Supervisors info:
Ν. Παπαντωνίου, Ομότιμος Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Δ. Κασσάνος, Ομότιμος Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Χ. Χρέλιας, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
Ιntroduction: ιn vitro fertilization has been used since the late 1970s. On July 25, 1978, the first "baby test tube" was born, Louise Brown. Robert Edwards and Patrick Steptoe, who co-operated in the process, are considered pioneers of IVF.
Materials and purpose: most common and more used assisted reproduction techniques (ART) are IVF (in vitro fertilization) and ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection). In vitro fertilization or IVF is the most common and effective type of assisted reproductive technology to help women get pregnant. It involves the fertilization of an egg outside the mother's body in the laboratory and then implantation into the uterus. By 2016, about 6.5 million babies were born by in vitro fertilization (IVF).
One of the questions that emerged was and still is the health of children arising from ART methods. The purpose of this postgraduate work is to review and present the complications in neonatal and childhood associated with assisted reproductive techniques, through various studies done throughout the world.
Results: in terms of neonatal complications, these include multiple pregnancy, prematurity, low birth weight, neonates with endometrial growth retardation, chromosomal abnormalities and perinatal mortality.
The children's neurodevelopmental functions resulting from assisted reproduction techniques appear to be similar to children resulting from physical conception. However, children who are planned through fertility treatment such as IVF are one-third more likely to have psychiatric problems such as autism or schizophrenia than naturally born, according to research, and also seem to have a tendency to isolation and depressive behavior. However, researchers believe that fertility procedures are not responsible, but rather infertility itself as existing defective genes pass to the offspring.
Issues related to the association of IVF and heart disease were recently discussed at the ISMAAR International Conference on the Most Favorable Approaches to Assisted Reproduction in London. The "high stimulation" method, where powerful drugs are used to stimulate egg production, is a practice commonly used in UK fertility clinics. Experts claim that there is increasing evidence that treatment can result in offspring with higher blood pressure and thicker arteries than normal. These features among babies increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes as adults.
Several studies have revealed the risk of epigenetic disorders in children with ART, and studies have demonstrated the relationship between epigenetic disorders and cancer. Whether ART will increase the risk of developing newborn cancer is another current issue. However, because of the rarity of cancer in children, the risk assessment of cancer in ART-arrested children is not easy. Studies around the world have linked ART to malignancies such as retinoblastoma, hepatoblastoma, lymphoblastic leukemia. Others seem to be due more with infertility itself, while some seem to be a little more elevated in IVF-derived children. According to a study in Norway, there was an increased risk of leukemia and Hodgkin's lymphoma. The results coincide in part with those of large Swedish research with predominant acute lymphocytic leukemia and central nervous system tumors. Further studies and long-term follow-up are necessary to determine if ART ultimately has an impact on the incidence of cancer.
Conclusions: in conclusion, although the ART-based child health outcomes so far are positive, it is important to carry out large cohort studies in infants and children born with IVF/ICSI techniques to draw conclusions on public health so that to fully explore the health and wellbeing of children, even their adult lives.
Keywords:
IVF, ART, Long term effects, Side effects, IVF risks, In vitro fertilization
