Women undergoing in vitro fertilization needed for two Stanford studies

STANFORD, Calif. — Of the tens of thousands of women who visit infertility clinics every year, some will never get pregnant, and doctors often can’t explain why. Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine are launching two studies they hope will help women undergoing in vitro fertilization and shed light on what factors affect their outcome.

For one study, researchers in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology are seeking 76 women who have been diagnosed with endometriosis and need IVF. Endometriosis, a condition in which tissue from the inside of the uterus grows outside the uterus, is associated with inflammation, pain and infertility.

“Some people think up to half of infertile women may have endometriosis,” said Lynn Westphal, MD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and lead researcher of the studies. Doctors aren’t sure why endometriosis so frequently causes fertility problems, except that in an extreme case it can distort the anatomy of a woman’s pelvis. In more mild cases, doctors hypothesize that inflammation somehow changes the normal environment of the uterus, fallopian tubes or ovaries.

Full article: http://mednews.stanford.edu/releases/2007/january/IVF.html

Category: infertility, IVF