Applied reproductive technologies and genetic resource banking for amphibian conservation

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 719 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Kouba ◽  
Carrie K. Vance
Keyword(s):  
Assisted Reproduction ◽  
Captive Breeding ◽  
Genetic Resource ◽  
Nutritional Ecology ◽  
Reproductive Technologies ◽  
Amphibian Conservation ◽  
In Vitro Fertilisation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
In The Wild

As amphibian populations continue to decline, both government and non-government organisations are establishing captive assurance colonies to secure populations deemed at risk of extinction if left in the wild. For the most part, little is known about the nutritional ecology, reproductive biology or husbandry needs of the animals placed into captive breeding programs. Because of this lack of knowledge, conservation biologists are currently facing the difficult task of maintaining and reproducing these species. Academic and zoo scientists are beginning to examine different technologies for maintaining the genetic diversity of founder populations brought out of the wild before the animals become extinct from rapidly spreading epizootic diseases. One such technology is genetic resource banking and applied reproductive technologies for species that are difficult to reproduce reliably in captivity. Significant advances have been made in the last decade for amphibian assisted reproduction including the use of exogenous hormones for induction of spermiation and ovulation, in vitro fertilisation, short-term cold storage of gametes and long-term cryopreservation of spermatozoa. These scientific breakthroughs for a select few species will no doubt serve as models for future assisted breeding protocols and the increasing number of amphibians requiring conservation intervention. However, the development of specialised assisted breeding protocols that can be applied to many different families of amphibians will likely require species-specific modifications considering their wide range of reproductive modes. The purpose of this review is to summarise the current state of knowledge in the area of assisted reproduction technologies and gene banking for the conservation of amphibians.

scholarly journals May I have your uterus? The contribution of considering complexities preceding live uterus transplantation

2021 ◽  
pp. medhum-2020-011864
Author(s):  
Lisa Guntram
Keyword(s):  
Medical Humanities ◽  
Assisted Reproductive Technologies ◽  
Reproductive Technologies ◽  
In Vitro Fertilisation ◽  
Medical Innovation ◽  
Uterus Transplantation ◽  
Ethical Debate ◽  
Care And Support ◽  
Different Dimensions

Uterus transplantation combined with in vitro fertilisation (IVF) (henceforth called UTx-IVF) as a treatment for infertility caused by an absence or malfunction of the uterus is advancing. About 50 transplantations have been conducted worldwide and at least 14 children have been born—9 of them by women taking part in a Swedish research project on UTx-IVF. The Swedish research protocol initially stated that the potential recipient must ‘have her own donor’ who is preferably related to the recipient. But what does it mean to ask someone for a uterus? What challenges does this question instigate? And what norms may it enact? In this article, I explore how 10 women—who have considered, and sometimes pursued, UTx-IVF—describe their experiences of searching for a donor. I aim to show how an analysis of such accounts can help us unpack some of the specific relational and gendered dimensions of UTx-IVF and by doing so enrich discussions of risks, benefits, care and support in UTx-IVF. Drawing on research in social sciences and medical humanities that has demonstrated how assisted reproductive technologies and organ donation can provoke social and familial conundrums, with respect to such topics as embodiment and identity, I present three patterns that describe different dimensions of the interviewees’ quest for a uterus donor. I discuss the negotiations that took place, how expectations unfolded and how entanglements were managed as the interviewees considered asking someone for a donation. Such an examination, I suggest, contributes to make care and support more attuned to the experiences and entanglements that UTx-IVF entails for those pursuing it. This will become increasingly important if (or when) UTx-IVF becomes part of general healthcare. To conclude, I problematise responsibilities and relational challenges in medical innovation, and in this way provide insights into how the ethical debate over UTx-IVF can broaden its scope.

A Baby at All Costs? Exploring the Use and Provision of Unproven Adjuvant Treatments in the Context of IVF

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgina L. Jones ◽  
Victoria Lang ◽  
Nicky Hudson
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Technologies ◽  
Patient Survey ◽  
Fertility Treatment ◽  
Vitro Fertilization ◽  
The Past ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
National Patient ◽  
Psychosocial Perspective

AbstractThe year 2018 marked 40 years since the birth of Louise Brown, the first baby born as a result of pioneering in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment. Since then, advances have seen a wide range of reproductive technologies emerge into clinical practice, including adjuvant treatments often referred to as IVF “add-ons.” However, these “optional extras” have faced growing criticism, especially when they have often come at additional financial cost to the patient and have little evidence supporting their efficacy to improve pregnancy or birth rates. Despite this, according to the latest national patient survey by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, three quarters of patients who had fertility treatment in the United Kingdom in the past two years had at least one type of treatment add-on highlighting the growing demand for these interventions. This article uses a psychosocial perspective to consider the motivations behind patient and clinician behavior along with the wider societal and economic factors that may be impacting upon the increase in the use of adjuvant treatments in fertility clinics more widely. It suggests the reasons fertility patients use unproven “optional extras” are complex, with interpersonal, psychological, and social factors intertwining to generate an increase in the use of IVF add-ons.

scholarly journals Significance of disorders of proteomic profile of follicular fluid for predicting the effectiveness of in vitro fertilisation in women with infertility

2018 ◽  
Vol 99 (3) ◽  
pp. 496-503
Author(s):  
O S Zolotykh ◽  
S V Lomteva ◽  
K Yu Sagamonova
Keyword(s):  
Assisted Reproductive Technology ◽  
Follicular Fluid ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Reproductive Technologies ◽  
Reproductive Technology ◽  
In Vitro Fertilisation ◽  
Proteomic Profile ◽  
Technology Programs ◽  
Group 2

Aim. To study the proteomic profile of follicular fluid in patients with infertility in assisted reproductive technology programs. Methods. The study included women with infertility included in assisted reproductive technology programs: 15 women who had in vitro fertilisation which resulted in pregnancy (group 1) and 16 women with a negative result of this program (group 2). Fractionation of the follicular fluid samples was performed using the sets of special magnetic beads. Proteomic profiling was performed by tandem MALDI-mass-spectrometry. The anti-Müllerian hormone level was measured by ELISA. Results. The study revealed differences in the detectability of follicular fluid proteins with different regulatory properties in patients of groups 1 and 2. With the negative outcome of in vitro fertilisation, expression of a number of proteins involved in the processes of folliculogenesis, ovulation, selection of the dominant follicle, as well as proteins necessary for the development of the zygote and blastula was reduced in females' follicular fluid. Increased expression in women from group 2 was registered for proteins enhancing proteolytic reactions, cell apoptosis, including oocytes, which disrupt the positive action of activin and damage structural and functional state of mitochondria. A definite relationship was found between the level of anti-Müllerian hormone and rate of detection of a number of proteins, in particular protocadherin-2α, cystatin C, betaglycan, prostatic acid phosphatase, and dermicidin. Conclusion. The revealed changes in proteomic profile of the follicular fluid obviously play an important role in the molecular mechanisms that determine the effectiveness of assisted reproductive technologies; the identified differentially expressed proteins can serve as objective markers for predicting the outcomes of in vitro fertilisation.

Slægtskabsreguleringer. Feministisk retsretorik som analyseramme og dens potentiale for at identificere lovens performative effekter

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (79) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Kroløkke ◽  
Janne Rothmar Herrmann
Keyword(s):  
In Vitro Fertilization ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Assisted Reproduction ◽  
Reproductive Technologies ◽  
Global Market ◽  
Ethical Guidelines ◽  
Vitro Fertilization ◽  
Rhetorical Figures ◽  
Master Plots

Involuntary childlessness is a well-known phenomenon, and in Denmark, every twelfth child is born through the use of assisted reproduction. Denmark is currently positioned as one of the key global actors both as far as the use of in-vitro ­fertilization (IVF) is concerned as well as within the global ­market in sperm and reproductive technologies. In this article, the authors develop a feminist legal rhetorical framework to discuss how the Danish law and ethical guidelines on adoption and assisted reproduction rhetorically produce different master plots on “natural,” “artificial,” and “monstrous” forms of kinship. The authors conclude with a discussion of the potential that a feminist legal rhetorical framework holds, including its ability to analyze how rhetorical figures and metaphors legitimize certain types of kinship as well as the ability to raise new and provo­cative questions related to gender equality within the law

Rare occurrence of Tetralogy of Fallot in dizygotic twins conceived via in vitro fertilisation

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (12) ◽  
pp. 1541-1542
Author(s):  
Jason W. Greenberg ◽  
Chetana Reddy ◽  
Charles B. Huddleston
Keyword(s):  
Tetralogy Of Fallot ◽  
Assisted Reproductive Technologies ◽  
Reproductive Technologies ◽  
In Vitro Fertilisation ◽  
Rare Occurrence ◽  
Dizygotic Twins

AbstractAn increased incidence of CHD has been noted in twin gestations and in infants conceived using assisted reproductive technologies. However, CHD in these populations remains understudied and the mechanisms underlying these phenomena remain unclear. We present the case of twins conceived via in vitro fertilisation both with Tetralogy of Fallot and additional cardiac and extracardiac malformations.

Is it ethical to provide IVF add-ons when there is no evidence of a benefit if the patient requests it?

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 346-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mila Stefanova Zemyarska
Keyword(s):  
Assisted Reproductive Technologies ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Reproductive Technologies ◽  
Conclusive Evidence ◽  
Diagnostic Tools ◽  
In Vitro Fertilisation ◽  
Unborn Child ◽  
Effective Adjunct ◽  
Psychological Benefit

In vitro fertilisation (IVF) ‘add-ons’ are therapeutic or diagnostic tools developed in an endeavour to improve the success rate of infertility treatment. However, there is no conclusive evidence that these interventions are a beneficial or effective adjunct of assisted reproductive technologies. Additionally, IVF add-ons are often implemented in clinical practice before their safety can be thoroughly ascertained. Yet, patients continue to request and pay large sums for such additional IVF tools. Hence, this essay set out to examine if it is ethical to provide IVF add-ons when there is no evidence of a benefit if the patient requests it. In order to determine what is ethical—namely, morally good and righteous, the question was considered in relation to three key values of medical ethics—autonomy, beneficence and non-maleficence. It was determined that providing IVF add-ons might be morally acceptable in specific circumstances, if true informed consent can be given, there is a potential of cost-effective physiological or psychological benefit and the risk of harm is minimal, particularly with regard to the unborn child.

116 DEVELOPMENT OF ASSISTED REPRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE ENDANGERED MISSISSIPPI GOPHER FROG (RANA SEVOSA) AND SPERM TRANSFER FOR IN VITRO FERTILIZATION

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 170 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Kouba ◽  
E. Willis ◽  
C. Vance ◽  
S. Hasenstab ◽  
S. Reichling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Captive Breeding ◽  
Assisted Reproductive Technologies ◽  
Sperm Concentration ◽  
Reproductive Technologies ◽  
Critically Endangered ◽  
Leopard Frog ◽  
Genetic Management ◽  
Mississippi Gopher Frog

Species-specific differences in breeding strategies and physiology have limited the application of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) for critically endangered amphibians in captive assurance colonies. In 2006, the Memphis Zoo (MZ) initiated a program to develop ART for the critically endangered Mississippi gopher frog after natural breeding failed. Standard gamete collection and IVF developed by MZ for reproducing endangered toads such as the Wyoming or boreal toad were applied to the gopher frog with little success, especially hormonal therapy for sperm production. Using the leopard frog as a model species for Ranids, we tested the time and dose dependence of a luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analogue (LHRHa) and hCG on sperm quantity and quality. Initial findings from the leopard frog study were critical in designing the study on gopher frogs. Our objectives were to (1) compare 2 different hormones administered intraperitoneal (500 IU hCG vs 15 μg LHRHa) or their combination on spermiation in gopher frogs; (2) develop in vivo oocyte maturation and ovulation protocols using LHRHa (15 μg) and hCG (500 IU); and (3) transfer this technology to another institution as proof of principle. In gopher frogs, 100 and 83% of the males produced sperm in response to the LHRHa and the combination treatment, respectively, whereas only 16% responded to hCG alone. Sperm concentration peaked at 1 h post-administration for all treatments, with the LHRH/hCG cocktail treatment producing the highest concentration of sperm (mean = 4.6 × 106 ± 1.2 × 106 sperm mL–1, n = 6). No differences in motility were observed between treatments (P > 0.05). For females, a series of priming hormones of hCG and LHRHa were given several months before an ovulatory hormone regimen resulting in ovulation by 100% of the females (n = 6), whereas animals not primed failed to ovulate (n = 4). These 3 separate priming and IVF trials conducted between 2008 and 2010 resulted in each female laying ∼2000 eggs, with an average fertilization rate of 76% for inseminated eggs and hundreds of tadpoles produced. These IVF tadpoles represent the first captive reproduction of gopher frogs and highlight how ART can be applied to conservation and genetic management of threatened species. Subsequently, we tested our IVF protocols on gopher frogs at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo using fresh (collected on site) and chilled, shipped sperm from MZ. We collected 6169 eggs from 9 hormone-primed females with all animals ovulating. A portion of the total eggs ovulated were inseminated, resulting in 2401 fertilized eggs (38.9% of total eggs collected) across 18 different male–female pairings leading to viable tadpoles. In addition, sperm transferred overnight from the MZ produced 202/441 fertilized eggs (46%). The transfer of this technology and production of endangered amphibians using chilled, shipped sperm from live animals is a conservation milestone that can be applied to other captive breeding programs.

Acupuncture Prior to and at Embryo Transfer in An Assisted Conception Unit – a Case Series

2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Success Rate ◽  
Pregnancy Rate ◽  
Embryo Transfer ◽  
Assisted Reproduction ◽  
Case Series ◽  
In Vitro Fertilisation ◽  
Assisted Conception ◽  
Before And After ◽  
In Pregnancy

Over a period of three years, acupuncture was offered to patients entering assisted reproduction therapy. Acupuncture sessions were given at varying, but usually weekly, intervals during the in vitro fertilisation (IVF) cycle, and immediately before and after embryo transfer. Twenty two patients (average age 36.2 years) were treated over a total of 26 IVF cycles and 15 pregnancies were achieved, as determined by presence of foetal heartbeat on ultrasound at four weeks post embryo transfer. This was a success rate of 57.7% compared with 45.3% for patients in the IVF unit not treated with acupuncture (P>0.05). Relaxing effects were noted following acupuncture and it is speculated that this may have contributed to the increase in pregnancy rate for the acupuncture group.

scholarly journals Foreword: A perspective on the role of emerging technologies for the propagation of companion animals, non-domestic and endangered species

2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. iii ◽  
Author(s):  
Monique C. J. Paris ◽  
Gabriela F. Mastromonaco ◽  
Damien B. B. P. Paris ◽  
Rebecca L. Krisher
Keyword(s):  
Endangered Species ◽  
Emerging Technologies ◽  
Assisted Reproductive Technologies ◽  
Companion Animals ◽  
Reproductive Technologies ◽  
Reproductive Physiology ◽  
In Vitro Fertilisation ◽  
Genetic Management ◽  
The Status

Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) have been used successfully in humans, domestic and laboratory species for many years. In contrast, our limited knowledge of basic reproductive physiology has restricted the application of ART in companion animal, non-domestic and endangered species (CANDES). Although there are numerous benefits, and in some cases a necessity, for applying ART for the reproductive and genetic management of CANDES, the challenges encountered with even the most basic procedures have limited the rate of progress. In this foreword we discuss the status of conventional ART, such as artificial insemination and in vitro fertilisation, as well as their benefits and inherent difficulties when applied to CANDES. It is upon these techniques, and ultimately our knowledge of basic reproductive physiology, that the success of emerging technologies, such as those described in this special issue, are dependent for success.

scholarly journals The Evolution of Legislation in the Field of Medically Assisted Reproduction and Embryo Stem Cell Research in European Union Members

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Paolo Busardò ◽  
Matteo Gulino ◽  
Simona Napoletano ◽  
Simona Zaami ◽  
Paola Frati
Keyword(s):  
Assisted Reproduction ◽  
Embryo Research ◽  
In Vitro Fertilisation ◽  
Medical Field ◽  
Medically Assisted Reproduction ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Regulatory Approach ◽  
Different Origins

Medically Assisted Reproduction (MAR), involving in vitro fertilisation (IVF), and research on embryos have created expectation to many people affected by infertility; at the same time it has generated a surplus of laws and ethical and social debates. Undoubtedly, MAR represents a rather new medical field and constant developments in medicine and new opportunities continue to defy the attempt to respond to those questions. In this paper, the authors reviewed the current legislation in the 28 EU member states trying to evaluate the different legislation paths adopted over the last 15 years and highlighting those EU countries with no specific legislation in place and MAR is covered by a general health Law and those countries in which there are no laws in this field but only “guidelines.” The second aim of this work has been to compare MAR legislation and embryo research in EU countries, which derive from different origins ranging from an extremely prohibitive approach versus a liberal one, going through a cautious regulatory approach.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document