In this e-newsletter:
1. ESHRE launches first textbook for paramedics
2. The EU - connection
Code of conduct of pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacovigilance
3. ESHRE campus / educational activities
First ESHRE campus in Croatia - The determinants of a successful pregnancy
Training workshop for paramedics working in reproductive health, Valencia
Female and male surgery in human reproductive medicine, Treviso
4. ESHRE news
5. News in reproductive medicine
6. ESHRE calendar
The past decade has seen the professional role of the specialist nurse evolve, through the development of evidence-based protocols and a greater involvement in research. The continuing education of nurses is important to maintain this momentum and improve standards of care.
More and more nurses are now specialising in just one field of medicine, and in such cases a basic nursing education is not enough to support the development of care in a specialty such as reproductive health.
In the Netherlands, under the lead of two nurses, Metty Spelt and Nicolette de Haan, several professionals filled a gap in the education of nurses in reproduction with the development of a textbook, the first to be written for nurses working in reproductive health. The book provides an overview of all the important issues - and junior doctors and lab technicians have also found it invaluable.
However, a lack of formal education and training for paramedics working in reproduction is not just an issue in the Netherlands. Many countries in Europe are unable to provide specific training - which is why ESHRE's Paramedical Group has developed its basic training course as a model suitable for members throughout Europe. The next step in the support of these training efforts was a translation of the textbook into English.
All paramedical members will automatically receive a free copy of the book during the course of September. If you are not a paramedical member, you will be able to purchase a copy over the ESHRE website as of end of October.
In this section you can read about news and issues in the EU arena. For comments and feedback please send an email to hanna@eshre.eu.
The European Medicine Agency (EMA) and the European Network of Centres for Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacovigilance (ENCePP) developed a Code of Conduct for scientific independence and transparency in the conduct of pharmacoepidemiological and pharmacovigilance studies.
The objectives of the ENCePP Code of Conduct are to provide a set of rules and principles in pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacovigilance. This includes guidelines for good practice and addresses issues of publication and reporting of study results.
Above all, best practice approaches between investigators and study sponsors, protocol agreements, transparency and scientific independence are covered. Attached to the Code is a 'Checklist of Methodological Research Standards' to stimulate researchers to consider important epidemiological principles when designing a study, to promote transparency in pharmacoepidemiological studies in the EU and finally to increase awareness about developments in science and methodology in this field.
The determinants of a successful pregnancy, Dubrovnik, Croatia (organised by the SIGs Reproductive Surgery, Early Pregnancy and Reproductive Endocrinology)
24-25 September 2010
This uniquely designed Campus Workshop involving three SIGs will bring together those with a special interest in the medical and surgical interventions required to achieve a successful pregnancy outcome.
Research in the following areas will be presented:
The problem of obesity and early pregnancy
Natural conception and fertility treatment
Medical and surgical approaches to managing obesity
Surgical approaches to enhance fertility for congenital anomalies
Ovarian reserve testing
Evidence of early pregnancy, support and treatment intervention
Embryoscopy
Basic Training Course for nurses and support personnel working in reproductive health, Valencia, Spain
(organised by the Paramedical Group) - this course is offered in English and Spanish
7-8 October 2010
The following areas will be covered:
Male and female anatomy and physiology
Causes and diagnosis of infertility
Life style factors affecting infertility
Counselling
Introduction to andrology and embryology
Basic genetics
Fertility drugs
Basic treatments (ovulation induction, intra uterine insemination)
At the en of the workshop the participants can take a multiple choice exam in order to obtain the certificate.
Female and male surgery in human reproductive medicine, Treviso, Italy (organised by the SIGs Reproductive Surgeryn and Andrology)
8-9 October 2010
Female congenital tract anomalies
Male congenital tract anomalies
Debate: Varicocele - to treat or not to treat?
Male genital obstruction
The psychological impact of infertility on men
Epidemiology of male/female sterilisation and reversal
Role of post-surgical gamete cryopreservation
Sterilisation and vasectomy reversal
Our Journals
Human Reproduction
Editor’s choice June 2010
Stephenson MD, et al., Intravenous immunoglobulin and idiopathic secondary recurrent miscarriage: a multicentered randomized placebo-controlled trial
Related News: Expensive immunotherapy shows no advantage over placebo for recurrent miscarriage patients
Molecular Human Reproduction
New Research Horizon Reviews
Initiated at the end of 2007, this series of reviews provides brief summaries of current knowledge in basic science topics in reproductive medicine, accommodating the option of including snippets of unpublished data or hypotheses pointing to new research horizons.
Shao, R, et al., Nitric oxidase synthases and tubal ectopic pregnancies induced by Chlamydia infection: basic and clinical insights
Travis, CT., et al., Intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms of oocyte loss
Human Reproduction Update
Editorial
Wallace, W and Barr R, Fertility preservation for girls and young women with cancer: what are the remaining challenges?
You can find more news and articles in our Press Room and in our Journals.
Court ruling in the US halts stem cell research
On 23 August, the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia issued a temporary injunction, blocking President Obama's rules, that in 2009 lifted a ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. The court argued that the Dickey-Wicker amendment, which is attached to federal spending bills since 1996 states that federal money may not be used for scientific research that destroys embryos.
During the Bush administration, went around the amendment with a legal memorandum that allowed stem cell research that was federally funded, if the cell lines originated from privately funded sources. Obama lifted these restrictions last year, allowing researchers to use federal funds on cell lines created since 2001.
Experiments under way will continue, but the government may be forced to suspend $54 million for 22 projects by the end of this month. An additional 60 projects may also be under threat. In 2009, the health institutes spent $143 million for more than 330 projects using human embryonic stem cells, and it is estimated that it would spend another $137 million this fiscal year, the New York Times reports. The Obama administration said it is considering an appeal of the ruling.
Fertility preservation for cancer patients
An editorial commentary published this month in Human Reproduction Update highlights the remaining challenges in the field of fertility preservation in female cancer patients. Until today clinicians cannot give an accurate prognosis of fertility before treatment begins, as this may change during the course of the disease and therapy. The authors Wallace and Barr emphasize that there is a need for more research on markers of ovarian reserve to improve the assessment of each patient before beginning cancer therapy. Also the radiation-induced damage of the uterus can impair the patient's ability to carry a pregnancy to term. The authors are also concerned about the possibility of contamination by cancerous cells during reimplantation, they believe this could be avoided if -in future - frozen mature oocytes could be fertilised in vitro.
A recent article in the journal Blood showed that malignant cancer cells in the frozen tissue could reinduce cancer in those patients receiving the frozen-thawed ovarian tissue. Professor Dolmans and her group from the Catholic University in Leuven in Belgium, provide evidence that in patients with acute or chronic leukemia, cancer cells can contaminate the ovaries after reimplantation.
After initial microscopic evaluation, which showed no cancerous cells, the researchers used real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and detected cancerous cells in 70% of all acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and in 33% of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) patients. When they transplanted the grafts, no mice in the CML group developed tumours and four mice in the ALL group developed cancerous tumors. Read more >
More news can be found in our PRESS ROOM or you can subscribe to our RSS feed for professionals in the field of reproductive medicine.
EIM 10 years’ celebration meeting
(organised by the EIM)
11 September 2010, Munich, Germany
The determinants of a successful pregnancy
(organised by the SIG Reproductive Surgery, SIG Early Pregnancy, SIG Reproductive Endocrinology)
24-25 September 2010, Dubrovnik, Croatia
Basic training workshop for paramedics working in reproductive health
(organised by the Paramedical Group)
7-8 October, 2010, Valencia, Spain
Female and male surgery in human reproductive medicine
(organised by the SIG Reproductive Surgery and the SIG Andrology)
8-9 October 2010, Treviso, Italy
Everything you forgot about gamete physiology and its impact on embryo quality
(organised by the SIG Embryology)
9-10 October, Lisbon, Portugal
Promoting excellence in clinical research: from idea to publication
(organised by the ESHRE journals editors)
5-6 November, Thessaloniki, Greece
More information on all workshops is available in our Calendar.
Mark your calendar for our 27th Annual Meeting / Stockholm, Sweden/ 3-6 July 2011