title: Does Embryo Culture Medium Influence the Health and Development of Children Born after In Vitro Fertilization?
abstract: In animal studies, extensive data revealed the influence of culture medium on embryonic development, foetal growth and the behaviour of offspring. However, this impact has never been investigated in humans. For the first time, we investigated in depth the effects of embryo culture media on health, growth and development of infants conceived by In Vitro Fertilization until the age of 5 years old. This single-centre cohort study was based on an earlier randomized study. During six months, in vitro fertilization attempts (No. 371) were randomized according to two media (Single Step Medium--SSM group) or Global medium (Global group). This randomized study was stopped prematurely as significantly lower pregnancy and implantation rates were observed in the SSM group. Singletons (No. 73) conceived in the randomized study were included (42 for Global and 31 for SSM). The medical data for gestational, neonatal and early childhood periods were extracted from medical records and parental interviews (256 variables recorded). The developmental profiles of the children in eight domains (social, self-help, gross motor, fine motor, expressive language, language comprehension, letter knowledge and number knowledge--270 items) were compared in relation to the culture medium. The delivery rate was significantly lower in the SSM group than in the Global group (p<0.05). The culture medium had no significant effect on birthweight, risk of malformation (minor and major), growth and the frequency of medical concerns. However, the children of the Global group were less likely than those of the SSM group to show developmental problems (p = 0.002), irrespective of the different domains. In conclusion, our findings showed that the embryo culture medium may have an impact on further development.
authors.affiliation: Service de Médecine et Biologie de la Reproduction, Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Tours, Tours, France.
authors.forename: Céline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bouillon
authors.affiliation: Centre d'Assistance Médicale à la Procréation, Hôpital Paule de Viguier, Groupe de Recherche en Fertilité Humaine, EA 3694, Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Léandri
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biologie de la Reproduction, Hôpital de Dijon, Equipe GAD, Génétique des Anomalies du Développement, EA 4271, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Desch
authors.affiliation: LEAD-CNRS UMR 5022, Université de Bourgogne, Pôle AAFE, Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ernst
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biologie de la Reproduction, Hôpital de Dijon, Equipe GAD, Génétique des Anomalies du Développement, EA 4271, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Céline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bruno
authors.affiliation: LEAD-CNRS UMR 5022, Université de Bourgogne, Pôle AAFE, Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Charline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cerf
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biologie de la Reproduction, SELAFA BIOFFICE-Clinique Jean Villar, Bruges, France.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chiron
authors.affiliation: LEAD-CNRS UMR 5022, Université de Bourgogne, Pôle AAFE, Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Céline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Souchay
authors.affiliation: Service de Pédiatrie, Hôpital de Dijon, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Burguet
authors.affiliation: Service de Biologie de la Reproduction-CECOS, Institut des maladies neurodégénérativesCNRS UMR 5293, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Clément
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jimenez
authors.affiliation: Service de Gynécologie-Obstétrique, Médecine Fœtale et Stérilité Conjugale, Hôpital de Dijon, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sagot
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biologie de la Reproduction, Hôpital de Dijon, Equipe GAD, Génétique des Anomalies du Développement, EA 4271, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fauque
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003470:Culture Media; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D006128:Growth; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media