The Oldham Notebooks: an analysis of the development of IVF 1969–1978. I. Introduction, materials and methods

Elder, Kay; Johnson, Martin H.

doi:10.1016/j.rbms.2015.04.001

Cited by 16 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The birth of Louise Brown through in vitro fertilization (IVF) was the result of decades-long research in both the basic and clinical sciences and followed hundreds of failed attempts at human IVF [1]. With IVF's successful introduction, related and supportive technologies soon emerged including IVF and the use of donor eggs, cryopreservation and frozen embryo transfer (FET), gamete intra-fallopian transfer (GIFT), zygote intra-fallopian transfer (ZIFT), intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and less invasive procedures aided by enhancements in equipment, such as transvaginal ultrasound guided oocyte retrieval.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The AUGMENTSM Treatment: Physician Reported Outcomes of the Initial Global Patient Experience

Fakih¹,

Shmoury²,

Szeptycki³

et al. 2015

JFIV Reprod Med Genet

101

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IntroductionInfertility treatment prior to 1978 proved challenging to both patients and their physicians. The birth of Louise Brown through in vitro fertilization (IVF) was the result of decades-long research in both the basic and clinical sciences and followed hundreds of failed attempts at human IVF [1]. With IVF's successful introduction, related and supportive technologies soon emerged including IVF and the use of donor eggs, cryopreservation and frozen embryo transfer (FET), gamete intra-fallopian transfer (GIFT), zygote intra-fallopian transfer (ZIFT), intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and less invasive procedures aided by enhancements in equipment, such as transvaginal ultrasound guided oocyte retrieval. It may be hard to recall now that technologies such as IVF, the use of donor eggs, and ICSI were, at first, controversial but so successful in improving outcomes that they were most often adopted into clinical practice without any demonstrated benefit in randomized controlled clinical trials [2].Despite the technical enhancements introduced over time that have resulted in unprecedented cumulative IVF pregnancy rates, a significant percentage of women continue to fail repeated attempts at IVF. While cumulative pregnancy rates increase with increasing cycle number (approximately 75% of women will achieve a live birth by the sixth IVF cycle), per cycle IVF success rates tend to decrease with increasing cycle number. The age blended probability of a live birth is approximately 25% in a woman's first cycle (range [9-33%]), 20% per cycle during her second and third cycles and decreases to less than 20% per cycle during cycles four through six [3]. IVF success rates drop dramatically as women age. Therefore, a patient population exists that will fail to respond to all lines of treatment, including repeated cycles of IVF. For this patient population, IVF using a donor egg or adoption have, until recently, represented the only remaining option(s) [4].The causes of repeated IVF failure are often complex and poorly understood. In contrast, the decrease in fertility observed in women with increasing maternal age has been attributed to a decline in egg and embryo quality as well as increased rates of aneuploidy [5]. Other causes of poor egg/embryo quality beyond age-related factors include medical conditions such as type II diabetes, obesity, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), as well as other genetic and environmental factors [6,7]. Over the past 25 years, an increasing body of clinical and preclinical data has demonstrated that the decline in egg quality is largely due to a reduction in energy production [8][9][10][11]. In the 1990s, there were attempts at improving egg and embryo quality by injecting cytoplasm from young,

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The AUGMENTSM Treatment: Physician Reported Outcomes of the Initial Global Patient Experience

Fakih¹,

Shmoury²,

Szeptycki³

et al. 2015

JFIV Reprod Med Genet

101

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“…With the recent publication of material based on the Oldham notebooks of Steptoe and Edwards, it appears that selective recall and reporting may have featured from inception. In terms of adults, many more women participated in the Oldham programme leading up to the first successful IVF delivery than was at first realised: 282 (listed in the notebooks) versus 156 (number initially published) .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

How should we honour and memorialise the experimental subjects who gave their hopes and lives to the development of in vitro fertilisation in Britain in the 1970s?

Bewley

Littleton²

2016

BJOG

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“…Thus, patient Grace MacDonald (Elder and Johnson, 2015b see Suppl. Material 1 GM, p.14) said:

So, that’s when I met Jean, and she, again, was just wonderful.

…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Oldham Notebooks: an analysis of the development of IVF 1969–1978. V. The role of Jean Purdy reassessed

Johnson¹,

Elder

2015

Reproductive Biomedicine & Society Online

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The role of Jean Purdy in the work leading to the birth of Louise Brown is assessed. We report that Purdy: (i) recorded and organized most of the data systematically; (ii) probably spent longer working in Oldham than did Edwards; (iii) whilst there, was primarily responsible for organizing laboratory supplies, including media preparation and testing; (iv) was involved in patient care; and (v) was a major source of support to Edwards. We find that Purdy, despite her nursing qualification, was not involved in laparoscopic egg retrieval and clinical aspects, but was focused on basic research activities. The evidence on who was present at embryo transfers is less clear, but suggests that Edwards was present for all, whereas Purdy may have been absent for some. Overall, we conclude that Purdy’s role was a highly significant and under-appreciated element in the achievement of IVF in Oldham.

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The Oldham Notebooks: an analysis of the development of IVF 1969–1978. I. Introduction, materials and methods

Cited by 16 publications

References 11 publications

The AUGMENTSM Treatment: Physician Reported Outcomes of the Initial Global Patient Experience

The AUGMENTSM Treatment: Physician Reported Outcomes of the Initial Global Patient Experience

How should we honour and memorialise the experimental subjects who gave their hopes and lives to the development of in vitro fertilisation in Britain in the 1970s?

The Oldham Notebooks: an analysis of the development of IVF 1969–1978. V. The role of Jean Purdy reassessed

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