A group of doctors in the UK, among them two Greeks, have successfully used a new method to hormonally stimulate ovaries in women that have resorted to aided reproduction in order to cause ovulation.
The scientific team, including Greek scientists Alexander N. Comninos and Georgios Christopoulos, consisted of researchers at Imperial College, London, under the supervision of Channa N. Jayasena and Ali Abbara.
According to their study, which has been published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the new method minimizes the danger of ovaries’ overstimulation and the possible, sometimes fatal, consequences.
The scientists used the natural hormone Kisspeptin-54 that can trigger egg maturation in women undergoing In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) therapy. Subsequent fertilization of eggs matured following Kisspeptin-54 administration and the transfer of resulting embryos can lead to successful human pregnancy.
Of the 53 women who underwent a single injection of Kisspeptin, 51 produced mature ova. In 49 of the cases, there was IVF of the ova and were then transplanted into the uterus, while 12 of them finally became pregnant.
So far, twelve babies have been born from mothers that had been injected with the natural hormone Kisspeptin, instead of the more commonly used human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) used in ovary overstimulation.
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