More press releases from the 2010 ESHRE conference:
Rome, Italy: Mothers who drink alcohol while they are pregnant may be damaging the fertility of their future sons, according to new research to be presented at the 26th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Rome today (Tuesday 29 June).
Doctors in Denmark found that if mothers had drunk 4.5 or more drinks a week while pregnant, then the sperm concentration of their sons, measured about 20 years later, was a third lower in comparison to men who were not exposed to alcohol while in the womb. A drink was measured as 12 grams of alcohol, which is the equivalent to one 330 ml beer, one small (120 ml) glass of wine or one glass of spirits (40 ml).
Dr Cecilia Ramlau-Hansen, senior researcher at the Department of Occupational Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital (Denmark) and clinical associate professor at the Department of Epidemiology, Institute of Public Health, University of Aarhus, told a news briefing: “Our study shows that there is an association between drinking a moderate amount of alcohol (about four to five drinks a week) during pregnancy and lower sperm concentrations in sons. However, because this is an observational study we cannot say for certain that the alcohol causes the lower sperm concentrations. It is possible that drinking alcohol during pregnancy has a harmful effect on the foetal semen-producing tissue in the testes - and thereby on semen quality in later life - but our study is the first of its kind, and more research within this area is needed before any causal link can be established or safe drinking limits proposed.”
Dr Ramlau-Hansen and her colleagues studied 347 sons of 11,980 women with singleton pregnancies who were recruited to the Danish “Healthy habits for two” study between 1984-1987. Around the 36th week of pregnancy the mothers answered a questionnaire on lifestyles and health. The sons were followed up between 2005-2006, when they were aged between 18-21, and semen and blood samples were collected and analysed.
The researchers divided the sons into four groups, ranging from those who were least exposed to alcohol (their mothers had drunk less than one drink a week) - and this was the reference group against which the other groups were measured - to those whose mothers drank 1-1.5 drinks a week, 2-4 drinks a week, or 4.5 or more drinks per week.
They found that sons of mothers drinking 4.5 or more alcoholic drinks a week had average sperm concentrations of 25 million per millilitre, while the sons who were least exposed to alcohol had sperm concentrations of 40 million/ml. After adjusting for various confounding factors, they found the sons in the group most exposed to alcohol had an average sperm concentration that was approximately 32% lower than that in the least exposed group.
The World Health Organization defines a “normal” level of sperm concentration as being approximately 20 million/ml or more. Dr Ramlau-Hansen said: “The reduced sperm concentrations in the most exposed men are rather close to the lower end of the WHO’s normal range for fertility. The probability of conception increases with increased sperm concentration up to 40 million/ml and so it is possible that the most exposed men could be less fertile than the least exposed.”
She found that semen volume and total sperm count (which also affect a man’s fertility) were associated with prenatal alcohol exposure; these were highest in sons whose mothers drank 1-1.5 drinks a week. The researchers could find no association between alcohol exposure and the movement and shape of the sperm or with any reproductive hormones such as testosterone.Dr Ramlau-Hansen said: “Our finding that sons prenatally exposed to 1-1.5 drinks per week had higher semen volume and total sperm count compared to the least exposed group is not surprising and is quite a common finding when studying alcohol. It could indicate that small amounts of alcohol have a beneficial effect (for example, on the semen-producing tissue in the foetal testes), but, in fact, we believe this result may be biased by the characteristics of the women drinking small amounts of alcohol during pregnancy or by inaccurate reporting of alcohol consumption. Therefore, it is not possible to draw a firm conclusion from this result.”
The researchers also investigated whether fathers’ alcohol consumption had any effect. “We investigated the association between fathers’ total alcohol intake and semen quality in the sons and found that paternal alcohol was not associated with semen volume or sperm concentration. This finding suggests that the observed associations between maternal alcohol consumption and sons’ semen quality are not confounded by lifestyle factors that are shared by a couple, such as smoking,” said Dr Ramlau-Hansen.
She concluded: “If further research shows that maternal alcohol consumption is a cause of reduced semen concentration in male offspring, then we are a bit closer to an explanation of why semen quality may have decreased during the last decades and why it differs between populations. If exposure to alcohol in foetal life causes poor semen quality in adult life, we would expect that populations with many pregnant women drinking, possibly heavily, in pregnancy would have lower fertility in comparison with populations of where pregnant women do not drink.”
This information was brought to you by Cision http://www.cisionwire.com
Tags: Dr. Cecilia Ramlau-Hansen, ESHRE, eshre research, maternal drinking, pregnancy drinking impact
(More press releases from the 2010 ESHRE conference:)
Rome, Italy:
The efficacy of preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) has been one of the most hotly disputed subjects in assisted reproduction over the past few years. The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) PGS Task Force has now shown, in its groundbreaking proof of principle study, that screening of polar bodies (small cells that are the by-product of egg development), is a reliable method to analyse the chromosomal status of an egg.
Scientists at the University of Bonn and at the SISMER centre in Bologna used a new micro-array technology that screens all chromosomes in one cell within 12 hours, allowing for fresh transfer of the egg into the female patient. They could identify the chromosomal status of the eggs in 89 % of all polar bodies analysed, Prof. Joep Geraedts told the 26th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today (Monday).
The researchers biopsied both polar bodies from a total of 226 zygotes (fertilised eggs) from 42 cycles in 41 couples with an average maternal age of 40 years. In 19 cycles all zygotes were aneuploid (having a chromosome number that is not an exact multiple of the haploid number), leading to a transfer of only 37 embryos in 23 cycles. 10 of these embryos implanted and resulted in 8 clinical pregnancy - a 27 % implantation rate per embryo transfer. Of the 177 analysed eggs, 34 were euploid and 122 aneuploid.
The results showed that in 140 combinations of polar bodies and eggs that were analysed 125 (89 %) polar body analyses confirmed the chromosomal status of the eggs and 15 (11 %) did not.
Numerical chromosomal abnormalities are presumed to be a major factor in causing low pregnancy rates in assisted reproduction. Different studies have shown that PGS, as it is currently practiced, does not improve live birth rates in patients of advanced maternal age, with recurrent implantation failure or repeated pregnancy loss and may even be harmful.
In both centres all eggs from patients that were obtained after ovarian hyperstimulation, egg retrieval and fertilisation were biopsied for polar bodies 1 and 2. In those cases were aneuploidy (a type of chromosomal abnormality) was predicted, the egg was studied as well to confirm the findings. The Centre for Reproductive Medicine in Amsterdam analysed all data and provided the final results.
The analysis of polar body 1 already detected 72 % of all aneuploid eggs, but adding the analysis of the second polar body significantly improved the detection rate up to 89 %. “With chromosome errors being the predominant cause of non-viability of the embryo, we hope this approach will in future effectively improve results in assisted reproduction,” said Professor Geraedts, past ESHRE chairman and coordinator of the PGS Task Force
24sure, the novel molecular technique developed by BlueGnome, is based on DNA amplification and microarray technology and is far more powerful that the method of fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH), which has been used so far. The downside of using FISH is that it is applied at the blastomere stage, which does not represent the rest of the embryo and is susceptible to chromosomal mosaicism in embryos during cell division, which can lead to the transfer of abnormal embryos.
“The pilot study was aimed at answering one of the most pressing questions in assisted reproduction: how can we improve the success rate of IVF treatments in women of advanced maternal age? We set out to answer the outstanding questions about PGS once and for all,” said Professor Geraedts.
Overall polar body analysis offers many advantages. Apart from having more time to study the chromosomes, it is less manually intensive and the results are clearer to interpret than in FISH. If the analysis is finished before the gametes can fuse, this method would also be allowed in countries with restricted laws such as Germany where the embryo is protected.
The Task Force aims to move the study from the pilot phase into the clinical validation phase in form of a randomised control trial using a much larger sample over the course of three years in six different countries, starting at the end of 2010 or early 2011. “Instead of obtaining an answer to the question ‘what is the chance for an abnormal pregnancy’, the question will change to ‘what is the chance for a pregnancy,” concluded Professor Geraedts.
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Info courtesy of: Cision http://www.cisionwire.com.
Tags: Centre for Reproductive Medicine in Amsterdam, chromosomal abnormalities, ESHRE, Joep Geraedts, preimplantation genetic screening (PGS), Press Releases
When you’re pregnant and your prenatal vitamins make you feel sick, what should you do? Whatever you do, don’t simply choose to NOT take them. There could be alternatives and alternative methods of taking them. Here are some tips:
- Change the vitamin. The aftertaste on some are worse than others. You may want to opt for chewable prenatal vitamins or look for a liquid prenatal vitamin to avoid swallowing a large pill that leaves an aftertaste. Many women chatting on this topic online mention asking their doctor for a prescription for NataChew or Prenatal 19. Several over the counter prenatal vitamins that are chewable exist as well. One that’s regularly recommended by pregnant women is called Vitafusion Gummy Prenatals.
- Take it at a different time of day. Try taking your vitamin at bedtime instead of first thing in the morning. Chances are that you’ll sleep off the yucky feeling.
- Be patient. It might only last a short time. If you’re in your first trimester, chances are that the sickness will go away shortly. If not, you may even want to talk to your physician about alternatives.
- Many pregnant women report taking 2x Flinstone vitamins during pregnancy, which are easier to take and don’t have an aftertaste.
It’s vital that you get enough vitamins for the growing baby and for you. Lack of vitamins and minerals, particularly iron, will leave you listless. The right nutrient mix is going to help you have a happier pregnancy.
Tip: After your pregnancy is over, take prenatals, particularly if you’re breastfeeding. They won’t make you sick and you’ll get plenty of health benefits from them.
Tip: Prenatals can cause constipation due to the extra iron. Be sure to get plenty of fiber to offset this. Many women take Prodiem bulk psyllium during their pregnancy for this reason.
Tags: chewable prenatal vitamins, liquid prenatal vitamins, prenatal vitamins, prenatal vitamins sickness