Soya oil treats infertility, fights cancer.

Women who have endured repeated IVF failures due to faulty immune system have been given fresh hope by a new fertility treatment that involves the use of soya oil.
The treatment, based on soya oil based
substance that is currently used for artificial
feeding of patients with stomach problems,
was found to boost the success rate by five
fold in women that experience repeated
failures or conceive but miscarry early in
pregnancy by five fold.
Up taao one in four women who struggle to
conceive - and who regularly miscarry -
often have problems with their immune
system, which mean their bodies “reject”
the pregnancy.
This study conducted by Care Fertility, in
Nottingham, a part of the biggest private
provider of fertility treatment, involved
almost 100 women who had suffered
repeated IVF failures where the embryo had
not implanted in the womb.
The women were aged around 37 and had
undergone an average of six failed cycles
of IVF. In the study, 50 women were given
intravenous infusions of Intralipid (fat
emulsion containing egg extract and soya
oil) and 46 similar women were not.
Pregnancies were achieved in 50 per cent
of women who received Intralipid,
compared with less than nine per cent of
those who were not given it. In the women
who received Intralipid there were two
miscarriages, the equivalent to per eight per
cent compared with seven miscarriages or
64 per cent, in those not receiving it.
Intralipid infusion is inexpensive, well
tolerated and easy to administer. The use of
Intralipid is deemed to aid implantation (of
the egg in the womb) and counter the
effects of recurring miscarriages by
interfering with the immune system’s
signals to attack the pregnancy. It does not
improve the quality of eggs and cannot
address chromosomal abnormalities.
However, experts warn that the infusion,
which is relatively risk free, is unsuitable for
women with egg or soya allergy. In
addition, taking the component parts of
Intralipid orally or in the diet does not have
the same effect.
Nonetheless, experts in two separate
studies believe that soya could boost the
battle against prostate and breast cancer. In
one, researchers from Northwestern
University, Chicago, found that one pill a
day of genistein, a natural isoflavone
chemical in soya, seemed to slow or stop
the spread of prostate cancer.
Although, it was tested on a small group of
only 38 men, scientists stated that the
results could lead to the first non-toxic
treatment that prevents cancer cell
movement.
According to the scientists if the drug can
effectively stop prostate cancer from ­
moving in the body, theoretically a similar
therapy could have the same effect on the
cells of other cancers. It certainly could be
the first therapy for any cancer that is non-
toxic and targets and inhibits cancer cell
movement.
In the second study, of almost 1,300
women, researchers from the University at
Buffalo, New York, showed isoflavones
from soya can reduce the risk of
developing breast cancer.
After evaluating 683 women with breast
cancer and comparing them with 611
healthy women, they found that those with
the highest isoflavone intake had a 30 per
cent lower risk of an invasive breast
tumour and a 60 per cent lower risk of a
low-grade tumour.
However, they pointed out that the findings
of most dietary studies are not definitive
and as such require further follow-up and
confirmation.