'Fertility switch' points to new treatments: Study

LONDON: Scientists have discovered an enzyme that acts as a "fertility switch" and say their findings could help treat infertility and miscarriage and may also lead to new contraceptives.

A study in the journal Nature Medicine Sunday reports that researchers at Imperial College London found high levels of a protein called SGK1 are linked with infertility, while low levels of it make a woman more likely to have a miscarriage.

Enzymes are proteins that catalyze, or increase the rates of, chemical reactions.

Jan Brosens, who led the study at Imperial and is now at Warwick University, said its results suggested new fertility and miscarriage treatments could be designed around SGK1. (Reuters)