The age of marriage has been rising recently. In particular, as the number of women marrying late has increased, there has also been a desire for the ovarian function to last a little longer. The ovaries ovulate eggs and mainly produce female hormones, estrogen and progesterone. They are a hormone factory that is involved in regulating women’s menstruation, pregnancy, bone density, and mood.
A study has found a way to maintain and improve ovarian function for longer and prevent various changes and disorders of the ovaries due to aging. A research team at Northwestern University School of Medicine in the United States announced that this was the result of drug treatment on aged mice.
Previously, the research team found that the ovaries become fibrotic and hard with excessive inflammation as they age. This is similar to the ‘scars’ of other tissues. Aging ovaries are suitable for the proliferation of cancer cells. Cancer cells like a collagen-rich and hard environment. In addition, hard ovaries have a bad effect on the quality of eggs. This is the cause of low fertility in women in their 30s and 40s.
This time, the research team treated aged female mice with a drug (pirfenidone) used to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis to reduce ‘ovarian scarring’. As a result, the number of follicles in aged female mice increased, ovulation improved, and female hormone levels remained normal.
“The average age of menopause has remained relatively constant for quite some time, but advances in health care have enabled women to live decades longer past menopause. We need to do more to extend the healthy lifespan of our ovaries,” said study lead author Francesca Duncan, associate professor of reproductive sciences.
The research team used shear wave (S-wave) elastography to detect and measure fibrotic tissue in the ovaries and evaluate the degree of ovarian stiffness. Shear waves are waves that travel at a 90-degree angle from the direction of wave propagation where the vibration begins.
According to the research team, the hormone factory in the ovary produces less as we age, and prepares to close when we reach menopause (average age 51). However, they have recently discovered a new way to extend the “healthy lifespan” of this factory through drug treatment. Healthy lifespan refers to the period of time during which we remain healthy without suffering from serious or chronic diseases.
According to the research team, solutions to age-related fertility decline, such as egg freezing, are only temporary measures. There are risks involved in implanting embryos in older women. According to a recent study by New York University School of Medicine in the United States, 70% of women who froze their eggs before the age of 38 and then tried to conceive with thawed eggs (more than 20) later conceived a baby. The optimal age for egg freezing is 35 years or younger. When a 40-year-old woman attempts IVF using eggs, the probability of pregnancy is less than 30%, and the probability of giving birth is less than 20%. There was also a case reported where a 44-year-old woman successfully gave birth.
The research team said that the purpose of increasing the healthy lifespan of eggs is not only to increase the fertile period. It focuses on improving the overall ovarian environment so that women can continue to produce important hormones later in life. According to the research team, when the levels of female hormones, estrogen and progesterone, decrease, bone loss becomes more rapid and the risk of osteoporosis increases significantly. In addition, a lack of these female hormones increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, the vaginal wall becomes thinner, causing discomfort during sexual intercourse, various urological diseases, and cognitive function decreases and moodiness can occur.
“If we improve the ovarian environment, we can produce follicles and eggs that are involved in fertility and hormone production. This can solve almost all problems related to the ovaries, such as pregnancy and childbirth, and female hormone deficiency,” said Associate Professor Duncan. The research team is conducting separate research to identify the optimal drug target for ovarian fibrosis and conduct clinical trials targeting women.
“The drug used in this study can cause serious side effects, such as liver toxicity, but it did not show such side effects in mice,” said Associate Professor Duncan. “This is a proof of concept that it can control ovarian fibrosis and improve outcomes.” The research team is working to find a safe and effective drug that can be applied to humans. The results of the study are also expected to help develop treatments for ovarian cancer.
The results of this study (Systemic low-dose anti-fibrotic treatment attenuates ovarian aging in the mouse) were published in the international academic journal GeroScience. This journal is the official academic journal of the American Society on Gerontology, and GeroScience is an academic discipline that studies the relationship between aging and various geriatric diseases.
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Source: kormedi.com
