Studies are revealing that children born through assisted reproductive technologies (ART) have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The increased risk is due to changes in the expression of the genes important for vascular health. These studies suggest that the composition of the solutions in which embryo fertilization and culturing are done is to blame. A new study in the American Journal of Physiology—Heart and Circulatory Physiology reports that adding the hormone melatonin to the culture solution prevented the altered gene expression induced by ART in mice. Melatonin is involved in ovarian function and egg maturation and has been observed to improve fertilization success of ART. These findings support that elevated cardiovascular risk in children of ART can be prevented by modifying the embryo culture solution, the researchers wrote.
The study "Prevention of vascular dysfunction and arterial hypertension in mice generated by assisted reproductive technologies by addition of melatonin to culture media" is published ahead-of-print in the American Journal of Physiology—Heart and Circulatory Physiology.
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