Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Reproductive Technologies”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,621 records · Page 90Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Performance anxiety during infertility treatment: effect on semen quality.

The requirement to obtain a semen sample at a specific time for an infertility treatment procedure has potential to produce considerable performance anxiety. This study was designed to evaluate the semen quality of men participating in infertility treatments associated with heightened performance anxiety. The most recent pretreatment semen analysis and the infertility treatment semen analysis, as well as the first and last procedure semen analyses, were compared using paired t-tests for 77 patients undergoing assisted reproductive technology procedures and 121 patients undergoing intrauterine insemination. No significant differences were noted in either of these groups of patients. However, in men with total motile sperm counts of less than 40 million, semen parameters improved significantly in the procedure semen analyses. Thus, participation in infertility treatments associated with performance anxiety does not appear to be detrimental to semen quality, and in certain groups of patients semen quality may improve.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Regulating stem-cell research and human cloning in an Australian context: an exercise in protecting the status of the human subject.

Over 12 months prior to the recent United Nations decision to defer a decision about what type of international treaty should be developed in the global stem-cell research and human cloning debate, the Federal Parliament of Australia passed two separate pieces of legislation relating to both these concerns. After a five-year long process of community consultation, media spectacle and parliamentary debate, reproductive cloning has been banned in Australia and only embryos considered to be excess to assisted reproductive technologies in existence on the 5th of April 2002 are currently valid research material. This paper argues that underpinning both pieces of legislation is a profound belief in the disruptive potential of all types of human cloning for the very nature and integrity of human species being. A belief, moreover, that is based on a presumption that it is apparently possible to conceptualise what being human even means for all Australians.

Australia↗
PubMed2003

Contemporary issues in primary amenorrhea.

Reproductive medicine has changed dramatically since the 1981 publication of the study of patients presenting with pubertal amenorrhea. The breakdown of causes likely remains unchanged, with the four most common causes of primary amenorrhea being ovarian failure (48.5%), congenital absence of the uterus and vagina (16.2%), GnRH deficiency (8.3%), and constitutional delay of puberty (6.0%). In the study of patients reported by Reindollar, 60% of patients had barriers to reproduction. Since its publication over 15 years ago, developments in assisted reproductive technologies have enabled pregnancy in many of these patients. Women with ovarian failure may gestate pregnancies from donated oocytes. Women with congenital absence of the uterus and vagina may have their fetuses carried in a surrogate uterus. During this period, the advances of molecular medicine have provided a better understanding of the etiologies of many of these disorders, including Turner's syndrome; 46,XY gonadal dysgenesis; 46,XX gonadal dysgenesis; hypogonadotropic hypogonadism; enzyme-deficient states; gonadotropin resistance; and androgen insensitivity. Contemporary issues related to these disorders involve information about molecular defects and outcome of pregnancies for patients previously considered sterile. Largely, this information has been extremely helpful and reassuring. However, the reported deaths of patients with Turner's syndrome who become pregnant by donor oocyte should remind us to proceed cautiously as new reproductive avenues are opened for these patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Testicular tissue cryopreservation in boys. Ethical and legal issues: case report.

Sperm preservation prior to chemotherapy and radiotherapy is common practice in adult males. Spermatozoa are usually retrieved from an ejaculated sample although there are occasions when testicular tissue is used as the source. These techniques of sperm preservation present minimal ethical objections as the patients give their informed consent. Sperm preservation in children presents practical and ethical dilemmas in that the children cannot always give their informed consent, there are no regulatory guidelines and there is no guarantee that spermatogenesis is occurring. With the rapid advances in reproductive technology and the possible future use of immature germ cells by in-vitro maturation or transplantation, the demand for immature testicular tissue preservation is likely to increase. More information for the parents and oncologists with regard to this subject is needed to allow informed decisions to be made on behalf of the children. These issues are discussed using two cases of children having testicular tissue preservation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Chromosome abnormalities in 447 couples undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection--prevalence, types, sex distribution and reproductive relevance.

Chromosomal abnormalities are thought to be a major contributor to the genetic risks of infertility treatment by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Apart from abnormalities arising de novo, abnormal karyotypes in pregnancies conceived through assisted reproductive technology may be directly derived from predisposing parental aberrations. In a prospective study we have analysed the chromosomes of 868 male and female patients prior to planned ICSI treatment. A total of 33 aberrant karyotypes was diagnosed, corresponding to an abnormality rate of 7.6% per couple or 3.8% per individual studied. Even though male factor infertility was twice as common as female factor infertility in this cohort, 24 of the chromosomal abnormalities were found among the women. Low-level mosaicism for numerical sex chromosome anomalies was diagnosed in 20 individuals, and one patient had the triple X karyotype. With respect to structural chromosomal anomalies, we found six reciprocal and three Robertsonian translocations, two paracentric inversions and one marker chromosome. Many of the aberrations that we diagnosed could be classified as carrying only a small to moderate reproductive risk. Given the high rate of abnormal karyotypes among the female subjects, we suggest that not only the males, but both partners should be routinely karyotyped prior to ICSI.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Birds do it. Bees do it. So why not single women and lesbians?

Infertile couples have come to take assisted reproductive technologies (ART) for granted. An increasing number of single women and lesbian couples also desire to have children and turn to ART, especially donor insemination, to fulfill this desire. While most married couples find that access to ART is limited primarily by the ability to pay, for single women and lesbian couples, the story may be much different. In the United States, they may find that doctors and infertility clinics view their desires as immoral and refuse to accept them as patients, although other doctors and clinics readily accept them. In most other countries, however, it is against the law for single women and lesbian couples to make use of ART, including donor insemination. In this paper, I will argue that marital status and sexual orientation should not serve as a barrier to accessing the world of reproductive medicine. I will base this conclusion on two arguments. First, that justice requires that we treat like cases alike. Just as we would not accept or reject patients for cardiac rehabilition programs based on factors such as a history of poor eating habits, so too we should not look at nonmedical factors such as marital status when deciding whether to treat infertility. For the second justification for the conclusion of equal access to ART, I will examine the concept of the family. I will argue that it is morally acceptable for single women and lesbian couples to have children and to head families.

Child↗
PubMed2002

[Above what limits is ART of no avail?].

Legal limits to assisted reproduction technologies are rather blurred. The law of July 1994 only says that people must be "in age of procreation"; medical opposable reference only says that infertility exploration must begin before 45 years. The guide of good practice in ART writes that over 37 only women with normal ovarian reserve must be included in ART programs. So physicians have to fix their own limits, according to success rate and this limit is often 42-43 years for women.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

When to avoid creating surplus human embryos.

The advice that should be given to a couple considering assisted reproductive technologies for the treatment of their infertility, when they are completely opposed to the destruction of surplus embryos, is discussed. It is urged that they do not use treatments that generate surplus embryos. They should be given the options of declining IVF and considering adoption, or less efficient treatments, namely limited ovarian stimulation, limited insemination of available ova or natural cycle IVF where no surplus embryos are generated.

Counseling↗
PubMed2001

Gamete donation and anonymity: disclosure to children conceived with donor gametes should not be optional.

The use of donor gametes in reproductive technology raises ethical, psychological and social questions that have been significant for the practice of adoption: that is, when, or if, to disclose biological origin to the child. The current wisdom is that adopted children should be told by their parents as early as possible that the family was created through adoption, and we argue that the same model should apply to the use of donor gametes. We argue that privacy concerns or other goals of parents who would prefer to avoid disclosure are outweighed by the negative consequences of holding such family secrets and by the child's right to, and medical need for, information about his/her origin. We believe fertility programmes and professional organizations ought to strongly encourage those using donor gametes to tell their child of their true origin as early as the child can understand reproduction in general.

Disclosure↗
PubMed2001

Gender bias in the disposition of frozen embryos.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the gender differences found among couples when choosing the disposition of their frozen embryos. DESIGN: Retrospective chart review. SETTING: University affiliated in vitro fertilization (IVF) center. PATIENTS: Couples undergoing their first cycle of assisted reproductive technology (ART). INTERVENTION(S): None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Choice of disposition of gametes and embryos. RESULT(S): Gender bias is found when couples choose the disposition of their frozen embryos, but not when they choose the disposition of their gametes. CONCLUSION(S): Gender bias was found in couples who made decisions regarding the disposition of their frozen embryos.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Guidelines for the provision of psychological evaluations for infertile patients at the University of Connecticut Health Center.

OBJECTIVE: Because of the psychologically demanding nature of infertility treatment, it has been recommended that psychological services be made available to infertile patients. However, no specific guidelines for the scope or usage of those services has been proposed. Our objective was to formulate guidelines to be used at our institution to provide psychological evaluations to infertility patients. DESIGN: The guidelines were formulated through discussions between the division psychologist and attendings and then presented to and modified by the University Ethics, Risk Management, Legal, and Institutional Review Board departments. SETTING: The University of Connecticut Health Center Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility provides tertiary level care to infertility patients. Services include assisted reproductive technologies and donor gamete programs. Surrogate parenting is not a provided service. RESULTS: Guidelines for the provision and use of psychological services for infertility patients were formulated. CONCLUSIONS: These guidelines are preliminary in nature and intended to provide a starting point for discussion among physicians, nurses, and mental health professionals regarding the psychological needs of infertility patients.

Culture↗
PubMed2004

Successful pregnancies in 2 infertile patients with endometrial adenocarcinoma.

Two infertile patients with well-differentiated endometrial adenocarcinoma succeeded in having their own babies with assisted reproductive technology following treatment with a high dose of medroxyprogesterone acetate and repeated endometrial curettages. Their follow-up pathological examinations revealed no evidence of recurrent disease. Consequently, conservative treatment may be indicated in patients with well-differentiated endometrial adenocarcinoma at an early stage who desire to preserve their fertility.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1999

Reproductive medicine in the second half of the 20th century.

This communication reviews the most important achievements of human reproductive medicine during the last 50 years. The progress in this discipline has been so profound and unexpected that it has raised ethical questions of a fundamental character. Over the last 50 years of this century, new insight into reproductive processes enabled the following development: hormonal contraception, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and its agonistic and antagonistic analogues, prostaglandins: induction of labor and conquering dysmenorrhea, selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERM), assisted reproductive technologies (ART), and recombinant DNA technology and cloning. Currently, safe and effective contraceptive methods are available. Control of the world population growth is not a medical issue anymore: it is a political and social problem. Governments, and national and ideological leaders must share the responsibility for creating a social and economic milieu that facilitates women's education, provides access to birth control methods, and motivates the population to limit its own growth. At the same time, society must foster traditional family and moral values Vis a Vis sex. (Fig. 6, Ref. 22.)

Female↗
PubMed2006

Procreative tourism and reproductive freedom.

In many societies, the use of assisted reproduction technology has produced a desire to control and regulate this form of treatment. Politicians have taken most decisions. These regulations hold important implications for patients, and there are no two countries with the same regulations. These important differences have led to a traffic of infertile couples across legislative borders to seek a solution to their problem. Would harmonization of laws have positive effects? It seems that it would lead to a minimal common legislation. Procreative tourism is actually a 'safety valve' for many European couples.

Europe↗
PubMed2002

[The implantation window].

BACKGROUND: Embryo implantation is a complex event involving apposition followed by adhesion of the blastocyst to the maternal endometrium, and finally invasion of this endometrium. Though implantation could occur in any human tissue, the endometrium is the only tissue where embryo implantation cannot occur except during a restricted period called the implantation window. During this window, the endometrium is highly receptive to the embryo. MATERIAL: and methods. We reviewed the literature concerning the different factors involved in improved endometrial receptivity and implantation. RESULTS: Maternal - embryo crosstalk is favored by the implantation window. Endometrial receptivity results from the acquisition of ligands or receptors facilitating apposition, then adhesion of the embryo, or from the loss of components preventing it. The molecular basis of the implantation window remains to be defined. CONCLUSION: Despite progress in assisted reproduction technologies, the lack of control of implantation remains a major obstacle to successful pregnancy. It is of prime importance to determine the characteristic features of a receptive endometrium and, among the many markers proposed by in vitro studies, to analyze in humans those demonstrated by knock-out experiments to play a crucial role in mice.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Preimplantation diagnosis for aneuploidies in assisted reproduction.

At least one half of oocytes and preimplantation embryos are aneuploid and have to be avoided from transfer in in vitro fertilization (IVF) patients of advanced reproductive age. This can now be done by preimplantation genetic diagnosis, which has recently become an integral part of assisted reproduction technologies and was shown to improve implantation rate and reduce spontaneous abortions after implantation. The experience of approximately 5000 preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) cycles performed for poor prognosis IVF patients have already resulted in birth of approximately 1000 apparently healthy children, suggesting that this novel technique is safe and reliable, and may in future replace the current IVF practice of preselection of embryos for transfer based on morphological parameters.

Aneuploidy↗
PubMed2005

Management of the infertile couple.

BACKGROUND: With the further development of reproductive technology over the past 2 decades, options for subfertile couples have greatly increased. OBJECTIVE: This article discusses the assessment of common male and female causes of infertility and describes a logical routine for the investigation and treatment of the subfertile couple using a flow chart approach. DISCUSSION: We suggest an approach to assessment for general practitioners, and outline the likely course of more sophisticated testing and treatments that their patients may then experience.

Coitus↗
PubMed2006

Adoption, ART, and a re-conception of the maternal body: toward embodied maternity.

We criticize a view of maternity that equates the natural with the genetic and biological and show how such a practice overdetermines the maternal body and the maternal experience for women who are mothers through adoption and ART (Assisted Reproductive Technologies). As an alternative, we propose a new framework designed to rethink maternal bodies through the lens of feminist embodiment. Feminist embodied maternity, as we call it, stresses the particularity of experience through subjective embodiment. A feminist embodied maternity emphasizes the physical relations of the subjective lived-body rather than the genetic or biological connections. Instead of universalizing claims about the maternal body, embodied maternity looks to communicable experiences and empathetic understanding.

Adoption↗