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Evidence Challenges Effectiveness Of Embryo Screening For Older Women
There is growing evidence that a procedure for identifying chromosomal abnormalities in embryos prior to in vitro fertilization is ineffective at helping older women become pregnant, the Wall Street Journal reports. The procedure -- known as pre-implantation genetic screening, or PGS -- is performed in dozen of U.S. fertility clinics and sometimes marketed to older women as a way to increase the odds of a healthy live birth. PGS involves extracting a single cell from a six-cell embryo and inspecting it for chromosomal abnormalities known as aneuploidies; unaffected embryos can then be implanted through IVF. Women older than age 35 have a higher risk of aneuploidies, in which embryos have fewer or more than the usual number of 23 pairs of chromosomes. Aneuploidies can trigger early miscarriage or certain genetics conditions, such as Down syndrome. Most medical experts agree that embryo screening is capable of significantly reducing the risk of Down syndrome and other serious chromosome-related illnesses. However, evidence from several studies increasingly suggests that the procedure does not increase older women"s chances of healthy live births. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine released an initial opinion about PGS in 2007, saying that available evidence does not support the use of embryo screening to increase live birth rates in older women. Andrew La Barbera, scientific director of the society, said, "Since that time, there have been several more trials that have reached the same conclusion." Another shortcoming is that most clinics can only test for fewer than half of the 23 chromosomes, meaning that many defects can go undetected. However, medical experts say that the use of PGS has increased in the two years since ASRM issued its recommendations. According to the Journal, PGS can add more than $2,000 to the roughly $10,000 cost of one IVF cycle. Very few health insurers cover PGS, though some pay for IVF. Some experts contend that studies showing a lack of clinical benefit from PGS do not use more efficient biopsy techniques that can prevent damage to the embryo. Santiago Munne, scientific director for Reprogenetics, said that the treatment is "effective." In a 2007 study, Munne and colleagues used PGS to reduce the rate at which patients miscarried. However, the chances of a woman getting pregnant largely were unchanged, which the authors said could be attributed to the small number of study participants (Naik, Wall Street Journal, 6/1).

Fountain Of Youth? Cutting Calories May Add Years To Your Life
Growing scientific evidence indicates that people who adhere to a special calorie-restricted diet can improve their health and could potentially add years to their lifespan, according to an article in the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS" weekly newsmagazine.
News of the day
Second U.S. Independent Laboratory Confirms That Oculus Innovative Sciences' Microcyn(R) Technology Effective At Inactivating H1N1 Swine Flu
Oculus Innovative Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCLS), a healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a family of products based upon the Microcyn® Technology platform, which includes new formulations intended to reduce the use of antibiotics by preventing or treating infections including those caused by bacteria and viruses, has confirmed the effectiveness of Microcyn® Technology at inactivating the H1NI Swine Influenza A. In a virucidal time-kill suspension test conducted by an independent laboratory, BioScience Laboratories, Inc., the specific Microcyn Technology formulation reduced infectivity of the swine flu virus by 4.00log10 (99.99%) reduction after just 30-seconds exposure. BioScience Laboratories, working in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, received formal approval to acquire, house and evaluate the specific swine influenza virus in April 2009.
Diagnostics

In Spain Almost 1 Quarter Of Women Take Antidepressants

Psychopharmaceutical use has risen over recent years. This is fact, but what is not clear is the reason why. Researchers from four Madrid-based health centres have shown that family conflict is not a significant factor. However, the results published in the journal Atencin Primaria are striking: in Spain, 24% of women take antidepressants and more than 30% take tranquillisers. "The use of psychopharmaceuticals is often related to family or work-related problems. We wanted to see if there was actually a positive link between the consumption of antidepressants and benzodiazepines and any kind of family dysfunction", Sonsoles Pérez, lead author of the study published in the renowned journal Atencin Primaria, and a doctor at the Las Águilas Health Centre in Madrid, tells SINC. The authors studied 121 women aged between 25 and 65, using family dysfunction surveys (the Apgar test), and the additive scale used to evaluate social readjustment (SLE). The psychopharmaceuticals analysed were antidepressants and benzodiazepines (anxiolytics such as lorazepam and bromazepam). "Although one might think that family conflicts lead to greater consumption of psychopharmaceuticals among women, we did not find any such relationship", the researcher says, adding that the use of such drugs depends a lot on the population segment taking them. "Some people with family, work-related or financial problems do not feel able to tackle their problems and fall back on the use of drugs", Pérez points out. The results show that 24% of women in Spain use antidepressants and 30.6%, benzodiazepines, which are sometimes also used to help people sleep. In 78.6% of cases, these drugs are prescribed in primary health centres. The diagnosis is recorded in the patient"s medical records in 64.5% of cases, with the primary causes being depression (11.6%), anxiety (9.9%) and insomnia (3.3%). The scientists also found that benzodiazepine use increases with age. However, they did not find the same with antidepressant use. "We think that greater training is needed in identifying SLE and family dysfunction, and recording these in patients" records in order to help psychologists, psychiatrists and primary healthcare specialists", Pérez concludes. How is family conflict measured? The relationship between the use of psychopharmaceuticals and family dysfunction has not been well studied. In order to gain a better understanding of family impacts on healthcare, and the effects of this illness on the family, the experts use numerical family functioning scales, such as the Apgar family test and the Stressful Life Events scale (SLE). The first of these, developed in 1978 by Gabriel Smilkstein, allows measurements to be made of the functional health of a family using parameters such as adaptability (family res for problem solving), participation (cooperation of family members), growth gradient (physical, emotional and social maturity on the basis of mutual support), affection (caring and loving relationships between members of the family group), and resolution (time-sharing and provision of res to support all members of the family). SLEs, events that the patient has suffered over the past year, act as triggers causing suffering and stress, and cause emotional problems in the individual and the family, such as the death of a partner, separation, imprisonment, being fired and unemployment. Each event is assigned a score based on its severity of between 100 (the most serious event), and 11 (the least serious). Patients are classified as high risk (with a score of 4,300), mid-risk (300-199), and low risk (less than 199). References: Sonsoles Pérez Cuadrado, Cristina Morán Tiesta, Pilar Carreño Freire, Teresa Suárez Del Villar Acebal, Estefanía Cámara Sola y Yolanda Beatriz Sánchez Fernández. "Consumo de psicofármacos y disfuncin familiar". Atencin Primaria; 41(3):153-157 marzo de 2009. SINC FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology


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