Study Finds Menopause Symptoms Can Be PredictedThe number of eggs left in a woman's ovaries are like the grains of sand in an hourglass, ticking away the hours on her biological clock.Researchers now say they may be able to predict when that clock will wind down. And while doctors can't actually count the number of eggs in an ovary, they can measure ovarian volume. British researchers say there's a direct correlation between the two, and by measuring ovarian volume with transvaginal ultrasound, doctors should be able to predict when menopause will set in and how many fertile years a woman has left. According to the study authors, this information will revolutionize the care of women looking for assisted reproductive technologies, including those who were treated for childhood cancers as well as women who want to put off starting a family for whatever reason. Although information still needs to be validated in clinical studies, its benefit is most likely to start with women who are being treated for cancer and women attending fertility clinics, said Tom Kelsey, co-author of the study appearing June 17 in the journal Human Reproduction. "If women looking for some sort of assisted conception and their physicians know that they've got a long time till menopause, then you could plan for a range of treatments," said Kelsey, who is a senior research fellow at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. "If you knew menopause was likely in four to five years, you'd plan a different set of IVF [in vitro fertilization] treatments." Others reiterate, however, that the findings should be treated with caution. "Should a young woman who is 30 years old go for a test to figure out whether she's got three, five or 10 years left on her fertility? Should she make career decisions and life decisions? Are these data good enough to make those determinations?" asked Dr. Alan Copperman, director of reproductive medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. "The answer is obviously no to all of those questions. The predictive value of this test is not good enough to go and tell someone to change their life." According to the article, eggs form in a female's ovary while she is still in the womb, peaking at several million about halfway through gestation and then starting a continuous decline. At birth, there are several hundred thousand and, when menstruation begins, about 300,000. At about age 37, a woman has about 25,000 eggs left, and at menopause only about 1,000. The time at which menopause sets in is widely believed to be based on the number of eggs reaching a critically low threshold. The authors of this study measured ovarian volume with transvaginal ultrasound, then looked at the relationship between ovarian volume -- ovaries shrink as a woman ages -- and number of eggs. They then applied mathematical and computer models to predict menopause. The study authors are negotiating with a medical school to set up clinical trials. The idea would be to follow women to see if their predictions were indeed correct. While these authors have come up with a tool to potentially help women plan their lives, a second study in the same issue of Human Reproduction warned that women might not want to leave it too late. Assisted reproductive technology (ART) could not be relied upon to fully compensate for lack of natural fertility after the age of 35, the article stated. The authors used a computer simulation model to determine that the overall success rate of assisted reproductive technology would be 30 percent for those attempting to get pregnant from age 30, 24 percent for those trying from age 35, and 17 percent from age 40. SOURCES: Tom Kelsey, Ph.D., senior research fellow, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Scotland; Alan Copperman, M.D., director, reproductive medicine, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York; June 17, 2004, Human Reproduction |
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WOMENS-HEALTH Messages for May, 2000: growing fibroids after menopause Previous message: Jennifer: "Re: St Johns wort/Dr. Shanahan and others"; Next in thread: Harvey S. Marchbein, M.D.: "Re: growing fibroids after menopause" WOMENS-HEALTH Messages for May, 2000: Re: growing fibroids after Enlarging fibroids after the menopause in the absence of estrogen is an indication for hysterectomy. Tamoxifen is what is called a Selective Estrogen An Alternative Approach to Uterine Fibroid Tumor ( Myoma ) Treatment The uterine fibroid tumor ( myoma ) has not returned. In retrospect, I found that almost always uterine fibroids disappear after menopause if the woman is Controlling Fibroids After Menopause Especially if a woman decides not to take hormone replacements after menopause, her fibroids after menopause may remain small due to the lack of estradiol. Fibroid Tumors Fibroid tumors- causes, symptoms, diagnosis and current treatment options. estrogen--a woman will almost never develop fibroid tumors after menopause. Uterine fibroids guide - MayoClinic.com He explained that the reproductive hormones, estrogen and progesterone, likely fuel fibroid growth. After menopause, ovaries stop producing these hormones, MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Uterine fibroids These usually take place after menopause. The most common warning sign is rapid growing of a fibroid. A definite diagnosis is usually not made until the OBGYN.net The Significance of Bleeding after the Menopause Banter Bleeding after the menopause or "post-menopausal bleeding" ("PMB") can Polyps and fibroids are common benign growths that develop in the uterine cavity. InteliHealth: Female hormones encourage fibroids to grow, so they continue growing until menopause. Smaller fibroids often shrink after menopause. What Causes Fibroids - Menopause Read this article to learn how fibroids form and to see if you are at risk of a rare cancer associated with fibroids - What Causes Fibroids - Menopause is a fibroids growing after menopause - Menopause - MedHelp Uterine fibroids shrink after menopause. Sometimes they grow. Most of the time it is for a benignBenign ear cyst or tumor uterine fibroid/menopause - Menopause - MedHelp Uterine fibroids are more commonCommon cold before menopause due to higher estrogenHormone replacement therapy levels but they can arise after menopause. Help for Women with Uterine Fibroids - Menopause - Susun Weed The causes of uterine fibroids are unknown, but estrogens, especially estradiol, promote their growth. After menopause fibroids disappear. Hope For Fibroids FAQs 3-3 Uterine Fibroids Recovery HRT, Hormone "Fibroids after the menopause are not generally found to be sensitive to HRT because of the very low dose of estrogen complained in the medication. Case Discussions and Analysis Four - Menopause, Menopause after Hope For Fibroids-Case Analysis Four - Menopause cases, 62 and 65 years old, menopausal bleeding, fibroids growing after menopause, endometrial biopsy, Fibroids and estrogen replacement therapy - H01 Fibroids decrease in size to a very small size after menopause if a woman does not take estrogen replacement. They do not totally go away; there is always a Disease Profile Fibroids - Uterine Leiomyomata - G01 Fibroids shrink as more time after menopause passes. They may become calcified and it is not unusual to have an incidental finding on xray or ultrasound in Treatment Options for Fibroids Rapid growth of fibroids at any age is cause for concern, but this is particularly so after menopause, when the tumors should be shrinking due to decreased Uterine Fibroids The medical term for fibroids is uterine leiomyomata (you-ter-in For the most part, fibroids stop growing or shrink after menopause. |
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