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Presented at the Society for Gynecologic Investigation 2013 annual meeting, new findings suggest that a greater ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid intake could improve embryo implantation with in vitro fertilization (IVF).

April 12, 2013

A new report says that the first ever uterus cadaver transplant was not only successful, but the recipient is now pregnant.

Twenty-two year old Derya Sert, born without a uterus, received a cadaveric uterus donation in August 2011 with the goal of successfully carrying a pregnancy. Embryos created of Sert’s eggs and her husband’s sperm were frozen until medical teams were confident the transplant was accepted and ready to bear a pregnancy.

A study published in the March 2013 edition of Reproductive Biomedicine Online examines a new technique for sampling embryo DNA. Scientists explain how extracting fluid from blastocysts could be a safer and more efficient alternative to biopsy via preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD).

Currently, PGD is an elective procedure offered in conjunction with in vitro fertilization (IVF) which removes one cell from the embryo to screen for genetic diseases and chromosomal abnormalities. Effectively, it can tell a woman about the health of her embryo and the chances that the embryo will develop into a healthy pregnancy. More than 50% of all miscarriages are linked to genetic abnormalities in an embyro. There is some debate about the risks to the embryo after PGD biopsy, though most research and advice from fertility doctors assures patients their embryos will suffer very little risk through the PGD process. Utilizing this fluid sampling technique could eliminate some of these concerns.

A study published in the journal, Cancer, in January 2013 says BRCA gene mutation is responsible for more than just breast or ovarian cancer. Women with mutations are also at risk of entering menopause at a younger age and suffering an earlier decline in fertility.