IVF success lower in women who used alternative fertility treatment

August 31st, 2009 LONDON - A new drug developed as an alternative to popular drug warfarin, also used as rat poison, has been found to significantly reduce stroke risk. Generally, patients at risk of stroke are given warfarin to prevent blood clotting, but the treatment is risky and requires regular monitoring.

August 6th, 2009 LONDON - A new study has challenged one of the most established and accepted standards in the social sciences - human fertility levels tend to decline as countries advance towards high levels of social and economic development. It has shown a reversal of fertility decline in highly developed countries once they reach a certain level of wealth.

July 8th, 2009 LONDON - Wealthy mothers are likely to bear more sons, while their less privileged counterparts tend to produce more daughters, according to a new study. Since women are said to be tougher than men, evolutionary theories suggest those living in poorer communities are predisposed to giving birth to girls to ensure survival of the family line, as men are more at risk of dying younger.

July 1st, 2009 LONDON - A new study has suggested that minor weight loss in obese women could boost their chances of getting pregnant. Professor Bill Ledger, from the University of Sheffield, and colleagues said conducted a three-month study of 40 obese women who were not ovulating.

June 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Mothers' exposure to the chemical bisphenol A (BPA), which is found in plastic household items like plastic cans and bottles, may make their offspring prone to a fertility defect, according to a new animal study. In fact, the study has now revealed how the defect actually occurs.

June 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Men who eat large amounts of fruits and vegetables have good seminal quality, a new study has found. According to the research, which was carried out in two infertility centres in Alicante and Murcia, low antioxidant intake is associated with low reproductive capacity in semen.

May 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A pill used to treat nerve pain has been found effective in treating hot flashes in women, claim Mayo Clinic researchers. They have found that pregabalin decreased hot flash severity and frequency about 20 percent more than did a placebo.

May 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - If women in your family give birth at older ages, you may well have a chance of living longer than you would otherwise, a new study has found. The study confirmed a previous finding that women who have babies naturally in their 40s or 50s tend to live longer than other women.

May 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Women who have babies in their forties and fifties tend to live longer than other women, according to a new study. The study shows their brothers also live longer, but their wives don't.

April 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Fertility specialists heralded the birth of a baby girl who was conceived through in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) at their lab with sperm frozen 21 years ago, a world record. Chris Biblis, 38, of Charlotte (US) was treated for leukemia from age 13 to 18.

April 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Radiation therapy directly over the ovaries should be avoided because they could lead to fertility problems in women, according to a review study. Radiation therapy of the pelvic region can cause ovarian failure or result in damage that makes the uterus unable to accommodate the growth of a foetus.

March 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Personality at adolescence predicts reproductive success later in life, according to a new study. The study findings showed that male and female teens with socially dominant personalities were more likely to have children as adults.

March 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - British researchers claim that hormone kisspeptin shows promise as a potential new treatment for infertility. The study, led by Dr Waljit Dhillo from Imperial College London, has shown that giving kisspeptin to women with infertility can activate the release of sex hormones, which control the menstrual cycle.

January 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Mating with a female can boost the male's sexual longevity by a dramatic 20 percent, according to a study. A team, headed by Ralph Brinster, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, found that male mice housed with females maintained fertility levels until 32 months - a six-month increase in fertility over solitary males.

January 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Young women might not like to have a baby now, but will they be able to have one by the time they decide? For women in 20s, preventing infertility is ignored until it's too late. Most young women are advised to do everything possible to keep pregnancy at bay, without thinking about its long term consequences.