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Sun05192013

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Infertility

Village Fertility Pharmacy Recalls Two Fertility Injectables

Another Massachusetts-based compounding pharmacy recalled products due to contamination. Village Fertility Pharmacy recently conducted a voluntary recall of compounded medications that have been shipped over the past three months after an unknown substance was seen floating in a vial of medication.

The particulate was discovered in a small percentage of two lots of Progesterone. According to the company, the Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy was contacted regarding the situation immediately after the discovery was made. After an initial investigation, Village and the Board of Pharmacy expanded the recall to include Leuprolide as well.

A spokesman from the Waltham compounding pharmacy said that laboratory results are expected by the end of this week on the recalled fertility drugs; however no adverse effects have been reported by any patients who have used the drugs in that time.

“We are working cooperatively with all government agencies and are awaiting the results of the investigation,” Stuart Levine, president of Village Fertility Pharmacy said in a statement. “While no patients have reported any adverse effects, we believe the prudent course is to recall all of those medications.”

Progesterone and Leuprolide are both injectable drugs, which are the most dangerous if contaminated. Progesterone is a hormone that supports gestation, and can be compounded in different solutions to support patients’ various needs. Leuprolide suppresses natural ovulation.

Compounding pharmacies have received scrutiny after the New England Compounding Center shipped contaminated injectable steroids linked to the fungal meningitis outbreak that sickened 714 people and was responsible for 48 deaths. State health officials have been conducting surprise inspections of compounders after this tragedy.

For patients who have questions or concerns regarding the recalled products, Village Fertility Pharmacy suggests calling the Village Recall Hotline at 1-888-965-5813.

Source: Village Fertility Pharmacy

Last Updated: 2/27/13; 10:50AM EST

Study Suggests Fertility Drugs are Linked to the Risk of Developing Breast Cancer

According to a new study, whether a woman becomes pregnant by taking fertility drugs may influence the chance of developing breast cancer further down the road.

A study published in the Journal of National Cancer Institute on July 6, suggested that women who were taking the fertility drugs for at least ten weeks, and were unable to get pregnant, were less at risk for developing breast cancer before the age of 50 than women not taking fertility drugs. However, for those women who were taking the fertility drugs for at least ten weeks, and were able to get pregnant, the risk for developing breast cancer was higher than those who were unsuccessful at getting pregnant before the age of 50.

Chunyuan Fei from the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences led the research study, which examined women who were diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 50 for a course of two years, along with their sisters who did not develop breast cancer.

Cancer experts suggest that this study is not definitive because there are many flaws associated with the data. The study relied on the participants’ reporting of their fertility drug usage. They also were not informed of the specifics on each woman’s infertility diagnosis.

Since these tumors are usually related to genetic factors, there is uncertainty of the confidence in the study since the researchers analyzed groups of women who developed breast cancer before the age of 50. Experts believe that more research is needed to fully understand this relationship between fertility drugs and the risk of developing breast cancer.

The group of women that did get pregnant while taking the fertility drugs had a higher risk of developing breast cancer than those who didn’t get pregnant, however when compared to the general public, these women did not have a higher risk of developing the disease. So, these results should not discourage women from taking infertility drugs.

Last Updated: 7/9/12; 11:40am EST

Human sperm gene is 600 million years old, scientists discover

ScienceDaily (July 16, 2010) Just as styles in sexy clothes or fashion change from year to year and culture to culture, "sexy" genes, or genes specific to sex, also change rapidly. But there is one sex-specific gene so vital, its function has remained unaltered throughout evolution and is found in almost all animals, according to new research from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Embattled Drug Maker Halves Price of Makena

Under intense pressure from organized medicine, politicians, and the March of Dimes Foundation, KV Pharmaceutical announced today that it will lower the list price of its new drug for reducing the risk for preterm birth from $1500 to $690 per injection and introduce other price breaks to make it more affordable.

New test to predict success of IVF treatment

ScienceDaily (July 20, 2010) Women who fail to become pregnant after undergoing in vitro fertilization treatment often grapple with the decision of whether to try IVF again.