New Breakthrough For In Vitro Fertilization

Dr. Enrique Jacome

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have discovered that a chemical can trigger the maturation of small eggs to healthy, mature eggs, a process that could give more women the chance of successful IVF treatment in the future. The results have been published in the journalPloS ONE. 

Women and girls treated for cancer with radiotherapy and chemotherapy are often unable to have children as their eggs die as a result of the treatment. 

Although it is now possible to freeze eggs and even embryos, this is not an option for girls who have yet to reach puberty. A better way of preserving their fertility is to freeze slices of ovarian tissue that contain small immature eggs, and subsequently mature these eggs so that they can be used in IVF treatment. Unfortunately there is, at present, no way of maturing small eggs in an artificial environment outside the body. 

A research group led by professor Kui Liu at the University of Gothenburg has recently discovered that a chemical which inhibits the PTEN molecule can trigger the maturation of small eggs to form healthy, mature eggs. 

Carrying out a study on mice, the researchers managed to produce five live young mice from eggs matured using this PTEN inhibitor to help the growth and maturation process. 

The results have been published in PloS ONE and build on previous results published in Science, where the group showed that PTEN is a molecule that inhibits an egg's development. 

"This discovery demonstrates that there is a realistic chance of being able to use PTEN inhibitors to activate small eggs in a test tube," says Kui Liu, professor at the University of Gothenburg's Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology. 

Professor Kui Liu has led the study and is optimistic about the new method. "This technique is extremely valuable for those women who have only small eggs in their ovaries and cannot be helped by IVF as things stand," says Kui Liu. 

Kui Liu's group demonstrated in the study that a short treatment with the PTEN inhibitor can trigger the growth of small eggs, and that this treatment makes it possible to produce plenty of mature eggs. 

The results also show that healthy, live young can be born from treated eggs used in IVF. Not only were the young mice born fertile, they also showed no signs or symptoms of chronic disease at the age of 15 months, which equates to 70 human years. 

Kui Liu is a professor of molecular biology and his group specialises in the study of molecular mechanisms that affect the development of female reproductive cells. His aim is to be able to use this method to help women. 

"We hope to see this method being used clinically within five to ten years," says Kui Liu. 

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New Study Reaffirms That Breast Cancer Screening Saves Lives

Dr. Enrique Jacome

The study, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention is the largest of its kind in Australia and one of the largest in the world. It followed about 4,000 women in a study of the BreastScreen program in Western Australia. 

University of Melbourne Research Fellow Dr Carolyn Nickson and colleagues from the Melbourne School of Population Health said the findings reaffirmed the importance and efficacy of mammography. 

The study focused on women aged 50-69 years, who are in the target age range for screening. It included 427 cases where women had died from breast cancer and 3,650 control women who were still alive when the other women died. 

The research team compared screening attendance between the two groups and found screening was much lower among women who had died from breast cancer, a finding that is consistent with a similar study from South Australia and with numerous studies from around the world. Comparison with similar studies showed an average estimate of a 49% reduced risk of dying. 

Some other studies including studies from Australia claim that screening doesn't reduce risk of dying from breast cancer. However, these studies do not compare outcomes for individual women. 

"Sound research methods have been used in this study. I believe it is time to move on from the debate about whether screening reduces mortality and to instead direct research resources to help improve the program for women who choose to use it," Dr Nickson said. 

"It is important that Australian women have accurate information about the pros and cons of participating in BreastScreen. The findings of this study may help women decide whether to participate." 

"Early detection is the key to early treatment and the free BreastScreen program is the best health service available to detect breast cancers earlier in women aged 50-69 years."

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Study Shows That Post-Menopausal Women Have Difficulty With Long-Term Weight Loss

Dr. Enrique Jacome

Postmenopausal women naturally consume much less energy than when they were younger, the strategies and behaviors they followed earlier in life are simply not sustainable or effective in the long-term any more, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Department of Health and Physical Activity, reported in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The authors added that several factors work against postmenopausal women when they try to lose weight over the long term.

Several studies have looked at postmenopausal body weight control and diets. A team of researchers from the University of Illinois said that postmenopausal dieting women should eat plenty of protein so that they do not lose too much muscle. Another study warned thathigh-protein diets may encourage bone density loss in postmenopausal women.

Even for younger females and men of all ages, dropping the pounds initially during a diet is usually achievable, but keeping the weight off over the long term is challenging. For postmenopausal women, the authors say, it is much harder.

Postmenopausal women are at a higher risk of developing certain diseases and conditions - those who are overweight have an even higher risk. Overweight postmenopausal women who manage to lose weight, have much better health outcomes. A study carried out by researchers from the Prevention Center at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington, found that those who lost at least 5% of their bodyweight had noticeable reductions in markers of inflammation.

The researchers found that behaviors which are linked to weight loss initially during a diet and exercise drive, just simply do not work after a while for post-menopausal females. They believe that interventions which target these behaviors could help older women achieve positive long-term outcomes, especially obese women.

Lead researcher Bethany Barone Gibbs, PhD, explained that several factors make weight loss much harder for post-menopausal women:

"Not only does motivation decrease after you start losing weight, there are physiological changes, including a decreased resting metabolic rate. Appetite-related hormones increase. Researchers studying the brain are now finding that you have enhanced rewards and increased motivation to eat when you've lost weight."

If you add them all up, greater appetite, a lower resting metabolic rate, etc., it is very difficult for post-menopausal women to lose weight and to keep it off.

Traditionally, treatments, particularly behavioral ones for obesity, have over-concentrated on keeping the calories down - an approach which may sound good in theory, but has very disappointing long-term results. Dr. Gibbs and team set out to find out what impact certain alterations in eating behaviors and selected foods might have on weight loss after six and 48 months. They focused just on post-menopausal women who were overweight.

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