Help for both partners (Dattilo et al) (Cornet et al)

Both partners can benefit from Progenyx: a study from 2015 assessed the role of its ingredients on the chances of conceiving and having a baby. In one arm of the study female partners within couples who had previously undergone at least one failed assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycle, e.g. IVF and ICSI, were administered 1-C nutritional support in preparation for a further ART cycle. The women received treatment for 3 months, but their partners were not treated. In the other study arm, researchers recruited couples who had undergone at least 2 failed ART attempts where the male displayed an elevated DNA Fragmentation Index (DFI) or Sperm Nuclear Decondensation Index (SDI). The men undertook a 4-month treatment cycle and the women received only the normal support associated with ART.

Almost 4 times more babies with 1-C nutritional support

Among couples where the woman received 1-C support, 40% succeeded in having a baby compared with 10.9% of those in the control group.

Double success rate with treatment

47.4% of couples where the man received 1-C support had a baby compared with 21.4% of those in the control group.

2 out of the 3 pregnancies in the treatment arm were spontaneous - i.e. the only treatment the women received was 1-C nutritional support. All pregnancies in the control group were after completing the full ART cycle.

Miscarriage rate halved in the treatment group - miscarriage prevention

Following treament 89% of pregnancies resulted in a live birth compared with a 20% miscarriage rate in the untreated group

8% of pregnancies happened spontaneously - before the ART cycle started. No spontaneous pregnancies occurred when the man did not receive 1-carbon nutritional support.

Treatment of just one partner in both study arms more than doubled or almost quadrupled the chance of having a baby

When deciding which men to treat, researchers assessed them based on 2 specific parameters (DFI and SDI) rather than using more obvious laboratory markers. Male subjects demonstrated normal parameters such as sperm count, concentration and motility. The men's subfertility could not be attributed to usual causes; by identifying abnormalities associated with sperm DNA and chromosomal damage and providing them with nutritional support to underpin the repair mechanism (1-carbon cycle) the findings provide good evidence of how to help more couples. Researchers studied how SDI and DFI responded to treatment and correlated the improvements with increased success rates.

Improvement of sperm parameters is associated with an increase in pregnancies and baby rate

Researchers focussed on 2 specific markers of male subfertility: DFI and SDI. In this study arm, only the men received supplementation for the 1-carbon cycle whilst women underwent regular ART treatment. The men undertook a 4-month treatment cycle to prepare them for ART and underwent testing at the outset and at 4 months to assess changes and to determine if the improvement could be correlated with the outcome.

Some men responded more quickly than others to treatment, resulting in just over 8% of couples achieving pregnancy prior to ART commencement. Among couples where treatment proceeded to ART, couples were twice as likely to have a baby where the man received 1-carbon cycle nutritional support. The findings were statistically significant, particularly the improvement in the DNA Fragmentation Index.

Better outcomes when both partners received 1-carbon support

The two study arms demonstrate that treating either partner leads to a significant increase in pregnancies. Male partners were assessed as normal, according to standard WHO fertility testing (sperm count, concentration, morphology etc.), but further targeted investigations revealed abnormal DFI and SDI markers. Treating these men led to a doubling in the number of babies born compared with the untreated group.

All of the female partners had primary infertility of at least 3 years duration and also had at least one failed prior ART cycle. Almost 30% of the women enrolled in the study had polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and 15% had endometriosis - both conditions are associated with infertility. 30% of the couples where the women received 1-C nutritional support conceived within the 3 months of preparing for ART.

Researchers' Conclusions
(Cornet et al)

"In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that nutritional support capable of activating and sustaining the 1-Carbon cycle is effective in improving the pregnancy outcome* couples consulting for infertility. It could also be considered as a form of protection against some of the potential risks for the children. None of these considerations should be overlooked, especially with regard to the increasing pollution by endocrine disruptors, true inhibitors of methylation, which induce epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of reproductive disease and sperm epimutations"

*Underlined & emboldened text is our addition and is intended to direct you to the most significant conclusion

How does 1-Carbon nutritional support help?

The 1-C cycle prevents and repairs DNA damage. The average time for a man to produce a mature sperm is 76 days and the oocyte (egg) goes through final maturation in the few months before ovulation. Supporting the 1-C cycle at this critical stage allows the gametes to form and mature in optimum conditions and allows any damage to the DNA to be repaired. However, if the male partner alone is supported but the woman produces sub-optimal oocytes, success rates do not improve significantly; the reverse is also true. Gametes are susceptible to oxidative stress often due to unwanted external environmental factors including plastic-derived endocrine disruptors (PDEDs). Many disruptors have oestrogen-like actions and are found in patients undergoing ART. Bisphenol A (BPA) is a common PDED found in the urine: increasing levels are associated with decreasing ovarian response. PDEDs induce Epigenetic Transgenerational Inheritance in animal studies by inhibiting DNA methylation, inducing epimutations and also induce oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction.