IVF Success Lies in the Genes

Filed in archive IVF and Assisted Pregnancies , Medical Issues on July 26, 2009

© Neeta Lind

Before you spend money, time and emotions, you naturally would want to know: what are the chances that IVF will work for you? Scientists say that the answer may be found in your blood.

"We found that the gene expression profiles in blood of patients at the time of pituitary down-regulation showed interesting patterns of gene clustering. Over 200 genes were differentially expressed in patients who went on to achieve an IVF pregnancy compared with those who did not," she said.

The researchers found that the peripheral blood gene expression 'signature' (also known as the transcriptome) before IVF was predictive of IVF outcome. This finding demonstrates the power of high-dimensional technology in biomarker discovery, and highlights the potential for developing clinically useful tools, they say.

The researchers hope that the results generated by this work will lead to the development of a test to aid in IVF decision-making. With such a test, patients would be able to gauge their chances of success, how long they should keep trying, or perhaps identify ways to increase chances of a successful pregnancy. With more and more turning to IVF, such a test would definitely save patients not just a lot of money and time, but also heartaches.