12/07/2010

Egg screening test 'predicts genetic problems'

More than half of all eggs analysed have abnormalities A new egg screening technique, which doctors hope will boost the success rate of IVF, can predict genetic problems in 90% of cases, research shows. However, it is not yet clear whether or not it increases pregnancy rates, European fertility experts warned.

Some clinics already offer the £2,000 test to older women who have failed multiple attempts at IVF. A large trial is due to start next year to further assess the technology.

Up to half of the eggs in younger women and up to 75% in women over 39 are chromosomally abnormal. Fertility doctors want a reliable way of finding which eggs are genetically sound to try to boost the chances of IVF success.

Delegates at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) conference in Rome heard that the egg-screening method may be safer and more accurate than other tests which look for genetic problems in cells taken from the developing embryo.

It detects problems by testing a by-product of the egg called the polar body, which contains a carbon copy of the genetic material in the egg, enabling doctors to see if there are too many or too few chromosomes.

The latest analysis of around 200 eggs from 41 couples has proven that it is a reliable method for picking up genetic problems.

Fonte: Care Fertility