System that 'rejuvenates' eggs could boost IVF success for older women

Scientists claim to have "rejuvenated" human eggs for the first time in an advance that they predict could revolutionise IVF success rates for older women.

- Hannah Devlin Science correspondent

The groundbreaking research suggests that an age-related defect that causes genetic errors in embryos could be reversed by supplementing eggs with a crucial protein.

When eggs donated by fertility patients were given microinjections of the protein they were almost half as likely to show the defect compared with untreated eggs.

If confirmed in more extensive trials, the approach has the potential to improve egg quality, which is the primary cause of IVF failure and miscarriage in older women.

"Overall we can nearly halve the number of eggs with [abnormal] chromosomes. That's a very prominent improvement," said Prof Melina Schuh, a director at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences in Göttingen and a co-founder of Ovo Labs, which is aiming to commercialise the technique.

"Most women in their early 40s do have eggs but nearly all of the eggs have incorrect chromosome numbers," added Schuh, whose lab has been investigating egg biology for the past two decades.