The latest miracle in infertility treatment!

Select CCS, the latest miracle in infertility treatment!

It has been a long time I am handling various aspects of infertility and still I feel there are hundreds of things that are still mystery. We have been successful in helping thousands of childless couples to enjoy the sweetest moment of life that is parenthood and there have been magnificent breakthroughs in this field. However, there are so many things that come as great obstacles in front of us.

The “broken” egg that breaks the expectation!

There are various aspects of female infertility and certainly one of the most complex one is the quality of the egg in a female. Remember that it plays a phenomenal role in the pregnancy and any sort of abnormality can either make the conception impossible, or there may be problems in the normal growth of the fetus.

The quality of the female egg determines the quality of the embryo. Unfortunately until very recent times, there was no guaranteed method available to distinguish and determine a healthy egg. Although we use many other methods to reach to the highest accuracy level, there are still possibilities of errors. The embryos are judged from the external appearance and although the assumption is correct usually, but we were not sure absolutely!

It is certainly incredible that it is possible to even select the best sperm from a lot of millions to ensure successful pregnancy, but it is not possible to select the “really” healthy egg. There are tools like genetic tests or checking the ovarian reserves are available to do the health check, but with limited accuracy!

The latest breakthrough

It was really the great day for me when I heard recently about the latest breakthrough in the field of female infertility treatment. It will surely help us in determining the health of the female embryo with the highest level of accuracy.

According to the authentic information there has been a new technique developed named as SelectCCS or Select Comprehensive Chromosome Screening. The method is based on the screening of chromosomes in an egg.

Chromosomes play the fundamental role in the quality of embryo and most interestingly, screening of these chromosomes would significantly determine about the embryo health. Typically a Euploid embryo is made up of 46 chromosomes in the group of two and the Aneuploid embryo will have abnormal number of chromosomes.

How SelectCCS is performed?

It is a special technique used by us to screen the embryo at the molecular level. This technique gives the exact information to us so that we can analyze and decide the health status. The method is very accurate and helps especially those females who experience multiple miscarriages. Maximum times these miscarriages are contributed by the improper quality of embryo.
The advantage

SelectCCS procedure not only tells the exact health of embryo, we infertility experts can decide to go for single embryo plantation. It avoids the unwanted complication of twin or triplet pregnancies. Single Embryo Transfer or SET can be used to ensure healthy and successful pregnancy. There is tremendous improvement in the success ratio and safety level of the IVF cycle.

It has surely come as the biggest relief to my female patients who have crossed 35 years of age or who have undergone multiple IVF cycles. IT is certainly going to answer all questions and queries of such couples!

Bollywood: Khans for surrogacy

Surrogacy is the new buzzword thanks to Bollywood’s biggest Khans opting for it. Back in 2011, actor Aamir Khan and wife Kiran Rao had a child through a surrogate mother, and now Shah Rukh Khan is reportedly set to follow in their shoes, albeit there’s no confirmation from him. This, say experts,
marks the coming of age of the phenomenon in India, with both the screen idols boosting the trend among the public, too.

Dr Rita Bakshi, infertility specialist, International Fertility Centre, has got 15 In-vitro fertilisation surrogacy queries since reports of Shah Rukh and wife Gauri planning their third child went public. “Several couples who were confused about if they should opt for the procedure, have decided to go in for it. Celebs are role models and it immensely helps in shedding a lot of inhibitions. The actors have done a great service to childless couples by helping bring the procedure in limelight,” says Bakshi.

“I am already receiving a large number of IVF surrogacy related queries, and I expect a further spurt,” says Dr Anubha Singh, infertility expert, Artemis Health Institute. Bakshi, however, says SRK and Gauri have no reason to keep mum about the procedure. “They would be doing a greater service if they talk about it openly. Aamir Khan kept talking about surrogacy openly and had thus emboldened many to opt for the procedure,” she says.  While Shah Rukh remained unavailable for comment, a source said, “They are not talking about it since there are false rumours that the couple got the baby’s sex determined, which is not true.”

Experts say...
There are a lot of stigmas related to surrogacy in India. When a celeb couple opts for a surrogate child, it helps a lot to shed myths
Dr Anubha Singh, infertility expert

I wish Shah Rukh Khan chooses to speak openly about it. He will help surrogate mothers gain respect in the society and light up the lives of childless couples
Dr Shobha Gupta, IVF expert

   Cryopreservation of Gametes

• Spermatozoa

It is a fact that cryopreservation of the male gametes is relatively easy and simple as compared to the female counterpart. The reason might be because of the huge quantity of sperms found in the semen. Even if the cryopreservation techniques are not that effective, you will still be left with good number of sperms.

There are some factors plays a major role in the effectiveness and success of cryopreservation technique of sperms.
• Semen quality – If you preserve the semen sample taken through normozoospermic method, then the survival is much higher, typically 25% as compared to a sample taken by oligoozoospermic method where the survival is 12%.

• Preparation of the semen – It is important to prepare the semen properly if the survival rate is required to be high. The method of semen washing also determines the survival rates. Typically normozoospermic semen samples survive 25% if they are taken just by normal preparation method. If the semen is taken by swim-up technique, then the survival rate is 36%. There is another method known as density gradient configuration that improves the survival rates significantly. Research indicates that there is an increase from 12% to 27% with swim-up technique and 23% with centrifugal technique.

Oocyte

It is certainly very difficult to cryopreserve Oocyte as compared to sperm. The eggs are usually very delicate and there is damage to the outer shell very easily irrespective of the techniques we use to preserve them. The latest cryopreservation protocols, however, have become very helpful in preserving the Oocyte in a better way. Although the survival rate for Oocyte is as high as 60%, but the rate of live births using the survived Oocyte is still much lower as compared to the fresh ones....

Acne Related To Hormones

                      Acne Related To Hormones

All cases of acne have their roots in hormone production, but some acne is a symptom of an underlying hormonal condition that can cause far more than facial blemishes. “Acne is caused by an excess of oil production, which in turn is caused by the action of testosterone,” says Dr Rita Bakshi, Chairperson of International Fertility Centre.

The average menstrual cycle is 28 days, and each of these days is different hormonally. “In the first half of a woman’s menstrual cycle, the predominant hormone is estrogen; in the second half, the main hormone is progesterone,” explains Dr Rita Bakshi, Senior Gynaecologist and Infertility Specialist. Then levels of both hormones fall to their lowest levels of the month as bleeding approaches.  

Meanwhile, the male hormone testosterone (made in smaller amounts by women) stays at a constant level all month. This means that before and during menstruation, testosterone is relatively higher than the female hormones.  These behind-the-scenes hormonal shifts do all sorts of things to a woman’s skin. For one, the mid-cycle progesterone rise stimulates the production of sebum. Sebum is a thick, oily substance that acts as a natural skin lubricant. And as levels of progesterone increase, skin swells and pores are compressed shut. As a result, pores never looked so minimized. But this tourniquet effect also causes sebum to build up beneath the skin’s surface. In addition, higher testosterone levels around menstruation further activate the sebaceous glands to make even more sebum.  

Sebum yields different effects in different women. For some, it produces a healthy glow; for others, it creates a chronic oil slick. The oil provides food for the bacterium P. acnes. This bacterium causes increased breakouts and inflammation around the time of women's periods.  

Unfortunately, you can’t change the relationship between acne and hormones. But there are some things you can do to make those breakouts less severe.