"Energize" patients' eggs for ICSI has no effect

3 July 2018

A controversial technique for "super-charging According to Elena Labarta, from the IVI clinic in Valencia, Spain, the results of 57 patients with a poor fertility prognosis have been presented to the European Society for Human Reproduction. And the annual conference of Embryology (ESHRE) in Barcelona, ​​Spain on Tuesday.

"Unfortunately, the technique has not been found useful for this type of patient, so we see no value for this patient population," said Dr. Labarta. study examined the effects of a technique marketed under the name of AUGMENT by the American company OvaScience. Launched in 2014, this technique extracts the mitochondria from ovum precursor cells in the ovary of a patient, then microinserts these mitochondria into the patient's egg, as well as the sperm of his partner. , during ICSI

. embryologists and patients did not know the embryos that had undergone the procedure) compared pregnancy and birth rates, as well as embryonic quality, from ICSI-treated eggs alone and eggs that received additional mitochondria alongside ICSI

find differences in cumulative pregnancy outcomes between the two groups, "said Dr. Labarta. "The live birth rate was absolutely comparable between the two groups."

M. Stuart Lavery, a consultant gynecologist at Hammersmith Hospital in London, who did not participate in the study, noted that it was "a negative finding." very important. The theory behind this technique, he says, is that mitochondria – which act as cellular "batteries" – can age, contributing to the decline in egg quality that occurs with aging.

But Mr. Lavery noted that the technique "depends on our ability to identify egg precursor cells". The idea that such cells can be identified significantly is in itself controversial