Protective strategy shields primate ovaries from radiation-therapy-induced damage
Tuesday, February 22, 2011 - 19:10
in Biology & Nature
A strategy developed by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers to shield the ovaries of female mammals from the damaging effects of radiation and chemotherapy has passed an important milestone. A collaborative study with investigators from Oregon Health and Sciences University (OHSU), published online in the journal Fertility and Sterility, reports that brief preexposure of the ovaries to an FDA-approved agent called FTY720 preserved the fertility of female rhesus monkeys exposed to potentially lethal doses of radiation. All of the treated animals have had successful pregancies and delivered healthy offspring...