantly increase IVF success rates for women treated for infertility according to a study.

This study showed that women who used DHEA hormone supplements during their treatment increased their chances of pregnancy compared to women who did not receive the supplement.

DHEA

DHEA is a natural hormone supplement received by many women reaching menopause for slowing down age changes

There are many studies showed the value of DHEA supplementation to subfertile women and there are in agreement with the above findings. Some of them indicate a beneficial effect of DHEA on maintaining pregnancy as well, decreasing miscarriage incidents.

What is DHEA?

DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) is a natural hormone supplement received by many women reaching menopause for slowing down age changes, fighting anility, or as a part of infertility treatment. It is converted to testosterone and estradiol in the body and it can benefit women with poor egg reserve or low response to IVF medication.

But how safe is for women to receive DHEA supplements? Despite the fact its side effects are relatively mild it is always advisable to check with your physician before you receive any supplement. Due to its androgenic activity DHEA can cause acne, hair loss, facial hair growth, voice deepening and menstruation changes. A low dose of the hormone can keep the risk of side effects low. However women suffering from certain medical conditions like endometriosis and several cancer types (ovarian, uterine and breast cancer) have increased risk for serious DHEA side effects.

Dosage of DHEA

The doctors in the study used a 25 mg DHEA tablet 3 times a day for twelve weeks prior initiation of the IVF treatment cycle for increasing the success rates.

Its use for enhancing fertility is not always an option as there is not enough data clearly documenting its effects on this condition and in some countries like the UK is not permitted. In the US on the other hand, DHEA supplementation is fully licensed in fertility issues.

 Would you consider DHEA supplementation for boosting fertility?

Could endometrial scratching boost IVF success rates?

Last modified: 13 Ιουνίου, 2017

Could endometrial scratching boost IVF success rates? A simple scratch is capable of significantly increase, and even double, pregnancy chances through IVF, doctors believe.

Even though IVF is an assisted reproduction technique with the highest success rates among other fertility treatment, sadly, repeated IVF failures are not uncommon. In some cases failed IVF treatments could be due to some defect of the endometrium.  More specifically, sometimes, even if a woman’s fertilized eggs are of optimum quality, the receptivity of the uterine lining (endometrium) might not be as great. It is estimated that in approximately 25-30% of IVF failures the cause relates to poor endometrial receptivity.

endometrial scratching

Endometrial scratching involves a mechanical injury to make small scratches on the endometrium.

In such cases, fertility experts can now turn to an innovative technique called endometrial scratching. Briefly, the technique involves a mechanical endometrial injury using an instrument to make small scratches on the endometrium. According to experts local injury could activate the endometrium regeneration process increasing the endometrial receptivity for the implanted embryo and as a consequence boosting success rates. Moreover, scientists believe that it might be easier for embryos to nestle in the furrows made following the endometrial scratching or injury. However, the exact mechanism underlying the method has not yet been experimentally determined.

Research findings support the efficiency of the method for women experiencing recurrent IVF failures. According to a review study published in ‘’Reproductive Medicine Online’’ this technique increased success rates by 70% for a study population of about 2000 women with recurrent implantation failures.

Results from the latest study conducted at Ankara University and published in “Fertility and Sterility journal”, are equally encouraging. For the study, researchers collected data from 114 women aged <40 who had experienced at least 2 IVF failures. Women who had endometrial scratching along with the standard IVF treatment had their success rates almost doubled. More specifically 38% of them got pregnant following IVF compared with 20% of women who did not have the endometrial scratching. These results were presented at the conference of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Honolulu.

Would you ask for an endometrial scratching before entering

your next IVF cycle? 

Hey! If you found this post interesting or useful, you can help us get even better by subscribing to our newsletter. Just write your email and you’ll have the latest news regarding fertility issues. Thank you once more for your help.

New embryo selection method: Zinc ‘fireworks’

Last modified: 30 Απριλίου, 2016

According to the new research published in Scientific Reports journal Zinc ‘fireworks’ could help subfertile couples for a successful IVF treatment.

It has been previously found in animal studies that zinc is an essential element for the oocyte maturation and activation. In fact, zinc is released in great amounts in oocytes at the moment of fertilisation, a phenomenon termed as the ‘’zinc spark’’.   This event was initially observed in mouse oocytes, indicating a crucial role of zinc in fertilisation process.

Now, for the first time, scientists managed to capture this light spark, related to zinc release, emitted this very moment a human sperm cell meets the egg. The zinc release taking place during fertilization, due to sperm binding to the egg, emits light in radiant bursts. The scientists had the chance to watch, from a recorded video, billions of zinc atoms to be released the moment the sperm cell penetrates the egg’s membrane. These zinc ‘’fireworks’’ lasted for about 2 hours after fertilisation.

The discovery from the scientists of Northwestern Medicine could give to fertility clinics a new non-invasive technique for selecting the best egg quality.

The most interesting part of the study, as reported by the research team from the University of Northwestern, is that some eggs appear to be brighter than others having a more intense ‘’zinc spark’’. This fact is indicative of their quality and ability to develop into a healthy embryo. According to study results, the percentage of successful embryo selection was more than doubled when correlated to the zinc spark amplitude.

Collectively, this study provided robust evidence that zinc spark is a hallmark of egg activation in mammals, including humans, and therefore could make a clinical tool for predicting which embryos could reach the blastocyst level. The discovery from scientists of Northwestern Medicine could give to fertility clinics a new non-invasive technique for selecting the best egg quality.

So, according to fertility experts the ‘’zinc spark’’ event has the potential to be a new embryo selection method for subfertile couples by increasing the chances of getting pregnant through IVF procedure. Such news give hope to couples struggling with infertility as it is known that about 50% of fertilized eggs through IVF in fertility clinics, fail to develop into a healthy embryo due to genetic abnormalities.

 

Hey! If you found this post interesting or useful, you can help us get even better by subscribing to our newsletter. Just write your email and you’ll have the latest news regarding fertility issues. Thank you once more for your help.

Sunlight exposure makes women more fertile

Last modified: 13 Δεκεμβρίου, 2015

There are numerous health benefits of sunlight and one of them is linked to increased fertility.

Sunshine, warm weather and absence of rain lead to a more effective IVF treatment

Sunlight is related with fertility

Sunlight exposure makes women more fertile, boosting their chances to conceive according to a new

Belgian research study. Researchers of University Hospital Ghent’s Centre for Reproductive Medicine, analyzed success rates of 6.000 women who underwent IVF treatment over a time period of about six years. These data were associated with climate conditions of the month that each woman started their fertility treatment.

They found that live birth rates increased from 14%, during less sunny periods, to 19% when the weather in terms of sunlight was improved. Moreover, in periods with at least 4 hours of sunshine per day fertility was increased by one third.

Researchers highlight the fact that women had 35% increased chances of conception following IVF if they were exposed to sunlight a month prior and not during IVF treatment.

Vitamin D appears to have the most critical role in terms of sunlight benefits to female fertility, as it directly affects egg quality and melatonin levels contributing to a normal ovulation cycle.

‘’Sunshine, warm weather and absence of rain lead to a more effective IVF treatment. And even though this study focused on the outcome of women who treated for infertility we believe that weather conditions may positively affect natural conception chances as well’’, said Dr Vandekerckhove who led the study. This study was presented at the annual meeting of European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Portugal.

At this point it should also being noted that sun can increase male fertility as well, according to previous studies. It appears that sperm is relatively more effective and capacitated from July to August compared to winter months.

How about planning a trip somewhere warm for increasing your pregnancy chances?

Hey! If you found this post interesting or useful, you can help us get even better by subscribing to our newsletter. Just write your email and you’ll have the latest news regarding fertility issues. Thank you once more for your help.