Stem cells in the treatment of infertility Premature ovarian failure (POF) occurs in women under the age of 40 y with primary or secondary hypergonadotropic amenorrhea and accompanied by estrogen deficiency in 75% of cases. None of the women with primary amenorrhea have been reported to ovulate or conceive with their own oocytes, but more than a third of the women were pregnant atleast once before developing hypergonadotropic POF. It is speculated that lack of follicular renewal may be caused by age-associated exhaustion of specific memory cells in the lymphoid system and bone marrow that are necessary to generate effector cells migrating to ovaries and stimulating transformation of OSE cells into primitive granulose and germ cells. POF may be caused by delayed ovarian development during immunological adaptation, by earlier termination of immunological adaptation or by cytostatic chemotherapy affecting both the existing pool of primary follicles and committed Ovary specific mesenchymal cells(O-SMCs) required for the follicular renewal (Reviewed by Bukovsky A et al.,2006). POF is also often associated with follicular resistance to gonadotropins called hypergonadotropic amenorrhea where ovaries contain normal primary and antral follicles not responding to gonadotropins by production of estrogen(Reviewed by Bukovsky A et al., 2006). Studies with laboratory animal models have showed that there are two types of POF with primary and antral follicles within the ovaries. The first persistent ovarian immaturity can be induced by inhibition of ovarian development (i.e inhibition of androgen receptor expression with estrogens) during immunological adaptation. The second premature ovarian ageing can be induced by the acceleration of ovari... ... middle of paper ... ... Genet. 1998 Mar;18(3):231-6. Cohen J, Scott R, Alikani M, Schimmel T, Munné S, Levron J, Wu L, Brenner C, Warner C, Willadsen S. Ooplasmic transfer in mature human oocytes. Mol Hum Reprod. 1998 Mar;4(3):269-80. Barritt JA, Brenner CA, Malter HE, Cohen J. Mitochondria in human offspring derived from ooplasmic transplantation. Hum Reprod. 2001 Mar;16(3):513-6. Barritt J, Willadsen S, Brenner C, Cohen J. Cytoplasmic transfer in assisted reproduction. Hum Reprod Update. 2001 Jul-Aug;7(4):428-35. Harvey AJ, Gibson TC, Quebedeaux TM, Brenner CA. Impact of assisted reproductive technologies: a mitochondrial perspective of cytoplasmic transplantation. Curr Top Dev Biol. 2007;77:229-49. Acton BM, Lai I, Shang X, Jurisicova A, Casper RF. Neutral mitochondrial heteroplasmy alters physiological function in mice. Biol Reprod. 2007 Sep;77(3):569-76.
Parthenogenesis is a process of generating human embryos from only eggs put therapeutic cloning within reach
Recently mitochondrial transplants, mitochondrial donations, also referred to mitochondrial replacement has become a predominant topic in the medical community, chiefly in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Mitochondrial transplants would mean that couples who want to have a child, but the mother has defective mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid (mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA) could receive mitochondria from a donation. Therefore, the child would not be born with a mitochondrial disease. People who are diagnosed with mitochondrial disease have a life expectancy of nine months to fifty years, depending on when the person developed the disease. Both sides of this argument have valid opinions. Matt Ridley and Françoise Baylis wrote
Considering the variation in clinical presentation of PCOS there was no fixed diagnostic criteria available until 1990. In April 1990 National Institutes of Health (NIH) held a conference and defined Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) as having 1) hyperandrogenism, 2) oligoovulation, and 3) exclusion of known dis...
In addition to the menstrual cycle there are a few diseases that affects the cycle in human females. One of the various diseases is menorrhagia, which is the excessive blood flow in the system. Hormone inequality and Pregnancy complexity can cause menorrhagia disease. Hormone inequality is the expansion of the endometrium scattering by the heaviness of bleeding (Mayo Clinic 2014). In the rare case of pregnancy complexity, anytime a woman experiences large amounts of bleeding or delayed period the result is more than likely the phases of a miscarriage.
It is associated with a higher risk of pregnancy complications and certain ovarian cancers. Due to the importance of this condition, it is critical that patients understand its causes, symptoms, and treatment. By the end of this article, you will have the answers to these essential questions:
Genetic engineering allows infertile women with genetic defects in their mitochondria to have children. How are they made? The procedure known as Oplasmic transfer, is used to inject the mitochondria from the donor's egg into the egg of the infertile woman, in which vitro fertilization is performed on the egg. Healthy eggs from a second mother are used and the first mother then contributes the 23 chromosomes, which contain the majority of the child's genetic information. While the second mother contributes the mitochondrial genome; the child produced this way has genetic information from two mothers (the donor and the regular mother) and the one donor father.
The etiology of polycystic ovary syndrome is unknown. Many different factors can lead to the development of PCOS:
In PCOS, ovaries stop working to accept the right hormonal indications from the pituitary gland. These indications are significant because without these indications you won't be capable to make eggs each month.
Woman who undergo IVF are at risk of experiencing serious side effects. Many of these are caused by the
In a personal interview with an AP Biology teacher at a high school, Mrs. Terra stated that a technique known as mitochondrial DNA replacement therapy replaces defective mitochondrial DNA with that from a donor, allowing the offspring to avoid devastating problems or even death.
Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome (PCOS) is an ovulation disorder and infertility that occurs in many women. Polycystic ovaries syndrome dates back to 1845 where it was described in a French manuscript as being “changes in the ovaries”. It was called “sclerocystic”. Polycystic ovaries syndrome is a problem that occurs in with the ovaries. A “polycystic ovary is characterized as being a tough, thickened, shiny white covering overlying a layer of many small cysts just under the ovarian surface.” (Thatcher, 10). That was the description that was found in the French manuscript and is still being used to this day for doctors to define polycystic ovaries. A wedge resection in the early 1900’s was the first form of treatment for this syndrome. PCOS involves more than just the ovaries filled with small cysts. Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome causes infertility in women.
“ARTs were initially developed to overcome intractable infertility –ie, intrauterine insemination (IUI) and donor insemination (DI) for cases of male infertility and In vitro fertilization for infertile woman with blocked fallopian tubes” (Inhorn,178). Art is now used for a variety of ailments that cause infertility such as hormonal imbalances, follicle problems, as well as endometriosis to name a few. Furthermore IVF is also used by woman who are developing a career early on and are trying to conceive at a later age. It is important to note that 99% of ART is IVF. The following will focus on IVF, the cause of multifetal pregnancies and the usage of fetal
The analysis of one or two biopsied cells of a 3-day-old embryo was developed in 1989. Using PGD, normal embryos only can be selected for transfer before pregnancy starts and thus the need for a selective abortion after parental diagnosis can be avoided. It was developed to avoid the transfer of affected embryos from couples who carried serious genetic disorders, such as Hemophilia, Cystic fibrosis or Chromosomal abnormalities, and/or for children who might inherit a serious genetic disease or even for those who wish to save a sibling’s life.
Lauritzen, Paul. Cloning and the Future of Human Embryo Research. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2001. Google Books. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. source 12 (google books)
Menopause is the permanent end of the female menstrual cycle. It is a turning point, not a disease, but it can have a huge impact on a woman’s wellbeing. Menopause can bring physical disruptions due to hot flashes, night sweats, and other symptoms. However, it can also be the start of a new and rewarding phase of a woman’s life—and a golden opportunity to guard against major health risks such as: heart disease and osteoporosis. Researchers say that age is the leading cause of menopause. It is basically the end of a woman’s potential childbearing years, brought on by the ovaries gradually slowing down their function. Only certain surgeries and medical treatment can induce menopause by removing the ovaries. Menopause starts at the age of fifty-one