Innovation
CRGH FIRST
IVF combined with PGD for BRCA-1 'The Breast Cancer Gene'
A woman has conceived and now given birth to Britain's first baby guaranteed to be free from hereditary breast cancer.
About 5% of the 44,000 cases of breast cancer diagnosed in Britain each year are estimated to be caused by the BRCA-1 and BRCA-2 genes, both of which can be detected in embryos.
Doctors say thousands of cases of breast cancer could be avoided by screening embryos using the technique called preimplantation diagnosis (PGD).
About 5% of the 44,000 cases of breast cancer diagnosed in Britain each year are estimated to be caused by the BRCA-1 and BRCA-2 genes, both of which can be detected in embryos.
Doctors say thousands of cases of breast cancer could be avoided by screening embryos using the technique called preimplantation diagnosis (PGD).
Paul Serhal, Medical director of the Centre for Reproductive and Genetic Health, said the breakthrough gives parents the option of avoiding passing a high risk of breast cancer on to their children.
To read the full Times article from the 10th January 2009 by Mark Henderson and Sam Lister, click on the link below.
To read the full Sunday Times article from the 29th June 2008 by Sarah-Kate Templeton, Health Editor, click on the link below.
You will be redirected to the Times Online Website to view these articles
IVF combined with PGD for Familial Hypercholesterolaemia
CRGH is also the first centre to use IVF to test for Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH) a condition that has a high mortality rate due to artherosclerosis and heart disease.
IVF combined with PGD for Retinoblastoma
Retinoblastoma, an aggressive form of eye cancer.
IVF combined with PGD for Familial Adenomatous Polyposis
CRGH has also been granted a license by the HFEA to begin using IVF to screen embryos for Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP) which can lead to early onset colon cancer.
Testing of Ovarian Reserve
CRGH has pioneered evaluation of the ovarian reserve through the G-test, which received the Millennium Award for Innovation, and its successor the Ovarian Stimulation Test or Ovarian Stress Test (OST)
Female fecundity is generally acknowledged to decrease with increasing age and the fall in fecundity starts by the age of 30 years.
However fecundity is not only correlated with chronological age but with the state of the ovarian reserve. The decline in the fertility potential is related to a process of egg depletion and diminished egg quality, factors referred to as ovarian reserve. It is this potential that declines with age and initially this decline may manifest itself in subtle ways, such as low fecundity rates and longer than average durations for women to conceive.
The most important aspect of diminished ovarian reserve, and the associated decline in reproductive potential, is that its onset is highly variable. Ovarian function is unique for each individual, both in the number of years of peak performance as well as in the onset and progression of its decline.
Some women with normal menstrual cycles will have difficulty conceiving in their late twenties or early thirties. An important aspect of this group of patients is that they usually have normal regular menstrual cycles with serum progesterone levels in the luteal phase within the ovulatory range.
Until now it has not been possible to define how far individual patients have progressed through the process of depleting their ovarian reserve.
Traditionally gynaecologists have relied on a single parameter to assess the ovarian reserve which is a measure of the basal FSH levels in the blood in the early follicular phase (Cycle Days 2-5). However women with baseline values in the normal range may indeed have diminished reserves and by the time an elevation in the FSH level is evident it is probably too late for them to achieve a pregnancy or have fertility treatment. Some women with a normal FSH can be totally unaware that their ovarian reserve is steadily declining and are lulled into a false sense of security with regard to their prospects of starting a family.
The Centre's innovative 'G-test' was developed as a test of the ovarian function and has now been superseded by the OST. This is considered to be an objective test which assesses the ovarian reserve and reflects the response of the ovaries to IVF medication.
We consider that the OST is indicated for all subfertile women and for those with a family history of early menopause.
