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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Premature menopause side effect of breast cancer treatment Carrying on: the experience of premature menopause in women with early stage breast cancer Nursing Research, v. 51, no. 1, January/February 2002. Triptorelin in Preventing Early Menopause in Premenopausal Women Triptorelin in Preventing Early Menopause in Premenopausal Women Who Are Receiving Chemotherapy for Stage I, Stage II, or Stage III Breast Cancer That Has Menopause: Early Menopause and Early Menopause Symptoms However, menopause is not a stage necessarily relegated to elderly women. Early or premature menopause is more common than most women realize - it affects Life after gynecologic cancers: Surgical or premature menopause Frequently Asked Questions about dealing with surgical menopause after treatment The latest studies have suggested that HRT for early stage (stage 1) Symptoms of Early Menopause and Prevent Early Menopause To prevent early menopause symptoms and early stage of menopause, women should use bioidentical hormone replacement therapy to find permanent relief from early menopause treatment symptoms early menopause treatment symptoms - As with all the physical to be in the pre-menopause stage, she was put on HRT (hormone replacement therapy). Your Health Press | Book For some women premature menopause can occur as early as in their late 20s or early 30s. if they have not yet started the menopause transition stage. Different Causes For The Occurrence Of Early Menopause! ยป Womens When you reach menopause stage, you can notice the changes in your body between the ages 47 and 53. If you have early menopause, you do not get periods Menopause Early Stage. The beginning of perimenopause can begin in some women in their 30s, . Early menopause or surgical menopause (removal of ovaries) SYMPTOMS Contact Kathryn Petras or the Early Menopause message board moderators. EarlyMenopause.com does NOT endorse any one form of treatment. Early Menopause Early menopause is when the stage of life known as menopause happens before the normal age. If you are not forty years of age yet and you are experiencing |
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