Couples with obesity may take longer to achieve pregnancy, study suggests

NIH: Couples in which both partners are obese may take from 55 to 59 percent longer to achieve pregnancy, compared to their normal weight counterparts, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. The findings appear online in Human Reproduction. “A lot of studies on fertility and body composition have focused on the female partner, but our findings underscore the importance of including both partners,” said Rajeshwari Sundaram, Ph.D., a senior investigator in the Division of Intramural Population Health Research at NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. “Our results also indicate that fertility specialists may want to consider couples’ body compositions when counseling patients.”

Grandfather’s Age At Paternity May Affect Man’s Fertility

MedicalResearch: There is a growing trend of delayed marriage and childbearing, particularly into the third and fourth decade of life. Advanced maternal age is well recognized as a risk factor for chromosomal abnormalities and perinatal complications, but there is also growing interest in the impact of advanced paternal age. Multiple studies have demonstrated that as men age their sperm quality and ability to have children decreases. We were interested in how the age of the parents and the age of the grandparents at the time of conception can affect a man’s sperm quality. We hypothesized that men with older parents and grandparents at the time of conception would have a linear decrease in the quality of their sperm.

X-linked Gene Mutations Cause Some Cases of Male Infertility

Pittsburgh: Some cases of male infertility are due to mutations in the maternal X chromosome that prevent development of viable sperm, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The study was published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine. Nearly half of cases of male infertility not due to a physical obstruction are estimated to have genetic roots, and about 20 percent of infertile men have azoospermia, meaning they don’t make sperm, explained co-principal investigator Alexander Yatsenko, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive medicine, Pitt School of Medicine, and an MWRI investigator. He noted the only causes for infertility that have been identified are defects of sex chromosomes, such as the deletions of the Y (male) chromosome or duplication of the entire X (female) chromosome in Klinefelter syndrome. 

Diet key to lifespan and fertility

Sydney University. Australia: It may be possible to live longer and increase fertility by manipulating diet, according to world-first research in mice from the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre.

A buzz Over Ovulation Similarities Between Two Very Different Species

Connecticut University. US: Insects are so different from humans that researchers have long assumed that the ovulatory process, how females make eggs, would have nothing in common between our species. But now researchers at the University of Connecticut report that during that key process, the same gene may govern us both. If correct, the results could bring insight to cancer metastasis, human fertility and ovarian disease.

Hysteroscopy for treating suspected abnormalities of the cavity of the womb in women having difficulty becoming pregnant

Cochrane: Human life starts when a fertilised egg has successfully implanted in the inner layer of the cavity of the womb. It is believed that abnormalities originating from this site, such as polyps, fibroids, septa or adhesions, may disturb this important event. The removal of these abnormalities by doing a hysteroscopy using a very small diameter inspecting device might therefore increase the chance of becoming pregnant either spontaneously or after specialised fertility treatment, such as insemination or in vitro fertilisation.

Waiting to start a family could be more problematic than thought

Otago University. New Zealand: More than a quarter of women and a fifth of men experience fertility difficulties by their late thirties figures which are considerably higher than traditionally reported, newly published information from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study shows.

Egg cell quality impaired by mother's obesity

Anvers University. Belgium: Researchers at the University of Antwerp demonstrate a clear link between obesity and oocyte quality. The number of obese people is growing all the time. But a recent finding suggests that egg cell quality may also be impaired as a result of being overweight or obese. Researchers in the Department of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Antwerp came to this conclusion and pointed the finger at saturated fatty acids as one of the main culprits.

Preserving fertility among young cancer patients

Nottingham University. UK: A pioneering American expert in obstetrics and fertility in cancer patients is to give a public lecture at The University of Nottingham, as well as London and Edinburgh as part of the ‘Sex in 3 Cities’ series run by the Society for Reproduction and Fertility. Survival rates among young cancer patients have steadily increased over the past four decades in part because of the development of more effective cancer treatments. 

Obesity damage to eggs may be reversible

NHS. UK: “Damaging effect of obesity on a woman’s eggs can now be reversed,” is the potentially misleading headline from the Mail Online today. The over-egged headline refers to a mouse study showing that signs of lower fertility due to obesity could be reversed using experimental drugs. This was not tested in humans, however. Maternal obesity is known to lower the chance of successful conception, as well as increasing the risk of miscarriage.

Impact of obesity on fertility can be reversed

Adelaide University. Australia: In a breakthrough discovery, researchers at the University of Adelaide have revealed how damage from obesity is passed from a mother to her children, and also how that damage can be reversed.

Online registry will help cancer patients preserve their fertility

NSW University. Australia: In a world-first, the Randwick Hospitals Campus and UNSW Australia have launched an online registry that will capture a cancer patient’s journey from diagnosis through to survivorship, and which can be used to help them plan for a family.

Congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens

Orphanet: Congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens (CBAVD) is a condition leading to male infertility. It accounts for 6% to 8% of cases of obstructive azoospermia and affects about 1/1,000 males. It is also found in 98% of males with cystic fibrosis.

Blocking hormone could eliminate stress-induced infertility

UC Berkeley scientists have discovered that chronic stress activates a hormone that reduces fertility long after the stress has ended, and that blocking this hormone returns female reproductive behavior to normal.

Vas deferent

The vas deferens is a tube that delivers sperm from the testes to the penis.

Adhesions

Adhesions are also called: Abdominal adhesions

Adhesions are bands of scar-like tissue. Normally, internal tissues and organs have slippery surfaces so they can shift easily as the body moves. Adhesions cause tissues and organs to stick together. They might connect the loops of the intestines to each other, to nearby organs, or to the wall of the abdomen. They can pull sections of the intestines out of place. This may block food from passing through the intestine.

Adhesions can occur anywhere in the body. But they often form after surgery on the abdomen. Almost everyone who has surgery on the abdomen gets adhesions. Some adhesions don't cause any problems. But when they partly or completely block the intestines, they cause symptoms such as

• Severe abdominal pain or cramping
• Vomiting
• Bloating
• An inability to pass gas
• Constipation

Adhesions can sometimes cause infertility in women by preventing fertilized eggs from reaching the uterus.

No tests are available to detect adhesions. Doctors usually find them during surgery to diagnose other problems.

Some adhesions go away by themselves. If they partly block your intestines, a diet low in fiber can allow food to move easily through the affected area. If you have a complete intestinal obstruction, it is life threatening. You should get immediate medical attention and may need surgery.

More about abdominal adhesions

Infertility

Authors: Drs Craig Niederberger (University of Illinois) and Brad Van Voorhis (University of Iowa) 2010-04-20

Infertility Male and Female Infertility Infertility is a common condition affecting approximately 10%-15% of couples. One unusual aspect of this field of medicine is that it involves two patients who each need to be evaluated; in many cases, both also need to be treated.