Ask Our Doctors – Archive
Our Medical Directors are outstanding physicians that you will find to be very personable and compassionate, who take care to ensure that you have the most cutting-edge fertility treatments at your disposal. This is your outlet to ask your questions to the doctors.
Hi dr sher i had 6say 6a Blast embrio transfer i got pregnant. When 7week we saw heart beat it was beautiful. Dr Said baby is 6week but doesnt matter baby is fine uterus fine. There isnt any blood or nothing wrong. After transvaginal us i had little cramp ,little pinch since then. Yesterday 5 days later heart beat, my breast not swolen anymore not any ache they dont hurt any more.yesterday i had brown blood on my underpants. Then pink on toilet paper.i had pruloton depot imtramuscular. I had already have progestrone 3*1 vaginally. I didnt have cleaxene today. Still brown blood and some clots on toilet paper whenever i go wc. All Of the day i am in bed lying down.. is These symptomp abouth my breasts and blood bad sign for my baby. What are your thoughts and recomendations
Hard to say. I would have another US to evaluate.
Good luck!
Geoff Sher
Hello Dr.
I am currently 22 weeks pregnant with twins. For about 4 hours I’ve been having this constant pain in my lower abdomen and both sides as well as my lower back. It hurt when I walk or stand up straight. There is no blood or anything and it has gotten a bit better since. Just wondering if I should go to the ER?
Thank you for your time.
Claire
I would!
Geoff Sher
Dear Dr Sher, I’m 39 years old, my partner is 43 years old. We’ve just got our PGS results from our 2nd IVF treatment. Out of the 3 embryos tested 2 we’re abnormal (trisomy 10, and monosomy 14 and trisomy 21). These embryos have been destroyed. The 3rd is mosaic but I think a complex one as the results were monosomy 1 and 5 and trisomy 2, 9 and 12. We have been told we can transfer this embryo but my doctor said he’d never seen a mosaic with 5 chromosomes affected. Do you recommend transferring this embryo? And if so, do you think we have any chance of it self correcting with all these problems? Many thanks.
Got PGS result classification as “Undetermined Safety or Reproductive Potential”. This embryo demonstrated a 67.4Mb duplication on the long arm of chromosome 9 (9q21.11q34.3) in the mosaic range and a 37.7Mb duplication on the long arm of chromosome 10 (10q23.33q26.3) in the mosaic range.”
The genetic counselors never specified what type of mosaic embryo this is. Is it safe to transfer this type with duplicate Chromosomes 9 & 10?
I personally would not recommend a transfer where there are 2 or more chromosomes affected.
Human embryo development occurs through a process that encompasses reprogramming, sequential cleavage divisions and mitotic chromosome segregation and embryonic genome activation. Chromosomal abnormalities may arise during germ cell and/or pre-implantation embryo development, and represents a major cause of early pregnancy loss. About a decade ago, I and an associate, Levent Keskintepe Ph.D. were the first to introduce full embryo karyotyping (identification of all 46 chromosomes) through preimplantation genetic sampling (PGS) as a method by which to selectively transfer only euploid embryos (i.e. those that have a full component of chromosomes) to the uterus. We subsequently reported on a 2-3 fold improvement in implantation and birth rates as well as a significant reduction in early pregnancy loss, following IVF. Since then PGS has grown dramatically in popularity such that it is now widely used throughout the world.
Most IVF programs that offer PGS services, require that all participating patients consent to all their aneuploid embryos (i.e. those with an irregular quota of chromosomes) be disposed of. However, there is now growing evidence to suggest that following embryo transfer, some aneuploid embryos will in the process of ongoing development, convert to the euploid state (i.e. “auto correction”) and then go on to develop into chromosomally normal offspring. In fact, I am personally aware of several such cases occurring within our IVF network. So clearly, by summarily discarding all aneuploid embryos as a matter of routine we are sometimes destroying some embryos that might otherwise have “autocorrected” and gone on to develop into normal offspring.
Thus by discarding all aneuploid embryos we, in so doing, might be denying some women the opportunity of having a baby. This creates a major ethical and moral dilemma for those of us that provide the option of PGS to our patients. On the one hand, we strive “to avoid knowingly doing harm” (the Hippocratic Oath) and as such would prefer to avoid or minimize the risk of miscarriage and/or chromosomal birth defects and on the other hand we would not wish to deny patients with aneuploid embryos, the opportunity to have a baby.
The basis for such embryo “auto correction” lies in the fact that some embryos found through PGS-karyotyping to harbor one or more aneuploid cells (blastomeres) will often also harbor chromosomally normal (euploid) cells (blastomeres). The coexistence of both aneuploid and euploid cells coexisting in the same embryo is referred to as “mosaicism.” Many such mosaic embryos will In the process of subsequent cell replication convert to the normal euploid state (i.e. autocorrect)
It is against this background, that an ever increasing number of IVF practitioners, rather than summarily discard PGS-identified aneuploid embryos are now choosing to cryobanking (freeze-store) certain of them, to leave open the possibility of ultimately transferring them to the uterus. In order to best understand the complexity of the factors involved in such decision making, it is essential to understand the causes of embryo aneuploidy of which there are two varieties:
1.Meiotic aneuploidy” results from aberrations in chromosomal numerical configuration that originate in either the egg (most commonly) and/or in sperm, during preconceptual maturational division (meiosis). Since meiosis occurs in the pre-fertilized egg or in and sperm, it follows that when aneuploidy occurs due to defective meiosis, all subsequent cells in the developing embryo/blastocyst/conceptus inevitably will be aneuploid, precluding subsequent “auto correction”. Meiotic aneuploidy will thus invariably be perpetuated in all the cells of the embryo as they replicate. It is a permanent phenomenon and is irreversible. All embryos so affected are thus fatally damaged. Most will fail to implant and those that do implant will either be lost in early pregnancy or develop into chromosomally defective offspring (e.g. Down syndrome, Edward syndrome, Turner syndrome).
2.“Mitotic aneuploidy” occurs when following fertilization and subsequent cell replication (cleavage), some cells (blastomeres) of a meiotically euploid early embryo mutate and become aneuploid. This is referred to as mosaicism. Thereupon, with continued subsequent cell replication (mitosis) the chromosomal make-up (karyotype) of the embryo might either comprise of predominantly aneuploid cells or euploid cells. The subsequent viability or competency of the conceptus will thereupon depend on whether euploid or aneuploid cells predominate. If in such mosaic embryos aneuploid cells predominate, the embryo will be “incompetent”). If (as is frequently the case) euploid cells prevail, the mosaic embryo will be “competent” and capable of propagating a normal conceptus.
Since some mitotically aneuploid (“mosaic”) embryos can and indeed do “autocorrect’ while meiotically aneuploid embryos cannot, it follows that an ability to differentiate between these two varieties of aneuploidy would be of enormous clinical value. Since some mosaic embryos can “autocorrect” and even go on to propagate a viable baby, the ability to confirm that aneuploidy is mitotic (potentially reversible) would provide a strong argument in favor of preserving certain aneuploid embryos for future dispensation. Unfortunately however, there is presently no microscopic or genetic test that can reliable differentiate between meiotic and mitotic aneuploidy.
Aneuploidy, whether meiotic or mitotic in origin involves the addition of one or more chromosomes to a given pair in human embryos. Certain aneuploidies involve only a single, chromosome pair (simple aneuploidy) while others involve more than a single pair (i.e. complex aneuploidy). Evidence suggests that complex aneuploidy, whether meiotic or mitotic in origin is almost always lethal while all forms of meiotic aneuploidy are permanent. Some aneuploidies, especially those that involve addition of a chromosome to any pair (trisomy) will at times progress to clinical pregnancies (e.g. trisomy 15, 18, 21 or when the sex chromosomes are involve). And as stated previously, most aneuploid embryos, should they attach, will miscarry or result in a chromosomally defective offspring.
On the other hand, some aneuploid embryos have one chromosome (in a given pair) missing (i.e. monosomy). Aside from monosomy involving absence of the Y-sex chromosome (i.e. XO) which can resulting in a live birth (Turner syndrome) all other monosomies involving autosomes (non-sex chromosomes) are lethal and will not result in viable offspring.
Since it is presently not possible, without removing more than 1 cell from an embryo (a very traumatic event) to differentiate between meiotic and mitotic aneuploidy, it follows that making a diagnosis of embryo aneuploidy does not allow for identification of mosaic embryos for transfer. This is especially true when it comes to trisomic embryos that can and sometimes do, propagate chromosomal birth defects such as Down syndrome. It is important to bear in mind that the transfer of trisomic embryos (whether due to meiotic or mitotic aneuploidy) can result in miscarriage or a birth defect. This makes any attempt to transfer such embryos to the uterus fraught with risk and in my opinion, ill advised. Conversely, since true meiotic autosomal monosomic embryos cannot propagate viable pregnancies, performing embryo transfer in such cases in the hope that the aneuploidy is mitotic (mosaic) in origin and will spontaneously “ auto correct”, is a rational consideration. Needless to say, such action would require full disclosure, and the execution of a detailed, informed consent agreement which would include an expressed commitment to undergo prenatal genetic testing aimed at excluding a chromosomal defect in the developing baby and/or a willingness to terminate the pregnancy should a serious birth defect be diagnosed.
Since it is meiotic rather than mitotic aneuploidy that is invariably lethal and given that meiotic aneuploidy originates in the egg, it is my belief that the closer to fertilization that embryo biopsy is done for PGS, the more likely it is that any aneuploidy detected, will be meiotic in origin. The longer you wait thereafter, the greater the likelihood that with repeated mitotic division, mutational changes will result in mitotic aneuploidy (mosaicism). This is why I strongly believe embryo biopsies should be performed on day 2-3 post fertilization rather on day 5-6 days (the blastocyst stage).”
Good luck!
Geoff Sher
Thank you for your forum.
What is your thought on embryos with vacuoles? We have a frozen day 6 embryo that is high level mosaic with an extra chromosome on 20 and has vacuoles. Do vacuoles plus high level mosaic 20 indicate this embryo should not be transferred?
Thank you.
I would still transfer it!
Geoff Sher