Fertility experts highlighted the ongoing problem of the 'postcode lottery' provision of fertility treatment in the UK at the Fertility 2000 conference in Edinburgh last week. Lord Robert Winston, of Hammersmith Hospital, London, said that the problems were worse under the current government than the last. 'I am increasingly dissatisfied with the apparent lack of response of this government on this particular issue' he said. The British Fertility Society estimated that it would cost between £50-70 million to deal with the current waiting lists, and tens of millions more each year to provide a nationwide service.
Amongst the research findings presented at the meeting was a new technique for preserving testicular tissue from men undergoing cancer treatment, which can leave patients sterile. Roger Gosden, of the McGill University in Montreal, told the 800 delegates that four men had so far been treated, but it was too early to tell whether the experiment had worked. The method involves removing a sample of testicular tissue, isolating sperm-producing cells, and transplanting them back into the patients.
Evidence that exposure of pregnant women to chemicals can affect the ovaries of female fetuses was presented by Dr Helen Picton, of Leeds University. Dr Picton has studied the effect of oestrogen-like chemicals on the ovaries of female sheep fetuses. She found that one potent synthetic form of oestrogen, known as DES, appeared to speed up the development of the ovaries, suggesting they may age prematurely. She added that there is some evidence that the age of the menopause [in humans] may be dropping, so more research was urgently needed.
Sources and References
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Chemicals are threat to unborn daughters
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Fatherhood hope for cancer boys
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IVF crisis worse under Labour, says Winston
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Sterile men have transplants to revive sperm production
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