New way of dealing with infertility

30.09.2013

Scientists from Japan suggested a new way of dealing with infertility caused by early menopause. In their research specialists from the University of St. Marianne (Kawasaki) and a number of other Japanese universities and hospitals were guided by the fact that in the ovaries of women who have entered menopause early, nevertheless were preserved their own immature oocytes that can be activated.

For ovarian stimulation was used the combination of two factors: the blockade of the signaling protein PTEN (resulting in a sleeping follicle growth) and mechanical damage of ovarian tissue, activating the maturation of oocytes. This method of producing mature eggs was called in vitro activation (IVA).

The experiment involved 13 women aged 28 to 43 years, with early menopause (which began from 4 to 8 years ago). All of them had immature follicles in the ovaries.

All patients were subjected to ovariectomy, ovaries are stimulated further by the method of IVA and pieces of them are put back through a puncture in the female body, placing near the fallopian tubes.

Eight women had follicle growth. They were assigned to receive hormone therapy to stimulate ovulation (the scheme similar to that used in the preparation for IVF). Five patients had eggs suitable for fertilization. They were removed (by means of puncture), fertilized "in vitro" with the sperm and the resulting embryos were put back into the uterus.

As the researchers reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, one of the patients is waiting for a child, another failed to get pregnant, and the third has given birth to a healthy baby boy. Another two participants are preparing for transplantation of the embryo.

Despite all the difficulties of this method, the authors hope that with time it will become as widely used for the treatment of infertility, as well as conventional in vitro fertilization. The researchers also intend to look for opportunities to stimulate immature follicles with the help of medical methods, without removal of the ovaries and to check whether this technique is suitable to deal with other forms of infertility in women.

translated from www.probirka.org