(Press-News.org) Amsterdam, July 3, 2013 - Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, today announced the publication of a recent retrospective study in Reproductive BioMedicine Online to better understand treatment considerations and outcomes for same-sex male couples and single men when using assisted reproduction treatment.
The number of same-sex male couples and single men using assisted reproduction assistance to have a family has been increasing over time (since 2003 a 21-fold increase has been reported). However, there is limited published data on using assisted reproduction treatment for this community.
In this study a total of 37 same-sex male couples and eight single men (seven homosexual and one heterosexual) who attended the CReATe Fertility Centre for assisted reproduction services were studied; the mean age was 46 years (24). Twenty-eight couples (76%) chose to use spermatozoa from both partners to fertilize their donated oocytes. Most men (32 same-sex male couples and seven single men; 87%) obtained oocytes from an anonymous donor, whereas five couples and one single man (13%) had a known donor. Anonymous donors who were open to be contacted by the child after the age of 18 were selected by 67% of patients. Of all 25 deliveries, eight (32%) were sets of twins.
Most same-sex male couples chose to use spermatozoa from both partners to inseminate the eggs and transferred one embryo from each to the surrogate. As a result, all twins from this group were half genetic siblings. High success can be attained in this population particularly for those men who are persistent in trying to achieve a pregnancy through subsequent frozen and fresh embryo cycles. The majority of the men who came to the CReATe Fertility Centre were successful at realizing their dreams of fatherhood.
Professor Susan Golombok, Director of the Centre for Family Research at University of Cambridge, UK said, "This is the first study to systematically examine the way in which assisted reproduction is used by male same-sex couples and single men. It provides fascinating insights into the decision-making and outcomes of these conceptions including the desire for identifiable donors and for a genetic connection to the child. In contrast to gay couples and single men who create families through adoption, the findings of this study suggest that men who choose surrogacy and egg donation as a route to parenthood value genetic relatedness for themselves and their child."
###
The research paper is:
"Assisted reproduction in a cohort of same-sex male couples and single men", by Stephanie A. Grovera, Ziva Shmorguna, Sergey I. Moskovtsev, Ari Baratza, Clifford L. Librach (DOI:10.1016/j.rbmo.2013.05.003), Article in Press, Reproductive Biomedicine Online (May 16, 2013), published by Elsevier. Available online on ScienceDirect http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1472648313002782
Notes for Editors
Full text of the article is available to journalists upon request: contact Greyling Peoples at +31 20 485 3323 or g.peoples@elsevier.com.
About Reproductive Biomedicine Online
Reproductive BioMedicine Online covers the formation, growth and differentiation of the human embryo. It is intended to bring to public attention new research on biological and clinical research on human reproduction and the human embryo including relevant studies on animals. It is published by a group of scientists and clinicians working in these fields of study. Its audience comprises researchers, clinicians, practitioners, academics and patients.
It is an official publication of:
The American Association of Bioanalysts (AAB) http://www.aab.org
Alpha – Scientists in Reproductive Medicine, http://alphascientists.org
The American College of Embryology (ACE) http://www.embcol.org
The Global Chinese Association for Reproductive Medicine (GCARM) http://www.gcarm.com
The International Society for In Vitro Fertilization (ISIVF) http://www.isivf.com
The Mediterranean Society for Reproductive Medicine (MSRM) http://www.medreproduction.org
The Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis International Society (PGDIS) http://www.pgdis.org
The Turkish Society of Reproductive Medicine (TSRM) http://www.tsrm.org.tr
About Elsevier
Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close
to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include SciVerse ScienceDirect, SciVerse Scopus, Reaxys, MD Consult and Nursing Consult, which enhance the productivity of
science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.
A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).
Reproductive BioMedicine Online publishes study on assisted reproduction
2013-07-03
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Epigenetic changes to fat cells following exercise
2013-07-03
Exercise, even in small doses, changes the expression of our innate DNA. New research from Lund University in Sweden has described for the first time what happens on an epigenetic level in fat cells when we undertake physical activity.
"Our study shows the positive effects of exercise, because the epigenetic pattern of genes that affect fat storage in the body changes", says Charlotte Ling, Associate Professor at Lund University Diabetes Centre.
The cells of the body contain DNA, which contains genes. We inherit our genes and they cannot be changed. The genes, however, ...
Knowing the end goal increases productivity
2013-07-03
Working in a team is not always easy, and achieving our aims often turns out to be much harder than we thought it would be. What can we do to increase our chances of gaining ultimate success? A new study from Aarhus University's transdisciplinary Interacting Minds Centre (IMC) provides insight into how to improve productivity when members of a group share a clearly identifiable goal.
"Our study focused on how to improve levels of cooperation. What we found was that when people know exactly what they're supposed to be doing as members of a team, they are more willing ...
Thin-film diamonds
2013-07-03
WASHINGTON D.C., June 28, 2013 -- A new method for creating thin films of diamonds, which is described in the journal Applied Physics Letters, produced by AIP Publishing, may allow manufacturers to enhance future electronics.
In industrial and high-tech settings, diamonds are particularly valued for their hardness, optical clarity, smoothness, and resistance to chemicals, radiation and electrical fields. For electronics applications, researchers "dope" diamonds in order to make them conductive, introducing the semiconductor boron into the diamond manufacturing process. ...
Computer programs improve fingerprint grading
2013-07-03
Subjectivity is problematic when evaluating fingerprints, and quality is in the eye of the examiner. But three computer programs used together can give fingerprint grading unprecedented consistency and objectivity, according to Penn State researchers.
"People leave behind all kinds of fingerprints, and the job of a forensic examiner is then to look at a fingerprint and identify a person who could have left it," said Akhlesh Lakhtakia, Charles Godfrey Binder Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Penn State. "Various scenarios can be envisioned where a fingerprint ...
Semantics on the basis of words' connectivity
2013-07-03
Two Brazilian physicists have now devised a method to automatically elucidate the meaning of words with several senses, based solely on their patterns of connectivity with nearby words in a given sentence – and not on semantics. Thiago Silva and Diego Amancio from the University of São Paulo, Brazil, reveal, in a paper about to be published in EPJ B, how they modelled classics texts as complex networks in order to derive their meaning. This type of model plays a key role in several natural processing language tasks such as machine translation, information retrieval, content ...
Researcher warns banned fountain of youth drug may be making a comeback
2013-07-03
(Boston)--Despite it being more than 30 years since the "fountain of youth drug" Gerovital H3 was banned in the United States, it may be making a comeback. In an editorial published in this month's Journal of the American Geriatrics Society BUSM researcher Thomas Perls, MD, points out that a few U.S.-based anti-aging and longevity clinics have begun to advertise Gerovital H3 in pill form and as intravenous infusions despite the fact that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned it in 1982.
Gerovital H3 is the dental anesthetic procaine hydrochloride (novocaine), ...
Remarkable 32 new wasp species from the distinctive Odontacolus and Cyphacolus genera
2013-07-03
The wasp family Platygastridae is a large group of tiny, exclusively parasitoid wasps distributed worldwide. The genera Odontacolus and Cyphacolus, belonging to this family, are among the most distinctive wasps because of the peculiar hump-like formation on the rear part of their bodies. Despite their intriguing body shape, the generic status of these two groups has remained unclear. A new extensive study published in the open access Zookeys presents a morphological phylogenetic analysis including an astonishing 32 new species.
The peculiar shape of the so called horn ...
Research team improves immunization strategies for dengue fever in Thailand
2013-07-03
AMHERST, Mass. – Using a unique data set spanning 40 years of dengue fever incidence in Thailand, an international team led by biostatistician Nicholas Reich at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has for the first time estimated from data that after an initial dengue infection, a person is protected from infection with other strains for between one and three years.
Their results have implications for designing more effective vaccine studies, say Reich and colleagues at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the University of Michigan and the Armed ...
Military sonar can alter blue whale behavior
2013-07-03
DURHAM, N.C. -- Some blue whales off the coast of California change their behavior when exposed to the sort of underwater sounds used during U.S. military exercises. The whales may alter diving behavior or temporarily avoid important feeding areas, according to new research.
The Southern California Behavioral Response Study exposed tagged blue whales in the California Bight to simulated mid-frequency (3.5-4 kHz) sonar sounds significantly less intense than the military uses.
"Whales clearly respond in some conditions by modifying diving behavior and temporarily avoiding ...
Gateway for metastases
2013-07-03
This news release is available in German. Malignant tumours often spread to remote areas of the body. In the majority of cases, metastases formation develops via the blood vascular system. The blood platelets thereby provide invaluable help to the tumour cells in penetrating new organs. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim have identified the P2Y2 receptor molecule on the cells of the blood platelet wall as the gateway that allows the cancer cells to enter the organs. They now aim to prevent the formation of metastases ...