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In North America, a high proportion of pregnant women use herbal medications including North American ginseng. This medicinal plant contains high amounts of triterpene saponins (ginsenosides), which are the main bioactive compounds. It is important to assess ginseng’s impact on all reproductive functions to ensure the safety of pregnant women and fetuses. In this study, we defined the concentration-responsive effects of North American alcoholic and aqueous ginseng extracts on preimplantation development in vitro and on pregnancy and post-partum development in the mouse. Two-cell mouse embryos were cultured with 5 different concentrations of whole ginseng root extracts, or ginsenosides Rb1, Rg1 and Re alone, a combinatorial ginsenoside solution and a crude polysaccharide fraction solution. Embryonic development and recovery from each treatment was assessed. To investigate the in vivo effects of ginseng extracts, female mice were gavaged with 50mg/kg/day, 500mg/kg/day or 2000mg/kg/day of either extract (treatment) or water (sham) for 2 weeks prior to mating and throughout gestation. Gestation period, litter size, pup growth and pup sex ratio were evaluated. Oral ginseng consumption did not significantly affect fertility or pregnancy in the mouse. High doses of ginseng (2000mg/kg/day) decreased maternal weight gain. Direct treatment of preimplantation embryos in vitro demonstrated that ALC and AQ extract treatment reduced development in a concentration responsive manner, while only ALC extract effects were largely reversible. Treatments with individual or combinatorial ginsenosides, or the polysaccharide fraction solution alone did not impair preimplantation development, in vitro. In conclusion, maternal oral consumption of ginseng has little negative impact on pregnancy in the mouse, however, direct exposure to ginseng extract during mouse preimplantation development in vitro is detrimental.

Why in the World Do Patients Travel for Medical Care?

Is Medical Tourism For You? …a Look into the System of Healthcare Abroad

Asia Medical Tourism: First-Rate Healthcare for Sale

Medical Tourism and Clinical Trials: The New Silk Road

Aesthetic Medicine in 2007: Trends and Updates

Clinical Assisted Reproduction in Singapore — Challenges Posed by Medical Tourism and Future Prospects for Growth

Busting the Fear for Breast cancer

AUSTRALIA – Australia's First Full Genome Project to be Conducted on Corals.

AUSTRALIA – Scientists May have Discovered New Potential Cure for Cancer.

AUSTRALIA – First Genetically-engineered Malaria Vaccine To Enter Human Trials.

CHINA – Lead Poisoning Sickens 600 Kids in China.

CHINA – Groundbreaking Treatment for Oxygen-deprived Newborns.

CHINA – China Builds First Heavy Ion Therapy Center for Cancer Patients.

CHINA – Creating Live Mice from Skin Cells.

INDIA – Human Clinical Trial in 2010 for Needle-free Measles Vaccination.

INDIA – Indian Wonder Herb can Treat Male Infertility.

JAPAN – Flood Resistant High-yield Rice Developed.

SINGAPORE – Minimally Invasive Option for Knee Cartilage Repair.

SINGAPORE – Novel Immunization Method for Malaria Offers Insights into Human Anti-Malaria Immune Response.

TAIWAN – Taiwan Researchers Identify Sites of Breast Cancer Genes.

TAIWAN – Taiwanese Researchers Develop Cell Therapy For Immunodeficiency.

TAIWAN – Remote Healthcare Services for High-risk Patients.

TAIWAN – Marine-derived Compounds Holds New Treatment Premise for Neuropathic Pain.

OTHER REGIONS — UNITED STATES – New No-needle Approach to Prevent Blood Clots.

AUSTRALIA – Degenerative Disease Breakthrough.

AUSTRALIA – New Genetic Cancer Risk Found.

AUSTRALIA – Experts Find Way to Make Mosquitoes Dengue-free.

CHINA – Virus May Cause High Blood Pressure.

CHINA – Eleven Die from Suspected Tainted Vinegar in China.

HONG KONG – HK Study Finds Molecule that Offers Fertility Hope.

INDIA – Hyderabad Hospital Performs Rare Kidney Transplant.

INDIA – 20-minute Treatment for Blood Pressure.

INDIA – New Experimental Vaccine against Chikungunya.

JAPAN – ES Cells Turn Into Sperm.

JAPAN – Leading Japanese Pharmaceutical Scientists Advance Drug Discovery & Development with Mass Spectrometry and Chip LC Technology from AB SCIEX.

SINGAPORE – One Hundred and Twenty Aspiring Scientists Awarded Scholarships.

SINGAPORE – Pacific Healthcare Launches Pacific Surgical and Colorectal Centre in Singapore.

SINGAPORE – NTU Achieves Bacterium Breakthrough.

OTHER REGIONS — Killer T-cells Wipe Out Leukemia.

AUSTRALIA – Successful FDA end-of-Phase-2 for Hatchtech head lice product DeOVO^™

AUSTRALIA – Senz Oncology secures seed funding for promising cancer drug.

AUSTRALIA – Geneworks develops DNA barcodes for international security.

INDIA – Stress hormones: Good or Bad for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder risk?

SINGAPORE – New study shows fertility knowledge gaps may exacerbate Singapore's declining birth rate challenge.

SINGAPORE – World's first wearable robotic device for stroke rehabilitation comes to Singapore.

SRI LANKA – Conflicting reports highlight scientific data gaps in Sri Lanka's chronic kidney disease.

EUROPE – InDex Pharmaceuticals strengthens IP position for Kappaproct.

EUROPE – Novozymes and Terranol to market advanced biofuel yeast.

EUROPE – The world's first (official) biosimilar antibody goes to… Rheumatoid Arthritis.

USA – MRI reveals brain's response to reading.

USA – Novozymes partner Chemtex receives USDA commitment to build advanced biofuels plant in United States.

USA – Fossil fuel and renewable energy subsidies on the rise.

SINGAPORE – Sanofi Pasteur Launches Dengue Mission Buzz to Improve Public Awareness on 5th Asean Dengue Day

SINGAPORE – Singapore and the Republic of Korea collaborate to train MedTech Innovators

SINGAPORE – Strategic Partnership between A*STAR and Pyrobett

SINGAPORE – Engineers, Policy-Makers and Environmentalist meet to tackle Climate Change at the World Engineers Summit

SINGAPORE – Rebranding for New Growth: EmTech Singapore to EmTech Asia

SINGAPORE – Waters Introduces the New ACQUITY Arc System, Designed as a Bridge between HPLC and UPLC Methods

HONG KONG – Chinese Biotech 3SBIO launches up to $712 Million HK IPO

TAIWAN; TAIPEI – Advancement in New Treatments for Dengue: BRIM Biotechnology strategic collaboration with Johnson & Johnson Innovation

KOREA – Poor Nations Concerned about coping with MERS

KOREA – Merck and Samsung Bioepis: Pivotal Phase III studies for Rheumatoid Arthritis

UNITED KINGDOM – Surprise Split in Population of Monkey Malaria Parasite

GERMANY – Merck Serono: Innovative Fertility Technologies Gavi and Geri of Partner Genea Biomedx Receive CE Mark

BRUSSELS – EFIR–GRÜNENTHAL Grant Honors 7 Young Scientists for their groundbreaking Pain Research Ideas

AUSTRIA – Pacritinib Phase 3 Study Shows Positive Results In Patient Reported Outcomes Measuring Quality Of Life In Patients With Myelofibrosis

UNITED STATES – Repatha™: Human Monoclonal Antibody for Treating High Cholesterol

UNITED STATES – Cancer Clinical Trials Expert assists Regen Biopharma, Inc. in addressing FDA questions regarding planned immunotherapy clinical trial for breast cancer (dCellVax)

UNITED STATES – Novartis gains FDA approval for Promacta^® providing new option for children, ages 6 and older, with Chronic ITP, a Rare Blood Disorder

SINGAPORE – NUS Researchers Uncover Potent Parasite-killing Mechanism of Nobel Prize-Winning Anti-Malarial Drug.

SINGAPORE – Robotic Glove Invented by NUS Researchers Helps Patients Restore Hand Movements.

UNITED STATES – Study Reveals Environment, Behavior Contribute to Some 80 Percent of Cancers.

UNITED STATES – Probing the Mystery of How Cancer Cells Die.

UNITED STATES – Liver Hormone Works Through Brain's Reward Pathway to Reduce Preference for Sweets & Alcohol.

UNITED STATES – How Three Genes You've Never Heard of May Influence Human Fertility.

UNITED STATES – Researchers Find Link between Processed Foods and Autoimmune Diseases.

UNITED KINGDOM – Is Evolution More Intelligent Than We Thought?

UNITED KINGDOM – Unravelling the Genetics of Pregnancy and Heart Failure.

SWITZERLAND – New Global Framework to Eliminate Rabies.

CANADA – Droughts Hit Cereal Crops Harder Since 1980s.

TAIWAN – Discovery of Key Autophagy Terminator that Contributes to Cell Survival and Muscle Homeostasis.

Zika virus infection during pregnancy can have devastating effects on the foetus leading to congenital Zika syndrome. It is relevant therefore for couples living in countries with endemic Zika virus to understand the strategies they can utilise to reduce the chance of infection. In addition, couples planning pregnancy, or who are already pregnant, travelling to countries with Zika virus need to be informed of the potential risk and implications for future reproductive planning.

Background: Oocyte Cryopreservation has become an important part of infertility treatment for various reasons such as fertility preservation in women going for oncological treatment; in oocyte donation cycles; in eliminating several religious, ethical, and legal concerns of embryo freezing and in women who wish to delay childbirth. The newer ”vitrification” technique for freezing has further improved the success rates for actual conception than the earlier method of slow freezing. A successful oocyte freezing program can help in establishment of oocyte banks, which would help to provide compatible oocytes immediately, thus would eliminate the several problems of fresh donor cycles.

Methods: In this retrospective observational study, total 60 oocyte donation cycles were included (38 were fresh and 22 were vitrified oocytes cycle, respectively). After a thorough screening, controlled ovarian hyperstimulation for donors was performed using flexible antagonist protocol. All mature oocytes were allocated into “vitrified oocytes” and “fresh oocytes” groups. Vitrification technique using Cryotop method was used for oocyte freezing. Both clinical and laboratory outcomes of vitrified and fresh oocytes in donor cycles were compared.

Results: A total of 600 oocytes (226 “vitrified oocytes” and 374 fresh oocytes), were studied. After warming 218 oocytes survived resulting in survival rate of 96.4%. Fertilization rate and embryo formation rate was 86.2% and 93.6%, respectively. Results of frozen-thawed oocyte donor cycles were compared with fresh donation cycles. For fresh oocyte group, fertilization rate and embryo formation rate was 83.4% and 92.6%, respectively. On comparing clinical outcomes, clinical pregnancy rate was 60.5% in fresh group and 63.6% in vitrified group.

Conclusions: Both clinical and laboratory results obtained in the study suggest that oocyte cryopreservation can be performed with reproducible success, thus vitrification technique can be provided as a useful tool for achieving highly successful outcomes in an oocyte donor program.

Background: Anecdotally, infertility concerns among serving female Australian Defense Force (ADF) members and veterans are perceived to be prevalent, but precise data are lacking. This is the first of two papers that identify reproductive, pregnancy, and infant outcomes in an exclusively Australian military cohort. This initial paper aims to describe maternal and paternal occupation and fertility characteristics of a group of ADF members who deployed to the Middle East during the period 2001–2010.

Methods: Utilizing the Middle East Area of Operations Census Study data set, a descriptive analysis was performed on the demographic and clinical variables of the cohort, where data were reported. Descriptive statistics (means, frequencies, percentiles) were used to describe the population. Sociodemographic data and clinical data, including maternal/paternal outcomes, were reported.

Results: The self-reported infertility rate was 9%, which was significantly lower than the reported infertility rate in the comparative Australian (non-military) population. All other outcomes were comparable to the Australian population and within normal limits.

Conclusions: This survey presents a generally reassuring picture of reproductive health for men and women serving in the ADF with regard to the risk of infertility, pregnancy loss, and perinatal outcomes, although the basis for fertility concerns requires further investigation.

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) brought forth an unprecedented suspension of fertility treatment worldwide as part of a reallocation of hospital staff and resources to avoid a collapse in the healthcare system. As a nonessential service, postponement of fertility treatment due to the pandemic has impacted the mental health of infertile patients, which comprise $10\%-15\%$ of the Malaysian population.

Objective: To establish the patient’s perspective on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their fertility treatment and to ascertain their psychological status.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study performed in a single academic center in Malaysia. This study was approved by the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) medical research ethics committee (MEC ID NO: 2021714-10376). Patients and partners who were planned for fertility treatment were approached and asked to answer an anonymous electronic survey between July 16, 2021 and December 17, 2021. All patients requiring fertility treatment were included.

Results: One hundred and sixty-five patients were included, and $66.1\%$ of patients did not agree with the Ministry of Health Malaysia’s recommendation to postpone fertility treatment; $97.6\%$ would want to continue with treatment; $75.8\%$ of patients are concerned about advancing age and $11.5\%$ are concerned about reducing ovarian reserve if their treatment was postponed or suspended. From univariate analysis, mild, moderate, severe, and extremely severe levels of psychological disorders were found in our patients. According to multivariate logistic regression, mild stress was significant among 20–30 years old with $p=0.001$ (OR $1.3^7$, $95\%$ CI $2.2^6-8.0^7$). Patients from this age group also suffer from a significant moderate level of stress with $p=0.001$ (OR $2.7^7$, $95\%$ CI $4.9^6-1.4^8$). Other variables, when analyzed using multivariate analysis, had no significant findings.

Conclusion: Stress related to COVID-19 and concerns about its effect on the fertility rate were found to be significant psychological distress among patients undergoing fertility treatment. Therefore, fertility centers should routinely monitor the mental health of patients and offer them psychological counseling.

In ancient times, Cambodia was home to one of the largest city complexes on earth, Angkor. At its apogee in the 12th century, the whole city of Angkor expanded over $>170$ hectares and had a population of 1–2 million people, which was only equaled by that of Ancient Rome. Angkor subsequently declined but remained occupied until the 18th century, at the beginning of the French protectorate.

In modern times, Cambodia became embedded in the global conflict against the occupying Japanese troops during World War II. This was followed by a lasting war that engulfed the whole Southeast Asia area, but the toll paid by the population remained limited. In the second half of the 20th century, Cambodia suddenly became the site of an acute drama, one of the worst that the world has known since the Holocaust. The Khmer Rouge regime led to the collapse of the whole country’s social system and triggered a brutal rise in mortality—direct and induced—and gender imbalance. Together with increased mortality, which eradicated approximately a third of the country’s population, there was a profound drop in fertility.

The nearly total collapse of the Khmer Rouge regime after Cambodia was freed in 1979 was followed by an important rise in fertility leading to a rebound effect or “baby boom” during the 80s. Today, as in 1960 before the Khmer Rouge drama, global fertility rates in Cambodia are similar to those of its neighbor, Vietnam. Total fertility rates, which neared six children per woman in Vietnam and Cambodia in 1960, have, however, dropped in both countries and stand just at population replacement level.

Objective: To investigate possible differences in levels of ovarian reserve between antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) asymptomatic carriers and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) patients, by measuring the levels of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH).

Methods: We enrolled 69 premenopausal women divided in 2 groups: a) patients with APS, either primary (PAPS) or secondary (SAPS), according to the Sydney classification criteria; b) asymptomatic aPL carriers. Aged-matched premenopausal healthy donors (HDs) were also recruited. Complete aPL testing was performed and AMH levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results: Among the 69 patients included in the study, 22 were diagnosed with PAPS, 13 with SAPS, and 14 patients were asymptomatic aPL carriers. No differences in AMH levels were observed among the three groups [mean AMH: PAPS 3.09 ng/ml ± 1.9 (range 1.02 − 7.1); SAPS 3.1 ng/ml ± 2.2 (range 1.1 − 7.6); aPL carriers 2.2 ng/ml ± 5.4 (range 1 − 6.3)] and between patients/aPL carriers and HDs [mean AMH 2.82 ng/ml ± 2.9 (range 1 − 6.9)]. Any correlation between the global APS score (GAPSS) and AMH levels failed to be found (rho = 0.31; p = 0.073).

Conclusion: With the limitations of the current study, as observed in women with APS, we confirm that ovarian reserve, assessed with AMH levels, is not reduced in premenopausal women with isolated aPL positivity. Moreover, when granulating the aPL profile in terms of risk assessment, using the GAPSS, no impact on fertility was observed.

Retrospective demographic and ethnographic data collected on the South-Eastern Micronesian atoll of Butaritari are employed to test for factors affecting the differentials and patterning of post partum amenorrhoea in this well-nourished population. Of the covariates examined in a hazards model, mother's age at the birth of the child and cessation of breastfeeding failed to have any statistically significant effect on the duration of post partum amenorrhoea. Comparing these results with those for other ‘anthropological’ populations, we conclude that relatively rapid post partum returns of menses may be characteristic of Pacific Island populations. However, we propose that there is no evidence that patterns of post partum amenorrhoea in these ‘robust’ groups are expected in reference to breastfeeding variables. Rather, we suggest an interesting and important feature of these populations, as indicated by the Butaritari case, may be the lack of any maternal age effect on the resumption of menses post partum.