Nutritional supplement may boost fertility

Couples struggling to conceive naturally but unable to afford IVF can try a cheaper alternative by taking part in a three-month study using a nutritional supplement which claims to boost fertility.

While couples will have to pay €1,000 to take part, those running the study say they would pay twice as much if they had to cover the cost of diagnostic tests fertility clinics perform in an effort to determine the cause of their infertility.

Pillar Healthcare, the Wexford-based company that produces the supplement, which is called ‘pre-Conceive’, said they were not required to obtain approval from the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) to carry out the study because their product is food-based. Clinical trials in Ireland must be authorised by the IMB and have the approval of an ethics committee.

Embryologist Declan Keane said the study was not a clinical trial, it was a trial taking place in a clinical setting. Mr Keane is director of Repromed, the fertility clinic that will monitor the couples taking part in the study. Mr Keane said he is not being paid by Pillar Healthcare for his participation.

Mark Whitney, a director of Pillar Healthcare, said out of up to 40 couples who had tried their product, 13 had gone on to conceive. However, he confirmed that this statistic was not the result of a controlled trial.

Mr Whitney said couples who took part in their study would be referred to Repromed for an initial consultation with Mr Keane before undergoing a series of routine diagnostic tests that all couples attending the clinic are offered. These included, for example, semen analysis and DNA fragmentation. They would also be offered additional tests, he said. The couples would then be referred to a Carlow-based nutritionist for dietary and lifestyle advice.

Over the 90-day trial, each couple will take pre-Conceive daily, and will follow a healthy lifestyle regime. Mr Keane said Repromed will be in touch with the couples halfway through the trial to see how they are faring and again at the end when they will be brought back for further tests to see if sperm levels have improved.

Mr Keane said he was not claiming pre-Conceive was a “miracle drug” but research around diet for couples trying to conceive indicated the supplement contained all the relevant nutrients in the right dosage. He said he would be asking couples taking part to stick to the regime for three months. “When couples come to me, I look at everything, including diet and nutrition and see what we can do to keep them out of the IVF cycle.”

He said taking the supplement would not do any damage and it may pay dividends. Up to 30 couples who have been unable to conceive are to taking part in the study. In 2011, 3,000 children were born with aid from fertility clinics.

* Pre-Conceive costs €170 for a 30-day supply when bought off the shelf. For more information log onto www.pillarhealthcare.ie