Infertile couples have a major opportunity to achieve a successful pregnancy without the need for IVF, thanks to new research into a 100-year-old medical technique.
The now lesser known technique -- which involves flushing the woman's fallopian tubes with an iodised poppy seed oil -- has been proven to have significant benefits for fertility, according to the largest study undertaken by a team of researchers. The results of the study will published in The New England Journal of Medicine..
Known as the H2Oil study, the project compared the benefits of flushing the fallopian tubes with either an oil-based or water-based solution in 1119 women..
The procedure, known as hysterosalpingography (HSG), is a dye test of the fallopian tubes conducted under X-ray. The procedure was first carried out in 1917, and since the 1950s both water-based and oil-based solutions have been used.
"Over the past century, pregnancy rates among infertile women reportedly increased after their tubes had been flushed with either water or oil during this X-ray procedure. Until now, it has been unclear whether the type of solution used in the procedure was influencing the change in fertility," says the author, who was conceived after his mother underwent such a procedure.
Almost 40% of infertile women in the oil group and 29% of infertile women in the water group achieved successful pregnancies within six months of the technique being performed.
The oil-based product used in the study was Lipiodol® Ultra-Fluid, an iodised solution of fatty acids from poppy seeds. This product is currently available in 47 countries around the world.
"The rates of successful pregnancy were significantly higher in the oil-based group, and after only one treatment. This is an important outcome for women who would have had no other course of action other than to seek IVF treatment. It offers new hope to infertile couples," author says.
"It was long believed that testing a woman's fallopian tubes could have fertility benefits through 'flushing out' the kind of debris that hinders fertility. The reality is, we still don't really understand why there is a benefit, only that there is a benefit from this technique, in particular for women who don't present with any other treatable fertility symptoms," author says.
"Further research would need to be conducted into the mechanisms behind what we're seeing. For now, and considering the technique has been used for 100 years without any known side-effects, we believe it is a viable treatment for infertility prior to couples seeking IVF.
"Not only is there a known benefit, but this flushing procedure is also a fraction of the cost of one cycle of IVF. Considering that 40% of women in the oil-based group achieved a successful pregnancy, that's 40% of couples who could avoid having to go through the huge costs and emotions associated with IVF treatment," author says.
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/news/news92362.html
Latest News
A trial HIV vaccine trigger…
By newseditor
Posted 19 May
AI to predict DNA methylati…
By newseditor
Posted 19 May
Hyperactive platelets from…
By newseditor
Posted 19 May
Chromatin and RNA interacti…
By newseditor
Posted 18 May
Why patients with ARID1A mu…
By newseditor
Posted 18 May
Other Top Stories
Lower doses of common product ingredient might increase breast canc…
Read more
Testosterone levels found to rise in women in dominant role regardl…
Read more
Eating more fruits, veggies in youth linked to healthy heart decade…
Read more
Pregnancy antibiotics no cause for concern
Read more
Factors in breast milk may play a role in transmission of obesity
Read more
Protocols
Breast cancer-on-chip for p…
By newseditor
Posted 16 May
Methods for making and obse…
By newseditor
Posted 15 May
Mime-seq 2.0: a method to s…
By newseditor
Posted 13 May
Improved detection of DNA r…
By newseditor
Posted 09 May
Single-cell adhesive profil…
By newseditor
Posted 07 May
Publications
Vaccine induction of hetero…
By newseditor
Posted 19 May
Brain border-associated mac…
By newseditor
Posted 19 May
Inhibition of fatty acid up…
By newseditor
Posted 19 May
A microglial activation cas…
By newseditor
Posted 19 May
An age-progressive platelet…
By newseditor
Posted 19 May
Presentations
Hydrogels in Drug Delivery
By newseditor
Posted 12 Apr
Lipids
By newseditor
Posted 31 Dec
Cell biology of carbohydrat…
By newseditor
Posted 29 Nov
RNA interference (RNAi)
By newseditor
Posted 23 Oct
RNA structure and functions
By newseditor
Posted 19 Oct
Posters
A chemical biology/modular…
By newseditor
Posted 22 Aug
Single-molecule covalent ma…
By newseditor
Posted 04 Jul
ASCO-2020-HEALTH SERVICES R…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-HEAD AND NECK CANCER
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-GENITOURINARY CAN…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar