X-Message-Number: 27251
From: "Basie" <>
Subject: Fine-tuned freezing improves fertility rate 
Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 15:39:37 -0400

Fine-tuned freezing improves fertility rate By Karla Gale
2 hours, 1 minute ago

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - By using sodium-deleted, choline-substituted 
culture medium and a slow-freeze, rapid-thaw protocol, researchers in Los 
Angeles have achieved pregnancy success rates of 63 percent resulting from 
the use of frozen eggs (oocytes).
Dr. John K. Jain and his associates at the Keck School of Medicine of the 
University of Southern California reported their institution's outcomes at 
the annual meeting of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine in 
Montreal.

In an interview with Reuters Health, Jain explained that oocytes lack a 
sodium pump, so when they are immersed in traditional culture medium, the 
presence of sodium is toxic. As for the addition of choline, it acts not 
only as a constituent of the media but it also " stabilizes the cell 
membrane, further enhancing the process," he said.

So far, the group has frozen and thawed 93 eggs from eight healthy women 
with tubal factor infertility. Using their culture modifications, 59 oocytes 
survived and 38 were fertilized. Eight of 29 embryos that were transferred 
succeeded in implanting, resulting in five pregnancies - a success rate of 
62.5 percent on a per-patient basis.

"Implantation rates derived from oocytes cryopreserved by this method are in 
the same range as fresh or cryopreserved embryos," Jain said.

"I believe egg freezing has arrived as a technology," he added, "but I still 
think it is mandated that we still offer it under research protocols. We 
need to be advocates for our patients, making sure they know that oocyte 
preservation is experimental."

Nevertheless, he noted, their results will be a boon to women with cancer 
receiving who need chemotherapy or radiation that may leave them infertile 
or older women who want to preserve their ability to bear children.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051020/hl_nm/fertility_freezing_dc;_ylt=Aj1frAwPNsTPhB2tY8Tru5zVJRIF;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--

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