A baby boy has been born to a couple in the USA by IVF involving the use of a new embryo screening approach.
The method uses the latest DNA sequencing techniques and aims to increase IVF success rates while being more affordable for more couples.
The work was a collaborative effort. It received significant support from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, a partnership between Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust and the University of Oxford. The collaboration also involved industrial partners, in particular the medical diagnostic company Reprogenetics UK.
The new approach can identify embryos with the correct number of chromosomes, and may cut hundreds of pounds off the cost of embryo screening test, Dr Wells says, which currently adds

Although as many as 25 percent of patients undergoing surgery suffer from sleep apnea, few hospitals have policies to help manage the risks of this condition during surgery, and there is little evidence to help guide anesthesiologists and surgeons caring for these patients. In a new editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine, Stavros Memtsoudis, M.D., Ph.D., director of Critical Care Services at Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City, calls for a new research initiative to identify the safest and most effective ways to manage patients with sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea, a disorder in which a person frequently stops breathing for short periods during sleep, not only makes for a restless night but also puts the person at increased risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack and stroke. But although the condition is more common than diabetes, and poses particular hazards during surgery, relatively little research has been done to help guide clinicians.
‘Patients with sleep apnea may be at risk for many complications during surgery, including airway blockage and intubation problems,’ said Dr. Memtsoudis. ‘But that’s not all: we know that apnea affects many other organ systems as well. The American Society of Anesthesiologists published guidelines in 2006 to help us take better care of patients with sleep apnea, but there was

A new study review authored by the University of Kentucky

Retinal (or fundus) photography is an essential part of any ophthalmology practice. Commercial fundus cameras can cost tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars, making the technology out of reach for smaller ophthalmic practices and to physicians in third-world countries. In a recent study now on line, Massachusetts Eye and Ear researchers describe the relatively simple technique of fundus photography in human and rabbit eyes using a smartphone, an inexpensive app for the smartphone, and instruments that are readily available in an ophthalmic practice.

Smartphones are now being used more routinely in ophthalmology to document patients

Brain infarction, or stroke, is caused by a blood clot blocking a blood vessel in the brain, which leads to interruption of blood flow and shortage of oxygen. Now a research group at Lund University, Sweden, has taken an important step towards a treatment for stroke using stem cells.
The group shows in a new study that induced pluripotent stem cells have developed to mature nerve cells at two months after transplantation into the stroke-injured cerebral cortex of rats. These nerve cells have established contact with other important structures in the brain. The transplantation gave rise to improvement of the animals