A joint study carried out by researchers from Britain and Canada has found that exposure to certain chemicals found in paint can make men infertile.
The researchers from University of Alberta, in Canada and the Universities of Manchester and Sheffield and have linked fertility problems in men to their exposure to certain paint chemicals.
The study of 2,118 men undertaking treatment at 14 fertility clinics in the UK found that 874 were working with organic solvents, particularly glycol ethers.
They say this translates to men working with glycol solvents having a 250 percent chance of losing the ability to produce "healthy" sperms.
In the joint research project, the men were questioned about their lifestyles and occupations in order to establish possible causes of sperm motility problems.
The research revealed that painters, decorators, and those who are regularly exposed on glycol ethers, chemicals commonly used as solvents for water-based paint are two-and-a-half times more prone to fertility problems.
Glycol ether solvents are widely used in many products, including popular water-based emulsions.
A man's ability to father a baby is affected by sperm motility, the amount of movement seen in individual sperm, which serves as a part of measuring male fertility.
The researchers say glycol ether exposure was related to low motile sperm count in men attending fertility clinics and are a hazard for male fertility but other chemicals found in paint had no impact on fertility.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
Oocyte-Specific Gene Mutations Cause Premature Ovarian Failure
Mutations in a gene called FIGLA cause premature ovarian failure in at least a percentage of women who suffer from the disorder, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and Shandong University in China in a report that appears online in the American Journal of Human Genetics.
"We hope to use the information from this study and others that identify genes associated with this problem to find biomarkers in blood that can help us determine a woman's risk of early infertility," said Dr. Aleksandar Rajkovic, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at BCM and senior author of the paper. Premature ovarian failure, which means that the ovaries lose function before age 40, not only causes infertility but also bone and heart problems, he said.
"It affects 1 percent of women," he said. "While most people associate it with infertility, women with premature ovarian failure face an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and premature death. Ovarian reserves are important for women's health."
In looking for genes that cause the disorder, Rajkovic and his colleagues here and in China concentrated on those that are most likely to function in the ovary. A gene mutation does not totally halt gene activity, but Rajkovic believes it can accelerate the loss of eggs (or germ cells). When all the eggs are lost, the ovaries stop producing estrogen, leading to menopause symptoms. In this study, Rajkovic and his collaborators screened 100 Chinese women with premature ovarian failure for mutations in FIGLA and found three different kinds of mutations in the FIGLA genes of four.
FIGLA is one of four transcription factors found to control the differentiation of egg cells early in development. Transcription factors govern the activity of genes, turning them off and on and modulating the extent to which they are active.
The other genes involved include NOBOX, GDF9 and BMP 15, said Rajkovic. Mutations in these can lead to premature ovarian failure as well, he said.
"We hope to define majority of the genes that are part of the cellular pathways involved in ovarian failure," said Rajkovic. "Ideally in the future we will offer a test to women to look at all the genes involved in premature ovarian failure."
He anticipates that a gene chip would be helpful in such diagnosis, which can help in counseling women or their children about the risk of early ovarian failure.
"We hope to use the information from this study and others that identify genes associated with this problem to find biomarkers in blood that can help us determine a woman's risk of early infertility," said Dr. Aleksandar Rajkovic, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at BCM and senior author of the paper. Premature ovarian failure, which means that the ovaries lose function before age 40, not only causes infertility but also bone and heart problems, he said.
"It affects 1 percent of women," he said. "While most people associate it with infertility, women with premature ovarian failure face an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and premature death. Ovarian reserves are important for women's health."
In looking for genes that cause the disorder, Rajkovic and his colleagues here and in China concentrated on those that are most likely to function in the ovary. A gene mutation does not totally halt gene activity, but Rajkovic believes it can accelerate the loss of eggs (or germ cells). When all the eggs are lost, the ovaries stop producing estrogen, leading to menopause symptoms. In this study, Rajkovic and his collaborators screened 100 Chinese women with premature ovarian failure for mutations in FIGLA and found three different kinds of mutations in the FIGLA genes of four.
FIGLA is one of four transcription factors found to control the differentiation of egg cells early in development. Transcription factors govern the activity of genes, turning them off and on and modulating the extent to which they are active.
The other genes involved include NOBOX, GDF9 and BMP 15, said Rajkovic. Mutations in these can lead to premature ovarian failure as well, he said.
"We hope to define majority of the genes that are part of the cellular pathways involved in ovarian failure," said Rajkovic. "Ideally in the future we will offer a test to women to look at all the genes involved in premature ovarian failure."
He anticipates that a gene chip would be helpful in such diagnosis, which can help in counseling women or their children about the risk of early ovarian failure.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
IVF test could spot 'dud' embryos
A Big goal in IVF research is a test that reliably sorts dud embryos from those likely to develop into babies. Now differences in gene expression that seem to predict which embryos will go to term are bringing this a step closer.
Doctors usually decide which embryos to transfer to the uterus based purely on their appearance. Yet as only about 30 per cent of them fully develop, women often undergo multiple treatments or have several embryos implanted at once, which carries risks to both the mother and her embryos.
To try to improve the selection process, Gayle Jones at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues removed cells from the early embryos of 48 women undergoing IVF in Greece, 25 of whom went on to have babies. By comparing the babies' DNA and the genetic material in the early embryonic cells, the researchers identified 7317 sets of genetic instructions expressed by the viable embryos but not by those that failed to go to term (Human Reproduction, DOI: 10.1093/humanrep/den123).
They now hope to whittle down the list to about 10 genes that strongly predict which embryos will become babies. A test could be ready for use by doctors in two years, they say.
Doctors usually decide which embryos to transfer to the uterus based purely on their appearance. Yet as only about 30 per cent of them fully develop, women often undergo multiple treatments or have several embryos implanted at once, which carries risks to both the mother and her embryos.
To try to improve the selection process, Gayle Jones at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues removed cells from the early embryos of 48 women undergoing IVF in Greece, 25 of whom went on to have babies. By comparing the babies' DNA and the genetic material in the early embryonic cells, the researchers identified 7317 sets of genetic instructions expressed by the viable embryos but not by those that failed to go to term (Human Reproduction, DOI: 10.1093/humanrep/den123).
They now hope to whittle down the list to about 10 genes that strongly predict which embryos will become babies. A test could be ready for use by doctors in two years, they say.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Couple Abandon "Wrong Sex" Babies
A couple who travelled to India for IVF treatment dumped their newborn twins at a British hospital when they found out they were girls. Reports said the mother, 59, and father, 72, travelled to India for fertility treatment that would not have been allowed in Britain because of their age.
The parents, who were born in India but are British citizens living in Birmingham, reportedly told doctors they did not want the "wrong sex" babies immediately after the children were born by Caesarean section in Wolverhampton's New Cross hospital a fortnight ago. The newspaper says the husband then asked medics how long it would be before his wife was fit enough to fly back to India for more IVF treatment in the hope of getting a boy to continue the family name.
It was reported the twins have now been transferred to a central Birmingham hospital, where they have not been visited a single time. A spokeswoman for New Cross Hospital said she could not make any comment because of "data protection reasons". Birmingham Council's social services department said it is investigating.
Countries such as India are known to display a cultural preference for sons. An NHS insider was reported to have said: "Everyone is utterly appalled. How could any parent do this? "This is Britain in the 21st century.
"But they just weren't prepared to raise these two beautiful girls."
Female babies are often abandoned in India for being the wrong sex – but it is the first time here. It is likely to send shockwaves of revulsion through multi-cultural Britain. An investigation by the BBC Asian Network last year revealed that between 1990 and 2005 almost 1,500 fewer girls were born to Indian mothers in England and Wales than would have been expected for that group.
The parents, who were born in India but are British citizens living in Birmingham, reportedly told doctors they did not want the "wrong sex" babies immediately after the children were born by Caesarean section in Wolverhampton's New Cross hospital a fortnight ago. The newspaper says the husband then asked medics how long it would be before his wife was fit enough to fly back to India for more IVF treatment in the hope of getting a boy to continue the family name.
It was reported the twins have now been transferred to a central Birmingham hospital, where they have not been visited a single time. A spokeswoman for New Cross Hospital said she could not make any comment because of "data protection reasons". Birmingham Council's social services department said it is investigating.
Countries such as India are known to display a cultural preference for sons. An NHS insider was reported to have said: "Everyone is utterly appalled. How could any parent do this? "This is Britain in the 21st century.
"But they just weren't prepared to raise these two beautiful girls."
Female babies are often abandoned in India for being the wrong sex – but it is the first time here. It is likely to send shockwaves of revulsion through multi-cultural Britain. An investigation by the BBC Asian Network last year revealed that between 1990 and 2005 almost 1,500 fewer girls were born to Indian mothers in England and Wales than would have been expected for that group.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Ballpoint baby sets record - just by being alive
When Amillia Taylor was born she weighed no more than a can of fizzy drink and was about the size of a ballpoint pen. The amazing picture of her tiny feet cradled in a doctor's hands stunned the world. That was when she broke all records by being born five months early and weighing barely 290g. The world's most premature baby is now a healthy 3.1kg and has multiplied in size.
Little Amillia is happily thriving, having beaten all the odds to survive, and is a picture of health. "She really is my little fighter and from the moment she was born I always knew that she would survive," Mrs Taylor said. "Compared with what she was like (when she was born) she's absolutely huge and I just love holding her.
"We do call her our little miracle and we never forget how fortunate we are.
"People talk about Amillia being the world's youngest baby. She might well be that, but to us she's just our Amillia and our dream come true."
Dad Eddie said: "Even before Amillia was born she was always going to be special, but when we think about what she's gone through to be here, she's extra, extra special".
While mum, 36, and dad, 46, fuss over Amillia, they know all too well it was a different story in October 2006.
Then, they were given the grim news that their first child, conceived by IVF, was unlikely to survive. Doctors in Miami had warned them they did not resuscitate babies who were born under 24 weeks. Mrs Taylor knew she was several weeks short of that cut-off point when she went into premature labour following a difficult pregnancy.
Doctors were able to delay the birth for 20 days, but, on October 24, 2006, were forced to carry out an emergency Caesarean operation. Amillia was delivered at just 21 weeks and six days. Full-term births are delivered between 37 and 40 weeks. She had spent less time in the womb than any other known baby and the tiny scrap of life weighed less than 290g. She was measured at 24cm long and her skin was so thin that doctors could clearly see the veins and bones.
Amillia was so fragile the doctor who delivered her tore off her left ear accidentally with his hand as he reached in to pull her out of the womb. The ear was later re-attached by a plastic surgeon. Amazing photographs of Amillia alongside a ballpoint pen showed to the world just how small she really was.
But Mrs Taylor, a special-needs teacher, knew her baby daughter always had the will to live. Having tried for more than a decade to have a child, she says she knew Amillia would pull through. She chose the name Amillia after browsing for names on the Internet. In Latin, the word means resilient.
"Very few babies born as early as Amillia survive, but as soon as Amillia came out she was trying to breathe," Mrs Taylor said.
"She was also trying to cry and also had one of her eyes half open. "Her lungs were only 15 per cent developed because she was so premature but the doctors said she was trying to take in some air.
"I knew at that moment that whatever happened Amillia was going to live.
"I think the doctors knew they had a fighter on their hands and they did everything possible to help her survive."
Mrs Taylor said nurses handed her the baby almost immediately because they were convinced that she was going to die. "They wanted me to see her when she was alive, but not for one minute did I ever think Amillia was going to die. "I could just tell that she wanted to live and if the doctors and nurses could help her then she would have a fighting chance."
Mrs Taylor said that in the first few weeks nurses tried to prepare her for the death of her daughter. "They were more worried than me," she said. "I looked at Amillia and just knew she was going to make it." Mr Taylor, a road engineer, added: "We knew before the birth that if she hadn't taken a breath or showed much sign of life the doctors were unlikely to do anything. But my little girl came out breathing and they knew they had a fighter on their hands. It's hard to describe now, but Amillia was always meant to be."
The tiny tot was rushed to the intensive care unit at Miami's Baptist Hospital where staff maintained a round-the-clock vigil. Mrs Taylor was unable to hold her baby for two weeks as she was suffering from a blood infection and couldn't risk spreading it to Amillia. But Mr Taylor couldn't wait to change her first nappy. "Amillia was so small the nappies made specially for premature babies were too big," he said. "When we put it on her it was almost the length of her body. She was just swamped by the thing and that's when I really realised just how small she was." Mrs Taylor smiles with delight as she recalls cuddling Amillia for the first time.
"She was so light that I was scared to hurt her," she said. "But when the nurses placed her on my chest, I could feel her warmth and feel her breathing. It really was a special moment.
"I loved it when she started to cry. It was so faint that it sounded like a cat crying, but it proved to me Amillia had the strength to live. Amillia spent a total of four months in hospital before doctors said she was well enough to go home. The cost of her medical treatment is likely to be more than $1 million - the tab picked up by Mr Taylor's health insurance company. Since arriving at the couple's bungalow-style home, Amillia has steadily been gaining weight and height.She still needs oxygen supplements and is linked to a heart monitor but happily takes milk eight times a day.
"She has also developed quite a pair of lungs on her now and I call her the queen of screams," Mrs Taylor said. "Incredibly, she's also started teething a little bit although there are no teeth."
Mrs Taylor is hopeful doctors will soon give Amillia the all-clear to stop using the supplemental oxygen as her lungs develop even further, but the couple's biggest fear is that she will get an infection or a cold, which could prove fatal. That has meant they have rarely been able to take her out in the Florida sunshine. "We know we have to take it slowly, as we have to be very careful Amillia doesn't catch a cold," Mrs Taylor said. "When we came home, so many people wanted to come and see her, but we couldn't let them in for fear Amillia might catch a cold."
The couple admit they are overwhelmed to know their baby is a record-breaker and have been flooded with messages of goodwill from around the world. "We're so glad that people were pleased with Amillia's survival," Mrs Taylor said. "But no matter how happy they are, it can never match how Eddie and I feel."
"We're blessed."
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