Aurora magazine

In vitro fertilization (IVF) raises many questions, many of them related to the consequences on the offspring. One of these concerns the risk of getting cancer in children born thanks to these techniques. According to a study led by Professor Flora van Leeuwen, assisted reproduction techniques do not influence the chances of getting sick.

The study analyzed data from 47,690 children born between 1980 and 2001. Among these: 24,269 were conceived with assisted fertilization; 13.761 were designed naturally; 9,660 were naturally conceived by infertile couples, even with ovarian stimulation. The scholars followed them for an average of 21 years of life.

The researchers compared the rate of tumors among these children in the general population and naturally conceived children. In the latter group there were also children conceived naturally by infertile women. This allowed us to analyze infertility as a risk factor in its own right.

Among the children involved, 231 became ill with cancer; 31 were ill with leukemia and 26 with melanoma. Researchers took into consideration factors such as age, parental fertility, exposure to risk factors. From what has emerged, there are no substantial differences compared to naturally conceived children. This applies to children born to women who are not very fertile and to those born to women without problems. Nevertheless, there is an interesting data.

Although the difference is not statistically significant, children conceived by intracytoplasmic sperm injection appear to be more at risk.

Source: eshre.eu

The first clinical trial of gene therapy for beta-thalassemia demonstrated its effectiveness. When given at a young age, treatment makes transfusions superfluous for more than 3 out of 4 patients. The results are the result of more than 10 years of work, conducted by researchers from the San Raffaele University, the Telethon Foundation and Orchard Therapeutics.

The study involved 9 patients of different ages:

• 3 children under 6 years;
• 3 teenagers;
• 3 adults over 30 years.

All patients suffered from severe thalassemia, which forced them to periodic transfusions. The researchers collected the patient's own stem cells, after which they introduced a working copy of the beta-globin gene. At this point they reinfused the correct stem cells and waited for them to take root in the bone marrow.

More than a year after the last transplant and three years after the first, the therapy proved to be effective. Of the 4 younger patients, 3 are completely independent of transfusions. Adult patients still have to transfuse, but with a much lower frequency. Only one of the children has not benefited from the therapy, but the researchers still do not know why.

According to the researchers, the trial proves how important it is to intervene in the early stages of the disease. Beta thalassemia in fact affects the integrity of the bone marrow: intervening at a young age interrupts the progression of the disease when the damage is relatively few.

Source: corriere.it

Hemochromatosis is the most widespread genetic disease in the western world. They call it the "silent disease", yet it could be much more dangerous than previously thought. According to two high-level studies, the pathology would raise the risk of contracting other dangerous diseases and even disability. The first study comes from a team at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom; the second comes from the University of Connecticut, in the United States. The two groups cooperated, arriving at the above conclusions.

Those suffering from hemochromatosis absorb too much iron and accumulate it in the body. Over time, excess iron damages the organs and can cause further diseases. It is estimated that about 1 million Americans suffer from the hereditary form of the disease. The authors of the study suggest creating routine screening for people at risk. Blood tests and genetic tests could in fact save the lives of many people.

Hereditary hemochromatosis was thought to be relatively harmless. Professor David Melzer states that this is not the case. The team examined data from 2,890 British patients with HFE and C282Y genetic mutations. In the group the incidence of further diseases was 1 in 5 in men and 1 in 10 in women, higher than in those who did not have mutations.

These people, all aged between 65 and 70, were more susceptible to chronic frailty and pain. During the study, 14 of them died of liver cancer. An additional study showed that 9% of patients with the two mutations became seriously ill with liver cancer. Yet the diagnoses are often late, leaving no time for preventive therapies. In many cases, little would be enough to significantly reduce the incidence of further fatal diseases.

Source: exeter.ac.uk

According to a study led by Professor Susan Murphy at Duke University, too much cannabis could reduce male fertility. THC could in fact condition the DNA methylation of spermatozoa. The result? Less healthy gametes and less able to fertilize an oocyte, triggering the embryo development process. In addition, cannabis could significantly reduce sperm count. For this reason, the teacher advises to cut the consumption at least six months before starting to try to have a child.

The use of cannabis immediately before and during pregnancy is at the center of a large number of studies. To date, it is unclear how the substance affects embryonic development. In this case, however, at the center of the study there was the impact on male fertility rather than on the embryo itself. Researchers have in fact analyzed the effects of consumption on animal models and on 24 human volunteers.

Scholars compared the sperm of those who used cannabis regularly, those who had stopped for six months and those who had used it no more than 10 times in their lives. The semen of men with high levels of THC in the urine showed much more genetic anomalies than others. The genes involved would have an important impact on fertility and, it is thought, also on the possible development of an embryo.

The next step will be to gather a much larger group of volunteers. In this way there will be more material to evaluate the real effects of the substance on male fertility.

Source: medicaldialogues.in