STICKY EGGS AND FERTILITY

A new study published in the Journal Science, have discovered how eggs actually captures sperm in the fertilisation process.

The research identifies the sugar molecule that makes the egg sticky which plays an integral part in enabling the sperm and the egg to stick together. Apparently researchers across the world have been trying to figure out for years, what makes this process possible.

This study is believed to be able to help address some of the unexplained causes and infertility and sub-fertility and could also help in developing natural contraceptive agents.

For more on this subject, please visit the link below:-


http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/233038.php

From the article:

"The international team, from the University of Missouri, the University of Hong Kong, Academia Sinica in Taiwan and Imperial College London, discovered that the sugar chain known as the sialyl-lewis-x sequence (SLeX) is highly abundant on the surface of the human egg. After experimenting with a range of synthesised sugars in the laboratory they went on to show that SLeX specifically binds sperm to an egg, and tested their findings using the outer coats of unfertilised 'non-living' human eggs.

"This exciting research is providing the first insights into the molecular events occurring at the very beginning of human life. The details we've discovered here fill in a huge gap in our knowledge of fertility and we hope they will ultimately help many of those people who currently cannot conceive," said Professor Anne Dell CBE FRS FMedSci from the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London, who led the team that discovered the SLeX sugars on the egg surface." 

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"NEW DOUBTS RAISED ABOUT COMMON FERTILITY TREATMENTS"

This speaks in particular to couples who have been diagnosed with unexplained infertility, a diagnosis given to one in eight couples.

In a recent article in Shine from Yahoo, mention was made of a recent study published in British Medical Journal with findings which states that, when there was intervention for couples with cases of  unexplained infertility, the success rate for pregnancy, was not any better than for other couples with this diagnosis who just waited and see.

From the article:-

“The study, published in the British Medical Journal, compared two common treatments with the wait-and-see approach. Couples with unexplained infertility were randomly assigned to have ovarian stimulation with the drug, clomiphene citrate (otherwise known as Clomid) or to have intrauterine insemination (IUI) without ovarian stimulation drugs. A third group was encouraged to try to get pregnant but were not given any treatment. Researchers found no significant difference in pregnancy rates among the groups. Women who had no intervention had a live birth rate of 17 percent, the group taking Clomid had a birth rate of 14 percent, and the group having IUI alone had a birth rate of 23 percent. Though the rate is higher in the IUI group and lower in the Clomid group, the differences were not statistically significant.” 

The article also went on to mention that, although Clomid  is a popular drug, used to enhance fertility, it can reduce the chances of the sperm reaching the egg and can also reduce the chances of the uterus supporting implantation of the embryo.

Please follow the link below to read more:-

http://astrology.yahoo.com/channel/health/finding-fertility-new-doubts-raised-about-common-fertility-treatments-230679/

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CELIAC DISEASE AND INFERTILITY

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“Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by inflammation of the small intestine’s absorption surface, induced in genetically predisposed individuals by ingestion of wheat, rye or barley. Specific peptides of these grains, collectively called gluten, elicit an inappropriate immune response that damages the surface of the small intestine, causing malabsorption of nutrients. A gluten-free diet for life is the only effective therapy in reversing the damage and complications."

It seems Celiac disease can result in infertility and could be a condition that those who are diagnosed with ‘unexplained infertility’ need to be screened for.

Read more

http://www.celiac.ca/infertility.php