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Post by ouchy on Mar 16, 2007 13:26:59 GMT -5
This is interesting. I just read this article on Yahoo! Health. _________________________________________________ Male offspring of assisted reproduction less fertile Wed Mar 14, 2:46 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A study of young men undergoing compulsory physical examination for military service found that men whose mothers underwent fertility treatments to conceive appear to have impaired reproductive health.
Dr. Tina Kold Jensen and colleagues at Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, studied 1,925 young Danish men who underwent a physical examination and volunteered to provide a semen sample, a blood sample and to complete a questionnaire.
When the mothers were asked if they had received fertility treatments to conceive their son, 47 women said they had.
After controlling for various potentially confounding factors, the researchers found that compared with the other men, those conceived with fertility treatment had a 46 percent lower sperm concentration, a 45 percent lower total sperm count, smaller testes, fewer motile sperm and fewer normal appearing sperm.
These men also had lower testosterone levels, but the difference was not statistically significant.
Jensen told Reuters Health that although it is not clear what mechanisms are involved, "the significantly reduced sperm counts, fewer motile sperm and other findings are of concern, particularly in light of current low fertility rates and increasing use of fertility treatments."
"Larger-scale follow-up studies," she concluded, "should help provide more information on the possible causes and late effects of assisted reproductive techniques."
SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology March 2007
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Post by akcheryl on Mar 16, 2007 16:26:59 GMT -5
I have read some things about increased risks for certain birth defects after undergoing fertility treatments, and for offspring also having fertility problems. However, there is a very relevent question as to whether it is the fertility treatment that causes the problems, or the reason for the parent(s)'s infertility itself.
For instance, most of us can reasonably expect our daughters to also suffer from endometriosis (and thus increased risk for infertility) whether we under fertility treatments or not. The question remains whether those men with lowered sperm counts have decreased numbers because of fertility treatment (IVF, IUI, ICSI...), or because of a genetic abnormality passed down from their fathers (whose suffering probably caused the need for fertility treatment in the first place).
I know the article was about lowered sperm counts, but as far as the birth defects go, the increased risk statistics come from data collected by the CDC. (I had to sign consent forms allowing the CDC to track me and any potential offspring for the duration of IVF.)
The CDC has shown SIX TOTAL cases of retinoblastoma with IVF, as well as minute numbers of cases (under 30, TOTAL) for two other diseases in babies born out of IVF. However, these numbers are incredibly small given that 1% of babies are now born from IVF. Most likely the CDC is seeing "increased" numbers of affected babies not because of the treatment, but because they keep detailed records on every IVF baby (whereas they obviously do not for naturally-conceived babies).
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Post by ouchy on Mar 16, 2007 16:32:48 GMT -5
Yep. I agree.
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