At a recent meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Washington DC, researchers report that the use of a supplement called dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) boosted the egg production in women undergoing IVF treatment.

Women taking the drug produced more eggs and had twice as many high-quality embryos suitable for transfer into the uterus per cycle. The use of DHEA appears to have helped boost the pregnancy rate from 11 per cent to 23 per cent among patients aged 40 and above in Gleicher's clinic. Other clinics are beginning to focus research efforts on DHEA, too.

It is a hormone produced naturally by the body, where it is converted into the sex hormones oestrogen and testosterone. Exactly how it influences egg maturation is unclear. According to Barad, it appears to induce a form of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a condition in which high levels of the hormone cause a "backlog" of ripening eggs that fail to release naturally. Women taking DHEA as part of IVF treatment avoid the negative symptoms linked to PCOS, such as weight gain, perhaps because doctors harvest the ripe eggs each month, Barad says.

Endocrinologists warn though that these preliminary results need further investigation. The researchers warn against women taking DHEA without consulting their doctors.

Source: EurekAlert