Belén Lledó presents the latest developments in genetic analysis techniques for reproductive medicine.

Dr Belén Lledó, Instituto Bernabeu Biotech scientific director, participated in the conference on genetics in reproduction organised by IVIRMA Global in A Coruña, an event that brought together professionals from different Spanish and Italian regions.

The conference offered by Dr Lledó focused on the diagnostic techniques used in reproductive genetics, from the most basic to the latest technologies, providing her vision on their application and the benefits they bring to patients who resort to assisted reproduction treatments.

Among them, she highlighted the Optical Genome Mapping (OGM), which has already been implemented in Instituto Bernabeu’s laboratories and has revolutionised the field of cytogenetics by allowing the study of the genome with a very high resolution. Through OGM, researchers can visualise any chromosomal alteration in the genome with 1,000 times greater precision.  “This technique uses high molecular weight DNA marked in specific regions that pass through microchannels to allow the DNA to remain linearised in a single molecule so that, with a fully automated system, it can be visualised by a high-resolution optical system. This way, alterations that could not have been detected using current techniques can be identified,” explains Dr Lledó.

“This and other techniques represent a very important advance, not only to improve treatments’ success rates, but also to prevent the transmission of hereditary genetic diseases to their descendants,” says Dr Belén Lledó, who stresses the importance of collaboration between institutions and professionals in the field of reproductive genetics: “events like this one allow us to share knowledge and experiences, which is essential to continue advancing in the techniques’ improvement and in the care of our patients”.