For immediate release
June 28, 2004
Study Shows High-Protein Diets Reduce Fertility in Mice
ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO — A team of researchers lead by David K. Gardner, Ph.D.,
scientific director of the Colorado Center of Reproductive Medicine, has
found that high protein diets result in reduced fertility rates in female mice,
a
study that could have implications for humans.
The study was aimed at determining the effects of high protein diets on fertility
in mice. A control group was placed on a diet consisting of 14 percent protein,
and the test group received a diet consisting of 25 percent protein. After
one month, researchers discovered that embryos from mice in the high-protein
group experienced four times as much cell death.
“We found that high levels of protein leads to an accumulation of ammonium
in the reproductive tract of female mice,” says Gardner. “We already knew
that ammonium significantly interferes with embryo development in the culture
dish.
This data indicates that exposure to ammonium when the embryo resides in
the mother’s uterus is also highly detrimental.”
While the link between high protein diets and fertility rates in mice is
significant, “we do not know how this animal study will translate to humans,”
Gardner says.
“What is clear is that feeding mice a high-protein diet compromises their
fertility and is highly detrimental to the embryo within the mother.”
Gardner presented the study results at the European Society of Human Reproduction
and Embryology conference in Berlin, Germany in June.
About CCRM: Founded in 1987 by Dr. William Schoolcraft, the Colorado Center
for Reproductive Medicine offers a complete spectrum of infertility treatments
and specializes in IVF and other assisted reproductive technologies. Today,
joined by Drs. Eric Surrey and Debra Minjarez, Dr. Schoolcraft and his staff
achieve some of the highest pregnancy rates in the country. Thanks in part
to extensive research led by CCRM scientific director David K. Gardner, Ph.D.,
the Clinic attracts nearly 40 percent of its patients from other states and
foreign countries. CCRM has four locations in Colorado: Swedish Medical Center
in Englewood, Rose Medical Center in Denver, Sky Ridge Medical Center in
Lone Tree, and Avista Adventist Hospital in Louisville. For additional
information,
visit CCRM’s website at www.colocrm.com or call 303-788-8300.
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