BALTIMORE, November 18, 2002 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Scientists from Johns Hopkins and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered that in vitro fertilization (IVF) appears to be associated with a rare combination of birth defects characterized by excessive growth of various tissues.
After studying data from a national registry of patients with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS), the researchers found that IVF-initiated conception was six times more common than in the general population. The findings are slated for the January issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics, and should be online by the end of November.
BWS may predispose children born with it to Wilms’ tumor, hepatoblastoma, neuroblastoma and other cancers. See related LifeSite coverage: IN VITRO FERTILIZATION CAUSES GENETIC ABNORMALITIES http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/1998/apr/98040802.html BRITISH EXPERTS INVESTIGATE HEALTH OF IVF BABIES http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2002/oct/02102306.html IVF CHILDREN SUFFER DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/1998/may/98052803.html STUDY FINDS BRAIN PROBLEMS IN IVF CHILDREN http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2002/feb/02020802.html On the Web: This paper should be online by the end of November. http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/AJHG/index.html
(with files from Ascribe Newswire)