An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) led by Prof. Aldo R. Boccaccini from the Chair of Materials Science (biomaterials) and Prof. Dr. Ralf Dittrich from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Universitätsklinikum Erlangen have taken an important step towards developing artificial ovaries for patients suffering from cancer. Together, they have been researching innovative techniques for restoring the fertility of cancer patients and have published their innovative results in 'Scientific Reports', the open access magazine published by Springer Nature
An artificial ovary would help women fall pregnant, despite suffering from cancer and the strong medication used during chemotherapy that can adversely affect patients' fertility. The scientific community has been investigating how best to reconstruct female ovaries in the laboratory and which materials to use for a long time. An interdisciplinary team of researchers made up of engineers and materials scientists at the Chair of Biomaterials at FAU and gynaecologists and natural scientists at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Universitätsklinikum Erlangen is now providing new approaches.
[...] Up to now, women and girls diagnosed with cancer can only preserve their chances for pregnancy by having ovarian tissue removed, frozen and re-implanted after they have recovered from the disease. Although this method is considered safe, certain types of cancer can penetrate the ovarian tissue and the cancer can be reintroduced when the tissue is re-implanted. The aim of the new method is to completely replace the diseased tissue with an artificial ovary and restore patients' fertility, thus significantly increasing their quality of life.
Journal Reference:
Liliana Liverani, et. al. Electrospun patterned porous scaffolds for the support of ovarian follicles growth: a feasibility study. Scientific Reports, 2019; 9 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-37640-1
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 08 2019, @03:01AM
Let's help people with diseases natural selection doesn't normally catch, create more people susceptible to those diseases.