(Press-News.org) A special type of in vitro fertilization, or IVF, may increase the risk for insulin resistance among children conceived in this way, according to a new study from Greece. The results will be presented Monday at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
During natural fertilization, as well as other IVF treatments, the egg is exposed to many sperm. In both of these cases, the strongest, healthiest sperm has the best chance of reaching and fertilizing the egg.
In contrast, the type of assisted reproductive technology, or ART, examined in this study involves injecting a single sperm directly into a single egg. Developed in 1992, this IVF technique, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection, or ICSI, provides a new way of treating male infertility by offering men with low sperm count or poor sperm mobility the possibility of conceiving a child.
The problem with this method is that random sperm selection may result in fertilization with unsuitable sperm. This raises the concern that ICSI may place offspring at greater genetic risk for developing disease in the future, although few studies have examined this risk.
"These results support the serious concerns for increased predisposition ART offspring may face for metabolic disorders in adult life, due to factors associated directly or indirectly with the ART methodology per se," said the study's lead author Gkourogianni Alexandra, MD, pediatrics resident at the University of Athens Medical School in Greece. "They support an increased risk for insulin resistance in children conceived by ICSI, even before any standard biochemical abnormalities become evident."
For this study, the investigators used metabolomics, which is the study of chemicals, or metabolites, that the body produces when it processes food. By measuring blood concentrations of these chemicals, investigators were able to assess the risk of developing obesity, insulin resistance, which is a symptom of diabetes, and metabolic syndrome, which comprises several abnormalities that increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke.
Of 72 metabolites examined, 38 that previous studies linked to obesity, insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome were significantly different among ICSI children, compared to those who were not conceived by this method. Additionally, two other substances that researchers use as biomarkers for these conditions differed between the two groups.
Study participants included 10 girls who were conceived by the ICSI method and 10 who were not. All participants were pre-pubertal. Investigators used a highly sensitive test, called gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, to detect molecular differences in participants' blood samples.
The Hellenic Endocrine Society funded the study.
###
Directed in vitro technique may increase insulin resistance among offspring
2013-06-18
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Missing enzyme linked to drug addiction
2013-06-18
A missing brain enzyme increases concentrations of a protein related to pain-killer addiction, according to an animal study. The results will be presented Monday at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
Opioids are pain-killing drugs, derived from the opium plant, which block signals of pain between nerves in the body. They are manufactured in prescription medications like morphine and codeine, and also are found in some illegal drugs, like heroin. Both legal and illegal opioids can be highly addictive.
In addition to the synthetic opioids, natural ...
New study shows predators affect the carbon cycle
2013-06-18
A new study shows that the predator-prey relationship can affect the flow of carbon through an ecosystem. This previously unmeasured influence on the environment may offer a new way of looking at biodiversity management and carbon storage for climate change.
The study, conducted by researchers at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, comes out this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It looks at the relationship between grasshoppers and spiders—herbivores and predators in the study's food chain—and how it affects the movement of ...
Preventing eggs' death from chemotherapy
2013-06-18
CHICAGO --- Young women who have cancer treatment often lose their fertility because chemotherapy and radiation can damage or kill their immature ovarian eggs, called oocytes. Now, Northwestern Medicine® scientists have found the molecular pathway that can prevent the death of immature ovarian eggs due to chemotherapy, potentially preserving fertility and endocrine function.
Scientists achieved this in female mice by adding a currently approved chemotherapy drug, imatinib mesylate, to another chemotherapy drug cisplatin.
The results will be presented Monday, June 17, ...
Observation is safe, cost-saving in low-risk prostate cancer
2013-06-18
BOSTON -- Many men with low-risk, localized prostate cancers can safely choose active surveillance or "watchful waiting" instead of undergoing immediate treatment and have better quality of life while reducing health care costs, according to a study by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Writing in the June 18 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, the authors said their statistical models showed that "observation is a reasonable and, in some situations, cost-saving alternative to initial treatment" for the estimated 70 percent ...
Animal thyroid extract as effective as T4 in treating hypothyroidism
2013-06-18
San Francisco, CA— Desiccated thyroid extract (DTE), derived from crushed preparations of animal thyroid glands, is a safe and effective alternative to standard T4 therapy in hypothyroid patients, a new study finds. The results will be presented Monday at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
In adults, untreated hypothyroidism leads to poor mental and physical performance. It also can cause high blood cholesterol levels that can lead to heart disease. The condition is treated with Levothyroxine, a synthetic (laboratory-made) form of T4 that is ...
Mayo Clinic: Rotavirus vaccine given to newborns in Africa is effective
2013-06-18
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Mayo Clinic and other researchers have shown that a vaccine given to newborns is at least 60 percent effective against rotavirus in Ghana. Rotavirus causes fever, vomiting and diarrhea, which in infants can cause severe dehydration. In developed nations, the condition often results in an emergency room visit or an occasional hospitalization, but is rarely fatal. In developing countries, however, rotavirus-related illness causes approximately 500,000 deaths per year. The findings appear this week in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Currently, there ...
Saint Louis University researchers discover a way to detect new viruses
2013-06-18
ST. LOUIS -- In research published in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, Saint Louis University researchers describe a technology that can detect new, previously unknown viruses. The technique offers the potential to screen patients for viruses even when doctors have not identified a particular virus as the likely source of an infection.
In the new approach, scientists use blood serum as a biological source to categorize and discover viruses.
Taking advantage of the complete deciphering of the human genome, SLU researchers used a next-generation ...
Multidisciplinary initiative reduces airway infection in pediatric intensive care patients
2013-06-18
An initiative that combines a multidisciplinary health care approach with a range of preventive measures could cut the rate of a common airway infection among children in intensive care by more than half, a new study suggests. The research, led by a team at Nationwide Children's Hospital, appears in the June issue of the journal Pediatric Critical Care Medicine.
Ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis—VAT for short—is a lower respiratory infection caused by a buildup of bacteria in the airway. Ordinarily, these small organisms are easily cleared, but being on a ventilator ...
Obesity associated with hearing loss in adolescents
2013-06-18
NEW YORK (June 17, 2013)—Obese adolescents are more likely than their normal-weight counterparts to have hearing loss, according to results of a new study. Findings showed that obese adolescents had increased hearing loss across all frequencies and were almost twice as likely to have unilateral (one-sided) low-frequency hearing loss. The study was recently e-published by The Laryngoscope, a journal published by the American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society.
"This is the first paper to show that obesity is associated with hearing loss in adolescents," ...
Community-based programs may help prevent childhood obesity
2013-06-18
When it comes to confronting childhood obesity, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health conclude that community-based approaches are important. A systematic review of childhood obesity prevention programs found that community-based intervention programs that incorporate schools and focus on both diet and physical activity are more effective at preventing obesity in children. The results of the study appear online in Pediatrics.
"In measuring the effectiveness of community-based programs that impact childhood obesity – more comprehensive interventions ...