Infertility Research

Research is being done to improve the safety, reduce the number of injections, reduce the risk of multiple births, and improve the success rates of fertility treatments. Current research includes the following:

Egg and ovarian tissue freezing techniques

This technique is designed to help women undergoing medical treatments that might harm their ovaries.  After fertility drug treatment, a woman's eggs are removed and frozen for future implantation. She then can undergo her own medical treatment.

In vitro fertilization (IVF)

This technique enables embryos to grow outside the uterus for longer periods of time. As a result, healthier embryos can be identified more reliably. The approach requires fewer embryo implantations and lowers the risk of multiple births.

Metformin

Women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) who are unresponsive to clomiphene have more success when they take clomiphene in combination with metformin.

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD)

This technique determines which embryos of couples with serious genetic disorders are free of genetic abnormalities before implanting them into the woman's uterus.

Gene mutation associated with infertility

Researchers have identified a mutation (change) in a dominant gene that causes male infertility in mice. In male mice, the mutation causes a change in a protein that blocks meiosis (a type of cell division) and prevents sperm production. Scientists are now searching for similar human gene mutations that cause male infertility.