Only nine out of 151 primary care trusts (PCTs) in England are funding the recommended three cycles of IVF for infertile couples, according to the UK Department of Health. The latest figures reveal that despite guidance issued over four years ago, four trusts are still offering...
A new, simple genetic test could improve the way breast cancer screening is approached in the UK, according to leading Cancer Research UK scientists. In a report published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Cambridge University-based research team identified seven new gene variants that are...
A study published in the British Journal of Cancer further confirms the association of the BRCA2 gene mutation with prostate cancer, linking the BRCA2 gene to a more rapid progression of the disease and more aggressive form of prostate cancer. The survival rate of men who are...
The California state government issued 'cease-and-desist' letters two weeks ago to 13 'direct-to-consumer' genetic-testing companies demanding they immediately stop selling genetic tests to California residents and provided them until last Tuesday, 23 June, to prove to authorities that they had complied with state and federal regulations or...
The number of recorded sperm donations in the UK has fallen to the lowest level since anonymity was removed from donors in April 2005, say officials. Figures published in the Times newspaper show that there was a decline of about 20 per cent in the number...
A campaign led by fertility professionals and patient groups in the UK has been launched to reduce the number of multiple births that follow IVF by introducing a general policy of single embryo transfer (SET). However, experts have warned that the impetus behind the 'One at...
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Comment
Environmental Factors and Male Sexual Development
by Dr Ken McElreavey
A recent and sharp decline in human male reproductive health has been widely reported. This includes a range of problems such as a high incidence of undescended testis and ambiguities of the male genitalia, low semen quality and quantity, and an increasing incidence of testicular cancer. Approximately 20 per cent...