Improved Genetic Screening Approach Helps Parents Have Healthier Babies

A faster and potentially less expensive genetic screening process developed by scientists supports high delivery rates and reduces the risk of transferring genetic disease. Results of this combination approach to genetic screening used DNA obtained by a single biopsy and took only 4 hours to complete compared to the 4 weeks usually required if SGD PGD was performed separately to CCS. This new data is drawn from 17 cases and 150 embryos including autosomal and x-lined, recessive and dominant, and compound and heterozygosity disorders.

"Our patients don't just want to be pregnant. What they really want is to deliver a healthy baby in the shortest time possible. This new data, generated at RMANJ, is just another piece of the puzzle for hopeful parents everywhere," noted Richard T. Scott, Jr., M.D., F.A.C.O.G., H.C.L.D., laboratory director and a founding partner at RMANJ. "By performing CCS and SGD PGD at the same time, we have the opportunity to maintain high delivery rates, bring healthier children into the world, reduce the time needed for screening, and potentially lower the cost of genetic screening," Dr. Scott added.

At the 2014 ASRM meeting, RMANJ will present more than 20 clinical abstracts across a number of critical areas that are changing the future of IVF, including the application of next generation sequencing (NGS) to embryonic aneuploidy screening.

Innovative studies also address the aneuploidy rate in oocytes derived from natural menstrual cycles versus those obtained after gonadotropin stimulation, characterizing the bacterial flora or "microbiome" of the endometrium, analysis of DNA from the blastocelic cavity of embryos, and a paired randomized controlled trial analyzing different methods of extended embryo culture to the blastocyst stage. Other abstracts address time lapse embryonic imaging, reproductive endocrinology, genetic counseling, and DHEA supplementation in IVF. The full list of clinical abstracts can be found at www.rmanj.com

"Our wide scope of research continues to support outstanding results and success rates at RMANJ," commented Dr. Marie Warner, senior Reproductive Endocrinology fellow at RMANJ and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. "This year's body of work illustrates our ongoing commitment to excellence, which has benefited patients from New Jersey and around the world."

Source-Medindia