ASRM roundup (and a plea for pronunciation assistance)
So the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s 63rd annual meeting has ended. I took a stab at giving you some of the higlights, but here’s an incomplete roundup of coverage elsewhere on the meeting.
While I was in another session on cryopreservation of eggs, embryos and the like, it looks like I missed some interesting imaging studies that someone posted on over at huliq.
I was around for the press briefing on Desvenlafaxine to treat the symptoms of menopause – mostly hot flushes. This is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRIs are usually used to treat depression) that Wyeth has been testing in hopes of regaining its former glory in the treatment of menopause after years of dwindling prospects over hormonal therapies. It was interesting, I thought, but something that they’ve been working on for a while. Some were concerned about suicidal thoughts – a side effect flagged in young people when they start the drug – but the data don’t currently indicate anything abnormal – and the study design only accepted women with clean bills of mental health. Lifesciencesworld.com picked up a presser on their blog.
Reuters story here
British press went ga-ga over the ASRM’s updated recommendations on oocyte freezing, which is kind of odd, because the ASRM practice committee basically just maintained their stance that it’s an experimental procedure, and not recommended as a way to preserve fertility or delay childbirth for non-health related issues. Nevertheless, the public’s interest in the process gave the announcement some weight and momentum in the lay press.
It’s an interesting story, and worth following. But for the immediate conference goers, at least, the ASRM’s policy recommendations on preimplantation genetic screening appeared far more controversial, as we reported here.
The tricky part about IVF, and I’ve heard this confirmed by researchers who do the process in mice, is that determining the status and potential for development of an embryo in a dish, is really a black art. Even almost 30 years on, in human studies, there’s much guess work involved in choosing the best embryos for implantation. One of the very first oral presentations at the meeting apparently looked to address this gap in understanding through looking at the metabolites produced by the embryo en masse (despite my own wishes, it seems, the moniker ‘metabolomics’ has stuck to this practice). I missed it, but hope to get a chance to follow up with the author. Marketwire posted a press release on it here.
More headlines through the ASRM press office here.
Oh, and I'd heard different variations on how the acronym ASRM should be pronounced, and I'm more confused than ever. How do you say ASRM?
Comments
I am a big advocate of women being correctly informed on issues concerning their reproductive health and I can appreciate ASRM’s caution, but egg-freezing has been the standard of care in Italy since 2004! After doing extensive research about egg freezing, I have found that there have been over 500 babies born worldwide and of the ones that were followed-up, no increase in birth defects were seen.
As a culture I think that we should look at egg freezing as a great advance in reproductive choice.
I have found a company called Extend Fertility, who offer elective egg freezing and their website (www.extendfertility.com) is really full of information!
Posted by: Melanie | October 18, 2007 04:55 PM
I've been a member for many years and I've never heard ASRM pronounced any other way than A-S-R-M
Posted by: S.E. Olson PhD | October 18, 2007 04:58 PM
I am a big advocate of women being correctly informed on issues concerning their reproductive health and I can appreciate ASRM’s caution, but egg-freezing has been the standard of care in Italy since 2004! After doing extensive research about egg freezing, I have found that there have been over 500 babies born worldwide and of the ones that were followed-up, no increase in birth defects were seen.
Posted by: Seo yarışması | November 7, 2007 05:33 PM