11-Jul-05 Rare syndrome and IVF link confirmed

The prevalence of babies born with Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome (BWS) seems to be associated with IVF.

Researchers in Australia looking at 37 babies born with BWS have found that the prevalence of BWS in IVF babies is 1 in 4000 and 1 in 15,000 for babies conceived naturally. This link has also been confirmed by research in the USA.

BWS results from a defect in a gene called IGF-2 which codes for a growth factor. In BWS sufferers only the gene that came from the father is working and the symptoms of the disease are an enlarged tongue and a higher predisposition to tumours.

American Journal of Human Genetics 1/9/2004

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