Boosting Iron May Boost Female Fertility

Women who took extra iron dramatically reduced their risk of developing ovulatory infertility compared with women who did not take extra iron, researchers report.”It’s actually a very simple problem to correct with iron supplements and probably a multivitamin,” added Dr. Jennifer Wu, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. “It would be a very easy fix for infertility if iron plays a role in ovulatory dysfunction.”

But even such a simple solution may not yet be ready for widespread use, she said.

“This is just one study,” Wu said. “We need more studies with larger numbers to indicate what exact level of iron supplement is ideal for women attempting conception.”

She was not involved with the study, which is published in the November issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

According to the study, iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency in the world. Women of childbearing age are at increased risk for the condition, since menstruation, pregnancy and lactation take their toll on the body’s iron supplies.

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Endometriosis can afflict young women, too

By Judy Foreman

Historically, endometriosis — in which tissue from the lining of the uterus, called the endometrium, escapes and lodges in other areas — has been thought of as a problem of adult women.

According to the National Institutes of Health, 5.5 million women in North America have endometriosis; there is no cure, but pregnancy can sometimes trigger a lasting remission, and the disease often gets better at menopause. The disease causes infertility in 30 to 40 percent of women who have it.

Two-thirds of adults with endometriosis began getting symptoms before age 20, and endometriosis is increasingly being found in young women as well.

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Endometriosis Fertility Treatments

If you have already been diagnosed with endometriosis, it is likely that your doctor has taken the first critical step in determining the best course of treatment. This procedure, a laparoscopy is an outpatient surgery that allows your doctor to classify the seriousness of your endometriosis. Stage 1 is minimal. Stage 2 is a mild case of the disease. Stage 3 is considerate moderate. Stage 4 is an advanced stage of endometriosis with severe scarring and diseased tissue.

Probably the most effective ways of treating endometriosis is through surgery. In milder cases of endometriosis, laparoscopy can be performed to remove the diseased areas. A doctor is also able to see whether all the endometriosis has been removed. Best of all, it can be performed as an outpatient surgery with minimal recovery time. Another good surgical method is a laparotomy. More invasive than a laparoscopy, it entails a longer recovery time as well as a hospital stay. In severe cases of endometriosis, infertility becomes a permanent fact when a woman has to undergo a hysterectomy and all growths are removed by taking out the ovaries.

Not all endometriosis fertility treatments require invasive surgery. In fact, many physicians recommend medications simply to ease the pain and discomfort. There are also drugs that help by postponing ovulation while a woman’s estrogen is able to replenish itself.

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Fertility problems linked to autism

Couples who experience fertility problems may be more likely to have a child with a serious medical condition, such as autism or cerebral palsy, the results of a new study indicate.

A team of US researchers compared the children born to 2,000 couples who had experienced fertility problems, with children born to 2,000 couples who did not have any problems conceiving.

The study found that couples who had experienced fertility problems were more likely to have children with autism, cerebral palsy, cancer and mental disabilities. They were also more likely to have seizures.

The risk for autism alone was four times higher among the couples with fertility problems.

Developmental problems, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and sight and hearing problems were also more common among the children of couples who had experienced problems conceiving.

The researchers believe that what caused the fertility problems in the first place may go on to cause further problems later.

“It is as if a brick wall has stopped you becoming pregnant. Treatment allows you to climb over the wall, but it is still there and it goes on to cause problems”, Prof Mary Croughan of the University of California told a conference of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

Source: IrishHealth

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Older eggs pass on fertility risk

Women who delay starting a family may be putting their daughters at risk of fertility problems, say US researchers.

A study of women at a fertility clinic found that those who failed to become pregnant after treatment had older mothers than those who were successful.

The researchers from Atlanta, warned that postponing childbirth had implications for future generations.

The results were presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine meeting in New Orleans.

Researchers asked 74 women under the age of 35 years who were undergoing fertility treatment what age their mothers were when they gave birth to them and when they went through the menopause.

Women who became pregnant after IVF treatment had younger mothers, whose average age was 25, compared with those for whom IVF was not successful, whose mothers were aged, on average, 28.

The researchers also found that the average time span between the age at which the mothers gave birth to their daughters and the menopause was almost 25 years in those whose daughters had successful fertility treatment.

But this fell to 20 years on average in the mothers of women who failed to conceive, meaning the ‘ovary age’ was five years older.

Fathers of the women who failed to conceive were also older when they were born at 32 years compared with 28 years in those who got pregnant.

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Cytyc Acquires Minimally Invasive Surgical Device for Treating Endometriosis

Approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the HTC is a thermal ablation system that uses an ionized helium gas plasma plume to provide safe and effective treatment of endometriosis. The HTC System, currently in use in select European markets, performs a controlled ablation of tissue associated with endometriosis without affecting surrounding tissue. The system, used during open and laparoscopic surgery, includes a controller and disposable probes. Endometriosis affects an estimated 7 million women in the United States and approximately 16 million women worldwide.

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