Robert Edwards Wins 2010 Nobel Prize For Physiology Or Medicine

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Main Category: Fertility
Also Included In: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Article Date: 04 Oct 2010 - 8:00 PDT

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Robert Edwards (1925-), born in Manchester, England, has been awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his IVF (human in-vitro fertilization) therapy - Edwards is known as the father of the test tube baby. A test tube baby usually refers to a baby conceived through IVF. According to the official web site of the Nobel Prize, over 10% of couples experience infertility, and Edward's achievements have helped a significant number of them.

In the 1950s Edwards believed IVF could eventually help treat infertility. After years of hard work he succeeded in fertilizing human egg cells in cell culture dishes - people referred to them as test tubes, hence the name "test tube babies". In July 1978 the first IVF baby was born. Edwards and team improved their IVF technique, sharing their technology with colleagues worldwide.

Since 1978, about 4 million babies have been born via IVF, some of whom are parents themselves. The Nobel Foundation informs that Edwards' contributions to fertility "represent a milestone in the development of modern medicine".

IVF is an established therapy for couples who are infertile; whose egg and sperm cannot meet inside the body.

In the 1950s, Edwards learnt from other scientists that rabbit egg cells could be fertilized in test tubes if sperm was added - resulting in baby rabbits. Edwards wondered whether similar methods could be utilized with human egg cells.

He found that human and rabbit eggs had completely different life cycles. Through a series of experiments, Edwards and team made a number of key discoveries; establishing how eggs mature, how their maturation is regulated by various hormones, and when exactly a human egg is susceptible to the sperm for fertilization. They also determined the ideal conditions for activating sperm so that it can fertilize the egg.

A human egg was successfully fertilized in 1969. However, it did not develop beyond a single cell division. Edwards wondered whether the eggs that were removed for IFV should matured beforehand - if so, he sought ways of obtaining such eggs safely.

With gynecologist, Patrick Steptoe, a pioneer in laparoscopy, Edwards developed IVF from experimental to practical medicine. Laparoscopy was a controversial technique at the time. Steptoe used laparoscopy to remove the eggs from the ovary, which were then placed in cell culture and mixed with sperm by Edwards.

The Medical Research Council, UK, did not provide funds for the research project to carry on, which managed to continue thanks to a private donation. Religious, ethical and scientific leaders criticized IVF and demanded that the project be stopped, while others supported it.

Edwards and Steptoe were eventually able to determine the best moment to fertilize the eggs by analyzing patients' hormone levels. In 1978 they treated Lesley and John Brown, who had been trying for nine years to have a child. When their fertilized egg had developed into an 8-cell embryo it was returned into Mrs. Brown. Louise Brown, a health baby was born on July 25^th, 1978 - the world's first test tube baby. IVF had been transformed from a vision to a reality. The Bourn Hall Clinic, Cambridge, England was set up by Steptoe and Edwards. Steptoe was medical director until 1988 (when he died), while Edwards was head of R&D until he retired. Bourn Hall trained cell biologists and gynecologists from all over the world, where IVF techniques were continuously improved. Over 1,000 IVF babies had been born by 1986.

IVF, which is safe and effective, is an established therapy for infertility today. Nowadays, 20% to 30% of all fertilized eggs eventually result in the birth of a child. According to long-term follow-up studies, IVF babies/children are as healthy as non-IVF ones.

Louise Brown, the first IVF baby, has given birth to children herself, as have many other adults who were IVF babies.

The Nobel Foundation writes:

Today, Robert Edwards' vision is a reality and brings joy to infertile people all over the world.

Short biography

• Name - Robert G. Edwards
• Born 1925, Manchester, England
• Military service in WWII
• Universtiy of Wales in Bangor - studied biology
• University of Edinburgh, Scotland - received his PhD in 1955. Wrote a Thesis on embryonal development in mice
• 1958 - became staff scientist at the National Institute for Medical Research, London. Started to research human fertilization process
• 1963 - started working at the University of Cambridge, then Bourn Hall Clinic, both in England.
• Today - Professor emeritus at the University of Cambridge

Source: Nobel Prize web site

Written by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

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