ISLAMABAD – Babies born after the use of certain infertility treatments have a higher risk of birth defects than babies born to couples with no history of infertility, a large new study shows.
But experts say it’s still not clear whether fertility treatments or the underlying medical problems that cause infertility are behind the increased risk.
The study also found that couples who eventually conceived naturally after a least a year of trying, a group doctors call “sub-fertile,” had a risk of having a baby with a birth defect that was about 40% higher than couples with no fertility problems. The risk seen in sub-fertile couples was also nearly equal to the risk seen in couples that used any assisted reproductive technology (ART) to conceive.
Still, one expert puts the risk into perspective, saying while the overall risk for birth defects due to assisted reproduction may be higher, the real risk is still just somewhat higher than that for a couple having a baby through unassisted conception. Another doctor even called the research “reassuring.”
ART includes procedures like in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). “People who receive ART are having fertility problems, and that does raise the risk of malformations in the infant by itself, because people are having trouble, and there could be some genetic or hormonal reason they would have an increased risk,” says Alfred A Rimm, PhD, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics in the School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
Rimm studies the risk of birth defects associated with ART, but he was not involved in the current research. The study, which is published in the New England Journal of Medicine, is one of the largest to ever look at the relationship between fertility treatments and birth defects. It linked 16 years of data - from 1986 to 2002 - on all infertility treatments at two clinics in South Australia to a registry of more than 300,000 births and 18,000 birth defects.
Researcher Michael Davies, PhD, MPH, an associate professor at the University of Adelaide in Australia, declined to mention specific types of defects, saying they are looking more deeply into that in his forthcoming research.
Overall, the study found that the risk of any birth defect in pregnancies involving assisted conception was 8% compared with 6% in babies conceived without assisted techniques. The risk of a birth defect after IVF was 7%. The rate of birth defects associated with ICSI was higher at 10%. For IVF, doctors mix a woman’s eggs and the male’s sperm in a petri dish and later implant these into the female. In ICSI, doctors inject a single sperm directly into an egg to fertilise it. Resulting embryos are then placed into a woman’s uterus or can be frozen for future attempts.
Black pepper may help fight fat
The same ingredient in black pepper that makes you sneeze may help keep you slim.
A preliminary new study suggests that the pungent component in black pepper known as piperine fights fat by blocking the formation of new fat cells.
If further studies confirm these effects, researchers say black pepper may offer a natural alternative for the treatment of fat-related disorders like obesity.
“Our findings suggest that piperine, a major component of black pepper, inhibits fat cell differentiation ... thus leading to its potential use in the treatment of obesity-related diseases,” writes researcher Ui-Hyun Park of Sejong University in Seoul, Korea, in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Researchers say the benefits of black pepper and the black pepper plant have been known for centuries in traditional Eastern medicine, in which it is used to treat cholera, diarrhoea, and other gastrointestinal issues.
Even so, little is known about how black pepper works within the bloodstream that might explain these beneficial effects. In their study, researchers looked at the effects of piperine on gene expression in fat tissue in the lab and in computer models.
The results showed that piperine interfered with the activity of genes responsible for forming new fat cells.
Researchers say this benefit of black pepper sets up a chain reaction that helps keep the formation of fat in check in other ways as well. “Overall, our results suggest that piperine could be a lead natural compound for the treatment of fat-related disorders,” the researchers write.
Energy drinks can damage teeth Energy and sports drinks can damage tooth enamel, boosting the risk of cavities, according to a new study.
“The big misconception is that energy drinks and sports drinks are healthier than soda for oral health,” says researcher Poonam Jain, BDS, MPH, associate professor and director of community dentistry at the Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine.
“This study completely disproves that, because they erode or thin out the enamel of the teeth, leaving them more susceptible to decay and sensitivity.” The American Beverage Association takes issue with the study, says Tracey Halliday, a spokesperson.
An ABA statement reads, in part: “This study was not conducted on humans and in no way mirrors reality.”
Jain and her team tested 13 sports drinks and nine energy drinks for acidity.
They tested six drinks for their effects on tooth enamel and found both types caused damage. Energy drinks, however, were twice as bad. Damaged tooth enamel cannot be fixed.
The study is published in the journal General Dentistry. The drinks are especially popular among teens and young adults. Up to half of US teens and young adults drink energy drinks, and more than half have at least one sport drink a day, according to the researchers. They tested the acidity levels of all 22 drinks. They found the levels of acidity in the drinks vary between brands and between flavours of the same brands.
Gatorade Blue had the highest acidity among sports drinks. Next was Hydr8. Among the energy drinks with the highest acidity: Red Bull Sugar free, Monster Assault, 5-hour Energy, Von Dutch and Rockstar. MDX had the lowest acidity of the energy drinks. Energy Drinks, Sports Drinks, and Tooth Enamel.