Aurora magazine

Women with high glucose levels in pregnancy are more likely to get type 2 diabetes in later years. Although the levels are not such as to be able to talk about gestational diabetes. This is revealed by a study published in the journal of the American Medical Association. The researchers followed the future mothers throughout the gestation and 10-14 years after delivery.

Previous studies focused on possible complications for the child. This, however, analyzes the effects of glucose on mothers, even those that do not formally suffer from diabetes. It thus emerged that levels slightly higher than recommended are enough to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes in mothers and obesity in children.

The researchers analyzed 4697 mothers, dividing them based on glucose levels during pregnancy. None of the women had had gestational diabetes problems. Among those with very high levels, after 10 years about 11% suffered from type 2 diabetes and 42% of prediabetes. Among those with normal levels, however, the percentages were 2% for diabetes and 18% for prediabetes.

The study also examined the children of women, 4832 in all. Babies born to mothers with high glucose levels were much more at risk of obesity. 19% of them were obese, compared to 10% of children born to mothers with normal levels. This means that it is not necessary to get gestational diabetes to have problems for years to come.

Despite the data are significant, they have limits. Information is lacking about the lifestyle of mothers and children, which may have affected. Furthermore, there is no data concerning the body mass index before pregnancy.

Source: niddk.nih.gov

Cornell University scientists have developed a method to gather only the strongest spermatozoa. The technique promises to accelerate in vitro fertilization (IVF) and increase the chances of success.

There are already techniques to recognize and separate the most vigorous spermatozoa. Unfortunately, they require hours and are not always effective, with negative consequences on the final outcome. For this reason, researchers have developed an alternative technique that increases the likelihood of success of IVF. The main instrument is a microfluid, which groups the spermatozoa in a very short time and with minimal effort.

An indication of the sperm motility level is their ability to swim against the current. The authors of the study then developed a microfluid in which to make the sperms swim. They added a microscopic C-shaped enclosure and used it to group the best swimmers. The new process takes about 5 minutes, compared to the hours of the traditional process. It is also almost entirely passive and requires minimal commitment, giving excellent results.

The technique is born for human medicine and promises to greatly facilitate the techniques of assisted reproduction. In fact, selecting the best sperm is essential for optimizing the processes. Like many other things, however, it could also find an application in the veterinary field.

Source: cornell.edu

ADA-SCID is a rare genetic disease that affects the immune system. It is estimated that about 350 sick children are born every year around the world. Those who suffer are unable to defend themselves from infections, even the most harmless ones.

The disease manifests itself already in the first months of life through recurrent and aggressive infections. The children experience a sudden slowing of growth and skeletal anomalies. They often get sick and need mild infections to cause serious complications, including deafness and neurological changes. If left untreated, the disease is fatal within the first few months of life.

The ADA-SCID is caused by an abnormality of the ADA gene, which encodes the enzyme adenosine deaminase (ADA). The enzyme plays a decisive role in the maturation of lymphocytes, the cells that defend the body against infections. In order for the disease to manifest itself, the child must have inherited the diseased gene from both parents. At each pregnancy, a pair of healthy carriers have a 25% chance of generating a sick child.

If there are any reported cases of ADA-SCID in the family, prenatal diagnosis can be made. Otherwise, the diagnosis is made by clinical observation and laboratory tests.

Until a few years ago, children with ADA-SCID were forced to live in isolated rooms. The only hope was bone marrow transplantation, with all the limitations related to it. Alternatively, there is a replacement therapy based on ADA enzyme of bovine origin and not always effective. Fortunately, research is making great strides with gene therapy, available as of 2016.

Source: telethon.it

Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy have discovered a way to increase the likelihood of successful in vitro fertilization (IVF). Stimulating 20 oocytes, instead of the 10 canons, makes it easier for the cycle to be successful. The results could improve treatment outcomes for hundreds of women.

A previous study had established that 10 was the perfect number of oocytes to be used for IVF. According to the scientists, going beyond this number was useless and increased the risk of side effects. Nevertheless, they had only examined implant data performed a few days after the oocyte collection. The study did not include subsequent implants, performed with frozen embryos.

According to the latter study, there is no link between the use of multiple oocytes and possible fetal complications. However, there is a slight increase in the risk of bleeding during gestation and delivery. On the other hand, collecting more oocytes at once would save more hormone treatments to a large number of women.

The researchers examined data collected between 2002 and 2015 by the Swedish National Quality Registry of Assisted Reproduction (Q-IVF). They compared data related to the number of oocytes collected, implant rate, live birth rate and serious complications for mother and child. This allowed to raise the ideal number of oocytes to be collected.

According to Dr. Asa Magnusson, the optimal number of oocytes to mature would be about 20. Over this number, there would be an increase in complications.

Source: gu.se/english