In this e-newsletter:
1. Best Wishes from ESHRE
2. The EU - connection
ESHRE puts infertility on the agenda at the European Health Forum
20-week maternity plan rejected in EU
ESHRE EU Archive - updated
European Medical Societies alliance to improve biomedical EU funding
3. ESHRE campus / educational activities
2010 Workshops pictures and slides
ART - do we disregard the oncological impact?
Insurance models for reproductive medicine
4. ESHRE news
Consolidation of News in reproductive medicine
Winner of the ESHRE Exchange Award to present in Stockholm
Applications for ESHRE's Embryologist Certification are now closed
ESHRE journals
5. News in reproductive medicine
Second Human Embryonic Stem Cell trial approved by FDA
World Map of maternal health
EU Health Prize for journalists goes to 'Stem cells: stealing hope'
Europe bans BPA
6. ESHRE calendar
The ESHRE workshop on ‘Individual choices in reproductive health’, presented on Wednesday 6 October 2010 at the European Health Forum Gastein, showed that European patients are in many countries, in fact, limited in their individual choice of medically assisted reproduction (MAR) treatment.
During the workshop the political, professional, industrial and patient perspectives highlighted the problems related to the patchwork of MAR regulation in Europe. In recent years, the provision of cross-border care in Europe has received considerable policy attention. Considering patients face a range of unresolved legal, financial and administrative issues, it was good news to hear that the European Parliament's public health committee voted on 27 October in favour of rules that could pave the way for Europeans to receive medical treatment anywhere in the European Union ... Read more The press release related to this event was covered in several media outlets.
UK, France and Germany were amongst the countries voting against the 20 week maternity plan proposed earlier by the European Commission. The social affairs ministers voiced concern about the economic impact this would have on business which are already struggling with the current crisis. If the proposal goes through, the costs are expected to be approximately 1.3 bn EUR for each country. A burden many countries are currently neither willing nor able to carry. The original article can be found here.
Don't forget to check out the ESHRE EU-archive!
We have added a few more documents in the meantime including:
Overview of viral testing requirements for EU members to follow the EU Tissues and Cells Directive (EUTCD)
Timeline (EUTCD)
Proposal to develop a transparent and systematic methodology to sort the scientific evidence linking environmental exposures to reproductive health
If you wish to access the above files you need to be logged in with your details! The EU archive is for MEMBERS ONLY!
On December 9 chairman Luca Gianaroli and past chairman Joep Geraedts attended the first Annual Assembly of the Alliance for Biomedical Research (AllBRE) in Europe. This new organisation represents the major biomedical scientific societies in Europe and it's goal is to prevent stifling of European innovation and competitiveness.
Dr Ruxandra Draghia-Akli, Director of the Health Directorate at Research Directorate-General of the European Commission, expressed deep concern about current EU funding earmarked for health projects. In response, major health-related societies across Europe have created an alliance to improve funding of biomedical research across the EU. AllBRE aims to ensure that the European Parliament and member states increase vital funding for biomedical research up to a level that will allow European researchers to compete with the explosion of research spending in China, as well as the already much higher funding in the USA.
The call from the Alliance comes as national research budgets, including university funding, are slashed across the EU, further increasing the pressure on European researchers and institutions. Today, advocacy for European biomedical research is ineffective due a fragmented and uncoordinated approach. The Alliance aims to change all that, by giving a single, powerful voice to the biomedical research community across Europe that will maximise its impact on research budgets, covering all health disciplines, for improved health and wellbeing of all European citizens.
As a percentage of GDP, the EU spends just 1.8% on all Research and Development (R&D), compared with 2.7% in the USA, and 3.4% in Japan. Worse, data recently released by the UNESCO showed that between 2002 and 2007 European investment in research has stagnated: actual spending on R&D increased by just 29%, a figure similar to the 27% increase in GDP, across the region. Meanwhile, China has increased R& D spending by a staggering 160% across the same period, while its GDP increased by 97%. This is a massive increase in real terms, and China’s commitment to accelerate research spending—together with a likely doubling of GDP—will see a near-quadrupling of its R & D budget by 2020. Currently, around 85% of funding specifically for health-related research in EU countries comes from member states’ own budgets, with 15% coming from the EU itself. The Alliance will take a proactive stance, communicating effectively with the EU at all appropriate levels including the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of Ministers.
ESHRE was one of the 28 societies represented in the first AGM of the Alliance on 9 December in Brussels.
2010 has been an eventful year indeed: we have had to cope with the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, riots in Athens, striking air controllers in Spain and Portugal, heavy snow causing chaos across all Europe and last but not least a general strike in Rome that almost lead to the ESHRE team not arriving on time for the Annual Meeting.
Nevertheless with 27 Workshops in 2010, we are looking back at an eventful and good year. Many new locations particularly in Eastern Europe were explored from Dubrovnik to Ukraine. 2011 will be somewhat calmer with currently 11 campus activities in the pipeline in new locations such as the beautiful Saint Petersburg in Russia or the fairytale Kempten in Germany's breathtaking Allgäu area.
Pictures and presentations for past Workshops in November and December are currently being uploaded on the website. You can find them here.
Access to these documents is restricted to delegates only. After 6 months the presentations and photos are also made available to ESHRE MEMBERS. You will need to login with your details.
(organised by the SIG Reproductive Endocrinology)
4 February 2011, Kempten, Germany
Knowledge on the oncological potency of sexual steroids will be transmitted. The focus of this course will be on ovarian and breast cancer, but also on the onset of malignancies in children born after ART.
There will be an open discussion on the clinical impact of ovarian protection by GnRH – analogues. The target audience for this course is gynaecologists, andrologists, urologists, endocrinologists, specialists in infertility treatment and oncologists.
(organised by the TF on Management of Fertility Centres)
11-12 February 2011, Venice, Italy
A variety of stakeholders are involved in the process of prevention and treatment of infertility: some are easily identifiable (clinicians, embryologists, nurses, patients), while others are less evident, but not less important, and deserve to be involved in the process to improve and enrich it.
This second category includes, among others, potential patients (such as young people undergoing aggressive therapies for cancer cure or individuals postponing parenthood for social reason), institutions and, of course, professionals in the field of health insurances.
The course will provide an overview on insurance policies and requirements in different European countries, observing how differences from one country to the other may be one of the causes of cross border reproductive care. The course aims to provide information related to insurance models applicable to the different needs of all the above mentioned stakeholders and to discuss the new possibilities that the developments in the field of reproductive medicine might offer.
Course objectives• To provide clinicians, embryologists and paramedicals with information about insurance models related to their profession• To provide managers of infertility units and public and academic hospitals with information related to insurance models • To discuss strategies aiming to a standardization of insurance requirements throughout Europe • To examine aspects of risk evaluation and insurance policies implementation in the field of ART• To evaluate the application of insurance models to new categories of subjects involved in ART
More information on ESHRE workshops can be found in our Calendar.
News in reproductive medicine will no longer be listed as separate items on the ESHRE News site, instead users who wish to receive news in the field of reproductive medicine need to subscribe to one of ESHRE's community platforms: RSS feed, twitter or facebook.
The most prominent articles will be displayed on the ESHRE homepage. If you wish to sign up please click on one of the following icons.
Please note you will need to have a personal twitter or facebook account if you wish to follow ESHRE. For any questions please contact Karen Maris at karen@eshre.eu
We congratulate Professor David Gardner from the University of Melbourne on winning the ESHRE Exchange Award at the last Fertility Society of Australia (FSA) meeting. For several years our societies have exchanged their leading researchers who win the prize at the Annual Scientific Meeting.
During ESHRE's Annual Meeting in Stockholm David Gardner will hold the lecture: "Glucose consumption by human embryos on day 4 and day 5 is predictive of pregnancy and sex" on Monday 4 July 2011 at 11:45.
For more information on the main programme of ESHRE's 27th Annual Meeting visit the ESHRE website.
The application system for ESHRE's Embryology Exam in Stockholm is now officially closed. The central office is no longer accepting any further applications!
Vercellini, P., et al., Oral contraceptives and risk of endometriosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Editor’s choice
Catalano R. et al., Comprehensive expression analysis of prostanoid enzymes and receptors in the human endometrium across the menstrual cycle
You can find more news and articles in our Press Room and in our Journals.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the second human embryonic stem cell trial for patients with Stargardt's macular dystrophy. The disease, which is the most common form of juvenile macular blindness usually begins during childhood, destroys the vision and is currently incurable. Degeneration in the pigmented layer of the retina leads to the loss of photoreceptors and then blindness. Using stem cells, healthy retinal pigment epithelium cells can be generated.
In 2009 the FDA approved the first human embryonic stem cell trial, where a small group of spinal-cord injury patients were treated using neurons derived from stem cells.
Using data from the UN and the WHO, researchers from the University of Southampton and the University of Aberdeen together with the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood have developed the 'Atlas of Birth'. This project focuses on worldwide statistics related to maternal health such as pregnancies and maternal death. An online interactive map shows figures and facts related to this field. The project which is funded by the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and the Norwegian government, includes a book, a film and leaflets.
To contact the researchers please follow this link.
The winners of the 2010 edition of the EU Health Prize for Journalists are Gianluca Ferraris and Ilaria Molinari with "Stealing Hope" published in Panorama, Italy.
Their article outlines how several 'Healing clinics' in Europe promise cures for diseases ranging from Parkinson's to Alzheimer's and from depression to Multiple Sclerosis with the use of stem cells. Disguised as patients with undercover cameras the team discovered how certain centres in Germany, Switzerland and the Ukraine shamelessly use the desperation of patients to promote unproven therapies (which may even be dangerous) which come at exorbitant prices.
The Prize was part of the "Europe for patients" campaign, highlighting 11 health policy initiatives. All these are bound by a common goal: better healthcare for all in Europe. 745 eligible articles were submitted by 438 journalists from all EU countries. You can read the full article here.
A European ban on baby bottles containing the chemical Bisphenol-A(BPA) is to be imposed next year. On 25 November the EU member states approved the European Commission proposal. BPA is regarded as one of the many endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) and as such may play a role in human male reproduction. BPA is used in epoxy resins and polycarbonates plastic. It is an additive in acrylic and vinylic resins and in synthetic rubber, as well as in many other products. The related article can be viewed here.
More news can be found in our RSS feed for professionals in the field of reproductive medicine or if you follow us on facebook or twitter.
RCOG/ESHRE/ESGE Joint meeting – Reproductive surgery in the 21st century and beyond
(organised by the SIG Reproductive Surgery)
1-2 February, London, United Kingdom
4 February, Kempten, Germany
(organised by the TF Management of Fertility Centres)
11-12 February, Venice, Italy
Endoscopy in reproductive medicine
23-25 February, Leuven, Belgium
Basic training course for paramedics working in reproductive health
(organised by the Paramedical Group)
3-4 March, Berlin Germany
Mark your calendar for our 27th Annual Meeting / Stockholm, Sweden/ 3-6 July 2011