Telemedicine Fertility Monitor As Successful As IVF

By Ben Rooney

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Close monitoring of core temperature can be more successful than IVF

Shamus Husheer’s opening line as a speaker is guaranteed to get him a laugh: “My name is Shamus Husheer and my job is to get the women of Britain pregnant.”

Behind the laughs, though, Mr. Husheer has developed a technology that is helping thousands of women get pregnant without recourse to drugs or invasive techniques for a fraction of the cost of IVF. In the U.K. a cycle of IVF costs on average some £4,500 ($7,200).

New Zealand born Mr. Husheer, who started his company, Cambridge Temperature Concepts, straight after being awarded a PhD from the chemistry department at Cambridge University says the fertility monitor, called DuoFertility, is as effective as conventional IVF.

“We published a peer-reviewed paper that showed that six months use of the monitor has the same success rate as a round of IVF. ”

They are confident that unpublished research which uses additional data will show that a year of use is better than IVF.

So confident is Mr. Husheer, that the company offers a money-back guarantee. If a woman is not pregnant after 12 month’s use, and has complied with the instructions, then the company will refund the £495.

The medicine underpinning the technology was established in the 1930s and relies on differences in a woman’s body basal temperature (BBT)* at the time of ovulation.

“This change in temperature is only about 0.3ºC measured over the whole month,” said Mr. Husheer. “But a woman’s temperature can change by as much as 2.5ºC a day.” The technology to do that, which is patented, came directly from Mr. Husheer’s PhD in instrumentation, finding signals hidden among very noisy data.

Solving patient compliance

DuoFertility comprises a small sensor, slightly larger in diameter than a €1 coin, which a woman wears under her arm, affixed with medical tape. The sensor, which can take up to 20,000 readings a day, has to be worn all night and preferably during the day as well. It is designed to fit into the natural pocket under the arm.

The monitor has to be synched with the base station which is connected to a PC. The data is then relayed back. From the information it can identify the day of ovulation and suggest the three day fertilization window.

The woman can use the base station to report other things with the temperature data, such as the first day of her menstrual cycle, or report back when intercourse has taken place. It can also be used to report events such as interrupted sleep, which will affect the readings, or if the woman is ill.

“Patient compliance, in other words patients following the courses prescribed for them, is a real issue in healthcare. Because this is a telemedicine device, we can see if the woman has complied.”

The device has been licensed by the British NHS and is undergoing approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The NHS is looking at using the system for the 4,000 patients a year who have unexplained infertility. Since the system is as least as effective as IVF, it means fewer patients need go down the medical route. “From a woman’s perspective, IVF is pretty awful. With us, all they have to do is wear a patch.”

Data capture is transforming business

And in a great example of how data capture is transforming businesses, the monitoring data has proved to be a valued resource for sleep researchers. The monitor contains a three-axis accelerometer which it uses to determine when the woman is asleep which is when the BBT can be established.

“For the first time, we have extensive data on what normal sleep looks like,” said Mr. Husheer. Sleep monitoring is usually done in expensive sleep monitoring stations and typically only for people with sleep problems. His company is working with the NHS to use the monitor in other sleep trials.

Telemedicine has long been hailed as one of the great advances that technology will bring, but has often failed to live up to its promise. Part of the problem, says Mr. Husheer is that the wrong sort of monitoring is attempted. “Typically it has been attempted for cardiac cases, which requires constant 24×7 monitoring. Even now the technology isn’t really up to it.”

Having established the efficacy of their product to detect very small temperature changes, Mr. Husheer says that the medical community is looking closely at using similar technology for post-operative care. “In the U.K. alone there are some nine million operations a year, compared with 35,000 couples looking for fertility treatment.”

Other uses include monitoring infants for sudden infant death syndrome and patients suffering from Type 1 diabetes.

*Body basal temperature

A woman’s BBT patterns consist of two phases during the menstrual cycle, her BBT is lower before ovulation than after. The small increase in BBT, of the order of 0.3ºC occurs within 48 hours of ovulation and will remain elevated until her next period.

However recording BBT has historically been difficult. Traditional methods involve taking an oral, rectal or vaginal measurement at the same time each morning which must be taken on waking. However, even the act of waking or getting out of bed will increase her temperature, leading to inaccuracies in the measurement.

The Wall Street Journal, Tech Europe

Ginger Reduces Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy and Relieves Menstrual Pain

(NaturalNews) Ginger, that aromatic root that has livened up food for centuries, is a treasure chest of health benefits that keep bodies lively too. Recent research has found ginger to be effective for reducing the nausea and vomiting associated with pregnancy, and the pain associated with menstruation. It has also shown ginger to be effective against colon cancer and the devastating effects of liver cancer.

A daily dose of ginger makes pregnant women feel much better

Sixty-seven women receiving prenatal treatment at a clinic were the subjects of a study reported in the March 15 edition of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. Each had complained of nausea and vomiting as a result of pregnancy. The women were randomly assigned to either an experimental group or a control group. The experimental group received 250 mg capsules of ginger to be taken four times a day for four days, and the control group received placebos with the same prescriptive form and direction. Effects of treatment for nausea were evaluated twice daily for four days by a before-and-after treatment questionnaire. The ginger users demonstrated a higher rate of improvement compared to the placebo users (85% versus 56%). The decrease in vomiting times among ginger uses was also significantly greater than among the women who received the placebo (50% versus 9%).

Ginger halts menstrual pain as effectively as drugs

Another study compared the effects of ginger, ibuprofen, and mefenamic acid (another NSAID typically used to treat menstrual discomfort) on women with primary menstrual pain. This was a double blind comparative clinical trial conducted over a six month period. Participants were 150 students, aged 18 years and older, who were divided into three equal groups. Students in the ginger group took 250 mg capsules of ginger rhizome powder four times a day for three days from the start of their menstrual periods. Members of the other groups received 250 mg mefenamic acid capsules or 400 mg ibuprofen capsules on the same protocol. A verbal multidimensional scoring system assessed the severity of their menstrual pain.

Severity of disease, pain relief, and satisfaction with treatment were compared between the groups after one menstruation period. At the end of treatment, severity of pain and discomfort decreased in all groups and no differences were found between the groups in degree of pain relief or satisfaction with the treatment. No severe side effects occurred. The scientists concluded that ginger was as effective as the NSAID drugs in relieving menstrual pain. This study can be found in the February 13 issue of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.

By: Barbara L. Minton

For complete article go to,http://www.NaturalNews.com/025979_ginger_cancer_pain.html#ixzz1SWNpyZRF

Hepatitis B Vaccine: What Parents Need To Know

We go to such lengths to conceive a child and maintain good health during pregnancy it would be catastrophic to have a misjudgment during the important first year of life. It’s becoming common knowledge that breastfeeding the newborn correlates to increased health and proper development. Vaccination of newborns used to be considered a “given” but now concerned citizen are revisiting that idea. Specifically speaking the hepatitis B vaccine has been coming under some scrutiny. In fact on March 23, 2011 the United States Federal Court stated in HARRIS v. SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, that the hepatitis B vaccine involves too much risk without sufficient benefit. The court acknowledged that newborns are not in the two groups most susceptible to hepatitis B (intravenous drug users sharing needles and those who practice unsafe sex.)

So how did we get to this place of vaccinating our newborns since the early 90’s against a disease that they are likely not to be exposed to? The Center for Disease Control gives “grants and other financial incentives to state health departments to reward them for promoting mass vaccination. Since 1965, the CDC has given state health departments hundreds of millions of dollars through categorical grant programs to promote mass use of federally recommended vaccines. At the same time, if state health officials do not show federal health officials proof they have attained a certain vaccination rate in their state, federal grants to state health departments can be withheld.’ ‘In addition to federal grants, many states get money from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Johnson & Johnson), which operates All Kids Count, to set up vaccine tracking systems to enforce state vaccination mandates. (In 1989 Merck & Co., the U.S. manufacturer of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), chicken pox and hepatitis B vaccines, joined with Johnson & Johnson to form Worldwide Consumer Pharmaceuticals Co. with the goal of becoming “one of the premier worldwide consumer products companies.” Merck’s 1997 vaccine sales reached 1 billion dollars.) .”National Vaccine Information Center. So how can the public be confident in the mandates of the CDC when they are essentially funded by big pharmaceuticals? They can’t. So for the hepatitis B vaccination the risks seem extreme, especially for a newborn with an immune system that has not fully developed. Just because the masses do it doesn’t mean its safe. Take the above facts and examine the research and educate yourself before your told to vaccinate.

--William Harnage

Sources:

http://childhealthsafety.wordpress.com

www.nvic.org

www.NaturalNews.com

www.uscfc.uscourts.gov

Low Vitamin D Levels Linked to More Aggressive Breast Cancers

Study supports notion that maintaining healthy levels of the nutrient is key to patient outcomes

FRIDAY, April 29, 2011(HealthDay News) -- Breast cancer patients with low levels of vitamin D have more aggressive tumors and poorer outcomes, a new study finds.

Experts say the new findings support what many oncologists have long suspected.

"There has been suspicion that vitamin D is related to breast health in some way, although the particular pathway is still unknown," noted Dr. Laurie Kirstein, a breast surgeon at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. "Many oncologists are already following vitamin D levels in their breast cancer patients, and recommending supplements for low levels," added Kirstein, who was not involved in the new study. "To link vitamin D levels to the aggressiveness of a particular type of breast cancer is an interesting finding; one that should be validated with a controlled trial."

In the study, to be presented Friday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Breast Surgeons, a team from the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) tracked 155 women who had surgery for breast cancer between January 2009 and September 2010.

The team examined blood tests that provided vitamin D levels for all the patients in the one-year period before and after surgery. They also analyzed relevant patient breast cancer data, such as age, race, cancer stage at diagnosis, menopause status, gene expression, and estrogen and progesterone status.

The researchers found an association between low vitamin D levels (less than 32 milligrams per milliliter of blood) and poor scores on every major biological marker used to predict a breast cancer patient's outcome.

"The magnitude of the findings was quite surprising," lead researcher Luke J. Peppone, research assistant professor of radiation oncology, said in a URMC news release. "Based on these results, doctors should strongly consider monitoring vitamin D levels among breast cancer patients and correcting them as needed."

Another expert said the findings do raise a red flag, but more study may be needed.

"There appears to be increasing evidence linking vitamin D levels and breast cancer," said Dr. Sharon M. Rosenbaum Smith, a breast cancer surgeon at the Comprehensive Breast Center at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Medical Center in New York City. "This study certainly shows another link between the two. However, a direct cause and effect relationship has not been proven. This study certainly suggests that continued optimization of a patient's vitamin D level may be advantageous."

Vitamin D is found in certain foods, but humans synthesize most of the nutrient they need via the action of sunlight on exposed skin. Supplements can also boost levels of vitamin D.

The Rochester team said their study is one of the first to look at the link between vitamin D levels and breast cancer progression. Previous studies have concentrated on vitamin D deficiency and the risk of cancer development only.

According to study leader Peppone, further research is required to learn more about the biological basis of the association between vitamin D and breast cancer outcomes, but this study shows the importance of checking vitamin D levels in breast cancer patients.

Experts note that research presented at meetings is considered preliminary until it is published in a peer-reviewed journal.

-- Robert Preidt

SOURCES: Laurie Kirstein, M.D., breast surgeon, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York City; Sharon M. Rosenbaum Smith, M.D., breast cancer surgeon, Comprehensive Breast Center, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Medical Center, New York City; University of Rochester Medical Center, news release, April 29, 2011

Copyright © 2011 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Scientists reverse stance on sun and cancer: Now they admit sunlight can prevent skin cancer

Friday, May 27, 2011 by: Tara Green

(NaturalNews) Since the 1980s, physicians and cancer groups have regularly warned the public against the potential health dangers of direct sunlight on skin. As a result, many people have stayed out of the sunlight completely, covered their limbs even in warm weather or slathered themselves with UV protection products, all in the interest of lowering their risk of melanomas.

However, more recent findings indicate that this kind of nearly vampiric avoidance of the sun may not benefit your cancer odds after all.

A 2009 study by a group of Leeds University researchers found that higher levels of Vitamin D were linked to improved skin cancer survival odds. Other studies have found that Vitamin D has a connection to a strong immune response in the body. In fact, Vitamin D may hasten the death of tumor cells.

Unfortunately, most people have low levels of Vitamin D, leaving them at higher risk for a host of diseases including breast cancer, prostate cancer, bowel cancer, cervical cancer, rickets and osteoporosis. (For more in-depth information on this, see this report:http://www.naturalnews.com/rr-sunli...)

"It's common for the general public to have low levels of vitamin D in many countries," said Professor Julia Newton Bishop of the Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine and author of the Leeds study. "Melanoma patients tend to avoid the sun as sunburn is known to increase the risk of melanoma. We use sunshine to make vitamin D in the skin, so melanoma patients' levels of vitamin D may be especially low."

Bishop also noted that people can get more Vitamin D through dietary sources such as fatty fish. She points out that balance is key, as extremely high levels of Vitamin D can have a negative effect on health.

The mainstream media continues to run stories every summer warning people against the sun even two years after the Leeds study. While hours of sunbathing may be risky behavior for your long-term health, receiving a moderate amount of sunlight while out gardening or walking is actually as good for you as eating a low-fat diet and engaging in regular exercise. In fact, laying off the sunscreen may help you not only absorb sunshine into your skin to help fight tumors, but also helps you avoid the chemicals in most commercial sun blocking products. Some studies have indicated that these chemicals can actually generate harmful free radicals in the body.

So this summer, relax, and enjoy the sunshine.

Sources for thisarticleinclude:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/article...
http://www.skinbiology.com/toxicsun...

Learn more:http://www.NaturalNews.com

Researchers Recommend Pregnant Women Take 4,000 IU Vitamin D A Day

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – Taking vitamin D supplements during pregnancy is not only safe for mother and baby, but also can prevent preterm labor/births and infections, according to results of a randomized controlled study to be presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

In the 1950s and ’60s, people were concerned that vitamin D could cause birth defects, according to Carol L. Wagner, MD, lead author of the study and a pediatric researcher at Medical University of South Carolina. It now is known that vitamin D is important for maternal and infant health, including bone health and immune function.

Recent studies have shown that vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy is a serious public health issue.

“Diet doesn’t provide enough vitamin D, and we don’t go in the sun as much as we need,” Dr. Wagner said.

Therefore, she and her colleagues, including Bruce W. Hollis, PhD, who has worked in the field of vitamin D research for the last 30 years, set out to determine the optimal dose of vitamin D supplements for pregnant women without doing harm.

Researchers randomized 494 pregnant women at 12-16 weeks’ gestation into three treatment groups. Group one received 400 International Units (IU) of vitamin D a day until delivery; group two received 2,000 IU and group three received 4,000 IU. The women were evaluated monthly to ensure safety.

“No adverse events related to vitamin D dosing were found in any of the three arms of the study,” Dr. Wagner said.

Investigators also looked at the effects of vitamin D supplementation on complications during pregnancy, including preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, infections, and preterm labor and birth.

“The spectacular part of the study was it showed women replete in vitamin D had lower rates of preterm labor and preterm birth, and lower rates of infection,” Dr. Wagner said.

The greatest effects were seen among women taking 4,000 IU of vitamin D per day. Therefore, the researchers recommend this daily regimen for all pregnant women.

Dr. Wagner will discuss the two parts of the study in separate presentations. The outcomes of vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy will be presented on Saturday, May 1, and the safety of vitamin D supplementation will be presented on Sunday, May 2.

Reporters wanting to interview any of the speakers should call the PAS Press Office at 778-331-7694. Reporters who wish to attend the session must first check in with the PAS Press Office at the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre to receive press credentials.

To view part 1 of the study on safety, go to http://www.abstracts2view.com/pas/view.php?nu=PAS10L1_2450&terms.
To view part 2 of the study on outcomes, go to http://www.abstracts2view.com/pas/view.php?nu=PAS10L1_2481&terms.

http://www.aap.org

Prescription Painkiller Use Linked To Serious Birth Defects

by Nancy Shute

Women who use oxycodone, codeine and hydrocodone painkillers early in pregnancy may increase the risk of birth defects, according to a study led by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Women who used these prescription pain medications just before they got pregnant, or in the first trimester of pregnancy, were twice as likely to have a baby born with a serious heart defect, the researchers report in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

As far back as the 1970s, studies have shown a link between using opioid painkillers in the first trimester of pregnancy and birth defects. But that didn't change doctor's prescribing practices at all, says Cheryl Broussard, the CDC epidemiologist who led this new study. She looked at data from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, which has been collecting information on women's use of medications since 1997.

Heart defects saw the greatest increase, including hypoplastic left heart syndrome, in which the left side of the heart doesn't develop properly. It is fatal if not treated with surgery.

And this is the first study to link spina bifida, in which the backbone and spinal canal don't close before birth, with opioid use.

The new study also found slight increases in congenital hydrocephaly, which can cause mental retardation; congenital glaucoma; and gastroschisis, in which a baby is born with intestines outside the body.

The increased risk of birth defects for each woman was very small overall. For instance, the risk of having a baby with hypoplastic left heart syndrome rose from 2.4 per 10,000 live births, to about 5. But almost 3 percent of women say they use prescription opioid pankillers while pregnant; they are commonly prescribed for pain from surgery, infection, chronic illness and injuries. About 1 in every 33 babies in the U.S. is born with a birth defect.

Many women — and their doctors — don't realize that these popular painkillers could pose a risk to their babies, Broussard says.

"It's really important that women talk with their doctors," she says, "and talk about the potential benefits for these medications, as well as the potential risk for heart defects."

http://n.pr/gzj68b