Researchers have identified a biological process
that may cause the failure of embryos to attach to the uterus wall after IVF, raising the possibility of
future treatments.
Recent studies have found that microRNA (miRNA) levels are altered in the endometrium of women
with repeated implantation failure. But how these molecules might affect the
attachment of the embryo was previously unknown.
Scientists at the University of Manchester's Institute of Human
Development have found that
they may do so by inhibiting another molecule - insulin-like growth factor
receptor 1 (IGFR1) - that was not previously known to have a role in the
attachment process.
The researchers grew human
endometrial cells in the lab and tested how well mouse embryos could attach to
this model of the uterus wall. They found that miRNA-145 can modulate the
levels of IGF1R in the uterus and that both increasing levels of miRNA-145 and
decreasing levels of IGF1R resulted in lower rates of implantation.
'Our study suggests that the
presence of IGFR1 is required for the embryo to stick to the uterus,' said lead
author Professor John Aplin.
In 2010 around 32 percent of fresh IVF cycles resulted in a live
birth for women aged
under 35 using their own eggs, and a major cause of failed cycles is
implantation failure. The researchers hope that treatments that suppress
miRNA-145 could increase the probability of embryos attaching to the uterus
wall and developing to a full-term pregnancy.
More research will be needed
to confirm that these findings hold true in the human uterus. However, the
study authors are optimistic that this research could be translated into
treatment for women who have experienced repeated implantation failure.
Professor Alpin said: 'This is
one of the hardest groups of women to treat in fertility science and rates are
still very low across the board. Repeated IVF cycles are stressful and can be
expensive too.'
'Greater understanding of the
mechanisms which control success or failure can lead directly to treatments to
make IVF cycles more efficient so that infertile couples can start their
families.'
The study was published in the
Journal of Cell Science.
There might be so many reasons for implantation failure! Embryo quality. Womb preparation. Hormone levels. Number of embryos transferred etc. No one can say the exact reason why it happens. Just draw some conclusions after more investigations done. I feel sorrow for all those people who've been through failed cycles. Those are complete hearbreaks.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to determine the exact reason for failure of IVF. But even an idea of the possible cause of failure - age, quality of eggs/sperm, health of uterus, etc. All this could help in planning the treatment in a way that tackles the very problem and allows for better chances of success. Usually patients keep insisting on using their own eggs, or going for the treatment in a certain manner. even after several failed attempts at IVF. Honestly, sometimes it works. But if your IVF has not resulted in success after many attempts, it might be an indication for change of strategy. If the eggs produced are not enough, a change in medication protocol might help. If you have PCOS or thyroid problems, you might be asked to see an endocrinologist to bring your hormones to a normal level. so as to prepare the body for a healthy pregnancy. Failure of IVF is hard on every person, but it happens either because the embryos you are producing are not healthy or your body is not ready to carry a pregnancy. Anyway, do not despair!! Choose a competent, experienced infertility specialist who can take you closer to looking for the reasons for failure of IVF in your case. and provide you with solutions that can take you closer to having your baby.
ReplyDeleteIn most cases, where the uterus is free of any obvious problems, switching to DE IVF is more likely to bring you success. If your eggs are responsible for the problem - Even transferring them to a surrogate’s uterus will produce the same result. IVF failure in older women is mostly caused due to older eggs which are not viable for pregnancy. The point is to find the best fertility center with professional staff to be treated at. Only there you'll be advised the best on your further treatment steps. Age of the woman, the health of uterus, and the ways her body responds to IVF medications also play a great role in IVF success. Normally, a woman’s ovary will release one egg a month - From a collection that is fixed at birth. It is known to decline sharply after the mid 30s. The rate of chromosomal abnormalities in human embryos is one of the major factors for IVF failure though. Various studies have shown that the rate of chromosomal abnormalities in human eggs start to increase after the mid 30s.
After trying for so long, deep inside me the hope was already gone. But my heart wouldn't let me stop dreaming. I thought about giving up so many times. But my heart said NO every time. It hurt so bad to see women all around me with their bellies. I used to think to myself "I bet that she didn’t have to try very long." Oh what I would give just to see my baby’s eyes. I remember once a friend of mine told me "Maybe there is just no baby for you." How could she say that to me? Tell me, guys, how?!! Her words broke my heart. With all the little hope that was left she blew it all away!! I had so many dreams of giving birth. I actually realized in one of my dreams that I was dreaming. But those dreams gave me hope. My dh lied next to me every night and wiped the tears away. He came to the point he didn’t ask me anymore for the reason that I was crying. He just knew it! I didn’t know how much longer we both could do this. When was it time to give up? We had names picked out already. I did buy diapers, wipes, lotions, newborn clothes..Probably I sound mad now.. My dh didn’t know about the clothes, by the way. I think he would get mad at me. I did’t think he'd understand this. What could I do except pray every night for a little one? My faith was wearing thin. Somehow part of me believed that one day my prayers would be answered with yes.
ReplyDeleteWe're currently undergoing surrogacy treatment plan at BioTex. We've been already matched to the surrogate. I'm myself at a stimulation phase. Hoping to produce some good eggs for IVF.
PS. My latest news are: January 2019, we had our follow up appointment and found out my egg quality sucks. I’m 31 years old but its like my eggs are that of someone in their mid 40’s and older. My Dr recommended we only do one more round of IVF. if it failed again with the same poor egg quality issue there would likely be no point in trying for the third round. as I would more than likely have the same issue. After that appointment we decided we will go for the second IVF round. so I have been on a highish dosage of Q enzyme 10 and DHEA. hoping it can help with the egg’s quality. I need to take all of this for three months then in April (I now only have one month to go) we will do our last round of IVF. Since the beginning of December 2018, I have also been doing weekly fertility acupuncture to try to help my body out. I'm not sure whether this approach helps me. Everything we need now is me producing some perfect eggs for ivf.
I have severe endo. But suffer it differently from month to month. Also I had a lap some time ago. But actually that was done to get rid of pain and not to improve my fertility. We found out my eggs were useless, so had to pass ivf shots with donor egg to conceive our son. Coming back to the symptoms..
ReplyDeleteI only had pain during my period and it was severe at times, but not always. I did have a lot of lower back pain through out the month. Before my lap I had no idea how it would change the situation. Constant pain was under my uterus and on my bladder. I felt pain until around ovulation. The pain during my period felt like someone was inside of me with a knife and the pain went all the way down my legs. My legs felt as weak as cotton. Also painful intercourse. Another month I could have a normal pain free life. So my doctors weren't fast to suspect endo. It took more time to diagnose it. Endo is very tricky I should say. You can have stage 1 with pain everyday and stage 4 and be pretty pain free outside menstruation..
Found this useful time ago. Will share~
ReplyDeleteWhat causes an IVF cycle to fail? No one knows the answer! There are some explanations, for example – poor quality of the embryo; genetic defects in the embryos ( which we cannot always diagnose); or the presence of an unreceptive endometrium. But the problem with existing IVF technology is that there are no sure ways to find out which embryo is genetically normal and which endometrium is receptive. Hence giving an exact reason for the IVF failure to an individual patient is not always feasible, because of the limitations inherent in today’s ART. Let us consider a fertile couple that is trying to have a baby in their bedroom. Do their attempts at baby making sex result in a baby every month they have intercourse during their fertile time? Of course not! A young fertile couple may take up to one year to achieve a pregnancy - and they have just a 15 – 25 % chance of conceiving in a particular menstrual cycle. This clearly shows that human reproduction is remarkably inefficient. During IVF the chance of achieving a pregnancy in a single attempt is significantly higher- most clinics around the world have a success rate of 40-50 %. But it is impossible to pinpoint why 6 out of 10 women who undergo IVF fail to achieve a pregnancy and why the other 4 are successful in their attempt.
Though we all get overstressed and try to find reasons why ivf round failed, the following will not cause your cycle to fail: Not taking bed rest. Coughing. Stress. Your food habits (Eating the so called ‘heat generating’ foods!) Which is also important to know!
ReplyDeletePatients don’t like being told doctors don’t have all the answers! This makes them uncomfortable, and they start doubting their doctor’s competence. If he cannot even answer such a basic question, then he must not be very good? Maybe we need to get a second opinion? This is especially true when the doctor overpromises success before starting the IVF cycle (as many do, to lure the patients into doing IVF with them). They promise them the earth and the moon – and when they cycle fails, they often abandon these patients and refuse to see them, as they don’t want to have to answer awkward questions. Even worse, rather than acknowledge the state of our ignorance, other doctors will concoct pseudo-scientific answers for the failure, such as immune rejection because of overactive NK cells in the uterus; or HLA similarity between the partners. They will then run a panel of expensive and painful tests (of no proven validity), and then find “abnormalities” which they will then go on to “treat” before starting the next IVF cycle. The patient is hooked, because she believes that the doctor has now pinpointed the fault – and now that it has been corrected, the next IVF cycle will definitely succeed! Many are sadly disillusioned when the next cycle also fails – And they then start belatedly doing their homework!
ReplyDeleteI cannot speak positively enough about our experience at BioTexCom. We had treatment last year. Were very lucky to have our little boy via egg donation. We found every single staff member, that we dealt with, to be professional, friendly and respectful.Having just completed 2 rounds DE IVF at the clinic, we can not hesitate in recommending this repro centre enough. The care, empathy and genuine compassion we were shown made our journey more bearable. The professionalism by all staff was always consistent. We always felt well informed and we were consistently made aware and informed of each process to be undertaken. We were treated with the utmost respect, kindness and understanding during this delicate and emotional journey. Wishing the same to all.
ReplyDelete