New treatments to delay motherhood

A better understanding of the way the ovary develops could help unravel the condition of premature menopause, a distressing condition that affects hundreds of thousands of British women.

It could also one day lead to a drug that puts the ovaries on 'pause', delaying menopause and preserving a woman's stock of eggs until she feels ready to have a family.

Read more...

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Radical fertility bid

A 47-YEAR-OLD Melbourne woman has had radical surgery that may make her a first-time mother - and part of medical history.

Eight years after having "slices" of her ovaries removed, frozen and stored, Lisa had them reimplanted last month in the hope of becoming pregnant.

Specialists at Monash IVF hope the slices will regenerate in her reproductive system - and effectively reverse menopause by starting a process that will release eggs and make her fertile again.

If it works, Lisa could become the first woman in Australia to become pregnant using the technique.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25934496-661,00.html

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Stem cell discovery raises hopes of restoring female fertility

The theory that women are born with all the eggs they will ever have has been challenged by research that could raise the prospect of restoring female fertility and reversing the menopause.

Scientists in China have discovered that the ovaries of adult and newborn mice seem to contain stem cells that can be grown into eggs that can be fertilised to create healthy offspring.

The findings suggest that it may be possible one day to isolate and culture these stem cells from women’s ovaries, should they also exist in humans. This could provide a source of eggs to extend female fertility, which declines as the ovaries’ supply is depleted with age.

Read more: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article6082788.ece

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New technique could save cancer patients' fertility

The tiny translucent egg nestled in the special laboratory gel was a mere 30 days old, but its four-week birthday caused researchers to quietly celebrate. This was the first time anyone had successfully grown a woman's immature egg cells, contained in a tiny sac called a follicle, to a healthy and nearly mature egg in the laboratory. When an egg is fully mature, it is ready to be fertilized.

The researchers from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have completed the first critical step in the development of a new technique, which, if successful in the next steps, may eventually provide a new fertility option for women whose cancer treatments destroy their ability to reproduce.

The nearly mature follicles grown for 30 days in the laboratory had been plucked from ovarian tissue of cancer patients before they began chemotherapy and radiation treatments that would destroy their fertility. The cancer patients, from Northwestern Memorial Hospital, had agreed to participate in the experimental fertility study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

"By being able to take an immature ovarian follicle and grow it to produce a good quality egg, we're closer to that holy grail, which is to get an egg directly from ovarian tissue that can be fertilized for a cancer patient," said Teresa Woodruff, chief of fertility preservation at the Feinberg School and a member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.

"This represents the basic science breakthrough necessary to better accomplish our goals of fertility preservation in cancer patients in the future," added Woodruff, who developed the new technique with colleagues.

Woodruff is the senior author of a paper on the findings in the July 14 issue of the journal Human Reproduction.

The next step will be for Northwestern researchers to try to induce the egg's final division, called meiosis, so it sheds half of its DNA in order to be fertilized. The ultimate goal is for scientists to be able to freeze the immature follicles, then thaw and mature them in a culture to the point where they are ready to be fertilized.

"This is a very significant achievement because the early stage of the human ovarian follicle is really hard to grow in vitro. They're very fragile and delicate," said Min Xu, a paper coauthor and research assistant professor at the Feinberg School.

As the immature egg grew inside the follicle, it produced hormones just as it would inside a woman's body.

"That's a good sign that these follicles are healthy. The actual egg also is growing to the same size that we would see in an egg that a woman's body has ovulated," said Susan Barrett, a coauthor and post-doctoral fellow at the Feinberg School.

Women currently have few good options to save their ability to reproduce after cancer treatment. Men are able to freeze their sperm for later use before they begin fertility-destroying cancer therapies. The best option to preserve the fertility of a female cancer patient is to collect her eggs, fertilize them with sperm and freeze the resulting embryos. However, this option is often not a practical choice because it can delay cancer treatment, can't be performed on those who have not reached puberty, and requires fertilization -- a problem for those who do not have a male partner or do not wish to use donor sperm.

Other researchers have experimented with freezing entire ovaries or strips of ovarian tissue and implanting them in a woman's body once she is ready to have children. But for cancer patients, it is possible that cancer cells may be present in the ovarian tissue and result in a new cancer after the tissue is implanted. However, if follicles could be removed from the tissue and grown in the laboratory successfully, as this study suggests, then a new fertility preservation technique might become available for women who could not safely have an ovarian transplant.

The new Northwestern findings build on earlier research by the scientists, who grew mouse follicles in a culture, induced the eggs they contained to mature, fertilized them with mouse sperm and implanted them into female mice to establish pregnancy. The technique produced healthy, fertile generations of mice.

Woodruff, working with Lonnie Shea, professor of chemical and biological engineering at McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, achieved the new advance by suspending the human ovarian follicle in two different kinds of three-dimensional gels. Previous attempts to grow ovarian follicles had been on a flat surface, which the researchers now believe does not replicate conditions inside the body. These earlier attempts failed to develop good quality eggs that were healthy enough for fertilization.

Woodruff said the research also is significant because it is the first time scientists have been able to isolate and study a functioning individual human ovarian follicle.

"Because you don't take an ovary out of young women, we've never before been able to look inside the follicle of the human and ask how does it work, how do hormones change, how does the estrogen change in the follicle?" explained Woodruff, who also is the Thomas J. Watkins Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology. "We never knew how an individual follicle regulated these hormones. This paper for the first time shows these individual hormones being regulated by one growing follicle."

The discovery, Woodruff said, will enable researchers to understand how nurse cells (granulosa cells), the cells that support and surround the maturing egg, communicate with the egg. "They provide a lot of information that the egg needs to grow and develop properly," Woodruff said. "It's a big priority for us to understand how the nurse cells talk to the egg." The information, she said, will help scientists understand how eggs grow and develop properly.

For additional information on Woodruff's research visit her laboratory web site at http://www.woodrufflab.org.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-07/nu-ntc071309.php

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New Ovarian Transplant Technique Successful

A new, two-step method of ovarian transplant has had excellent results, giving women a greater ability to conceive after cancer treatment or when older, doctors announced Monday.

The technique successfully and quickly restored ovarian function enabling two patients to become pregnant.

Scientists have performed ovarian transplants in women with cancer before, since chemotherapy often leaves them infertile. The ovaries are removed before the toxic treatment begins in order to re-implant them later.

Up to this point, cost and uncertainty yielded only a handful of successful transplants, but since women with diseases have limited options, they found it worth a shot.

Read more: http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1713205/new_ovarian_transplant_technique_successful/

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The importance of folate, zinc and antioxidants

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The importance of folate, zinc and antioxidants in the pathogenesis and prevention of subfertility

UV radiation destroys folic acid, a precursor for folate, the lack of which may result in birth defects.

Current treatments of subfertile couples are usually empiric, as the true cause of subfertility often remains unknown. Therefore, we outline the role of nutritional and biochemical factors in reproduction and subfertility. A literature search was performed using MEDLINE, Science Direct and bibliographies of published work with both positive and negative results.

The studies showed that folate has a role in spermatogenesis. In female reproduction, folate is also important for oocyte quality and maturation, implantation, placentation, fetal growth and organ development. Zinc has also been implicated in testicular development, sperm maturation and testosterone synthesis.

In females, zinc plays a role in sexual development, ovulation and the menstrual cycle. Both folate and zinc have antioxidant properties that counteract reactive oxygen species (ROS). Thiols, such as glutathione, balance the levels of ROS produced by spermatozoa and influence DNA compaction and the stability and motility of spermatozoa. Oocyte maturation, ovulation, luteolysis and follicle atresia are also affected by ROS.

After fertilization, glutathione is important for sperm nucleus decondensation and pronucleus formation. Folate, zinc, ROS and thiols affect apoptosis, which is important for sperm release, regulation of follicle atresia, degeneration of the corpus luteum and endometrial shedding.

Therefore, the concentrations of these nutrients may have substantial effects on reproduction. In conclusion, nutritional and biochemical factors affect biological processes in male and female reproduction. Further research should identify pathways that may lead to improvements in care and treatment of subfertility.

Read more: http://scienceblogs.com/gnxp/2009/04/folate_fertility_skin_color.php?utm_source=sbhomepage&utm_medium=link&utm_content=channellink

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Recalibrating the Biological Clock?

A new study challenges the long-held belief that female mammals start life with a limited number of eggs and cannot produce new ones after birth. For the first time, a Chinese group has found mouse cells that produce new eggs when transplanted into sterilized mice and give rise to normal offspring. The findings are already inflaming the debate over when and how female mammals generate eggs; if confirmed, they could offer hope of new options to treat human infertility.

Read more: http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2009/413/1?rss=1

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Now, infertile women can become mothers

In what raises hopes of infertile women becoming mothers and allowing those healthy to put their motherhood on hold without worrying about menopause, scientists have discovered a way to create eggs in sterile ovaries.

A team at Jiao Tong University in Shanghai has used the technique which involves transplanting stem cells into the ovaries to produce new eggs in infertile women or women who've passed the usual age of conception.

Read more: http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20090090691&ch=413200921900PM

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Long-Held Tenet on Women's Fertility in Question

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Sunday, April 12, 2009 - Scientists have produced strong new evidence challenging one of the most fundamental assumptions in biology: that female mammals, including women, are born with all the eggs they will ever have.

In a provocative set of experiments involving mice, Chinese researchers have shown for the first time that an adult mammal can harbor primitive cells in her ovaries that can become new eggs and produce healthy offspring, they reported today.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/12/AR2009041200967.html

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Ovarian changes may link obesity and infertility

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Obese women have alterations in the environment around the ovary before they ovulate that appear to play a role in the well-documented association between obesity and reduced fertility, according to a report in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

"Characteristics of eggs are influenced by the environment in which they develop within the ovary," lead author Dr. Rebecca Robker, from Adelaide University, Australia, said in a statement. "Our study found that obese women have abnormally high levels of fats and inflammation in the fluid surrounding their eggs, which can impact an egg's developmental potential."

Read more... http://www.vancouversun.com/Health/Ovarian+changes+link+obesity+infertility/1385905/story.html

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Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

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Found on the Babies Over 50 mailing list:

I just want to suggest, once again, to those wanting to conceive using their own eggs /sperm, look into Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (here is one of many info links: http://www.hypermed.com.au/index.htm ).

Here are the bases for my surmise:

HBOT increases microcirculation (neoangiogenesis), and it also increases circulating stem cells. There has been evidence of ovarian stem cells in mice, seen in the production of new follicles.

My guess is, it might take 90-120 days following HBOT for higher quality eggs to ripen and be ovulated. Sperm quality also improves within weeks after HBOT.

I would suggest, acupuncture & herbs (and why not colon & liver cleansing) for improved hormonal balance. Optimizing nutrition/reducing stress seem obvious. Then, some brave soul, try the HBOT! It's lead to more than one "miracle cure" in brain & even spinal cord regeneration; why not the ovaries?

Plus, it's safe & virtually harmless; much easier on the body than IVF. ~Prudence

Source: Babies After 50 discussion list - babiesafter50@yahoogroups.com

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Delay motherhood by 'removing ovary for storage'

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Women will soon be able to delay motherhood into their 40s and beyond by having one of their ovaries removed and stored, the doctor behind the world's first whole ovary transplant has said.

Dr Sherman Silber, performed the transplant between two twins last year and the recipient, who cannot be named, is due to give birth in London today.

The technique will offer hope to women undergoing treatment for cancer which can leave them infertile by allowing them to store an ovary before having cancer treatment and then re-implanting it once they have the all clear.

Full story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/women_shealth/3437100/Delay-motherhood-by-removing-ovary-for-storage.html

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UT Doctor Discovers Potential Source for Human Eggs

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In the May 5, 2005, issue of Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology, the discovery that new human eggs can be developed in vitro from cells scraped from the surface of adult human ovaries was made in the laboratory of Dr. Antonin Bukovsky, MD, PhD.

These results suggest that cells scraped from the ovary could be a potential source of new eggs for women who have trouble conceiving — either due to age or other complications such as a lack of ovarian follicles, the structures composed of an egg surrounded by granulosa cells.

For women who want to delay having babies, these results suggest the possibility of having ovarian surface epithelium (OSE) cells frozen in order to produce new eggs at a later date.

Full story: http://host1.bondware.com/~knoxvillemed/news.php?viewStory=151

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IVF or DE/IVF in Argentina

Found this on FertilityFriend.com:

I came across this in my wanderings, I know nothing about this clinic, but it is affordable, might make a good vacation with some fertility treatment added in: argentinafertilityservices.com

For Donor eggs
They guarantee 4 eggs for $4,300 US, and 8 for $5,500, and donor meds are included in that price

IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) is $3,000 but meds are not included

First office visit (one-time only): US $300
*no other charges for further office visits

Assisted Reproductive Techniques (ART) with own oocytes (IVF or ICSI): US $3,000

Assisted Reproductive Techniques (ART) with donor eggs (IVF or ICSI):
At least four (4) eggs: US $4,300
At least eight (8) eggs: US $5,500

Assisted Reproductive Techniques (ART) with donor sperm (IVF or ICSI): US $3,300

Included:
Donor medication for ovarian stimulation and egg production
Monitoring and procedures involved in management of both egg donor and recipient
Sperm freezing, if required
Medical and Institutional fees

Not included:
Medication for the IVF patient and the Egg Donor recipient
Surgeries prior to IVF treatment
Embryo cryopreservation

Sperm Retrieval Techniques:
TESE (Testicular Sperm Extraction)
TESA (Testicular Sperm Aspiration)
PESA (Percutaneous Epididymal Sperm Aspiration)
US $1,200
*sperm freezing for future attempts is included

Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD):
US $2,200

Source: http://www.fertilityfriend.com/Circles/viewtopic.php?t=1602041

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Ovulation moment caught on camera

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A human egg has been filmed in close-up emerging from the ovary for the first time, captured by chance during a routine operation.

Fertile women release one or more eggs every month, but until now, only animal ovulation has been recorded in detail.

Gynaecologist Dr Jacques Donnez spotted it in progress during a hysterectomy.

[The egg belongs] to a 45-year-old Belgian woman, and Dr Donnez, from the Catholic University of Louvain, told New Scientist that the pictures would help scientists understand the mechanisms involved.

Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7447942.stm

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HCG administration associated with high pregnancy rates

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Human chorionic gonadotropin administration is associated with high pregnancy rates during ovarian stimulation and timed intercourse or intrauterine insemination

Background
There are different factors that influence treatment outcome after ovarian stimulation and timed-intercourse or intrauterine insemination (IUI). After patient age, it has been suggested that timing of insemination in relation to ovulation is probably the most important variable affecting the success of treatment. The objective of this study is to study the value of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) administration and occurrence of luteinizing hormone (LH) surge in timing insemination on the treatment outcome after follicular monitoring with timed-intercourse or intrauterine insemination, with or without ovarian stimulation.

Methods
Retrospective analysis of 2000 consecutive completed treatment cycles (637 timed-intercourse and 1363 intrauterine insemination cycles). Stimulation protocols included clomiphene alone or with FSH injection, letrozole (an aromatase inhibitor) alone or with FSH, and FSH alone. LH-surge was defined as an increase in LH level ≥200% over mean of preceding two days. When given, hCG was administered at a dose of 10,000 IU. The main outcome was clinical pregnancy rate per cycle.

Results
Higher pregnancy rates occurred in cycles in which hCG was given. Occurrence of an LH-surge was associated with a higher pregnancy rate with clomiphene treatment, but a lower pregnancy rate with FSH treatment.

Conclusions
hCG administration is associated with a favorable outcome during ovarian stimulation. Awaiting occurrence of LH-surge is associated with a better outcome with CC but not with FSH treatment.

Full study: http://www.rbej.com/content/2/1/55

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New hope for women who face infertility as hundreds more eggs could be grown in lab

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A major breakthrough by British scientists could bring new hope for women facing the heartbreak of infertility.

For the first time a team has managed to grow hundreds of eggs in the laboratory using a new technique which could help cancer patients whose treatment can leave them infertile.

It would also allow thousands more women to wait until middle age to have children.

The scientists from Edinburgh University have shown that immature eggs can be frozen, grown and matured in the lab.

The process could lead to women having pieces of ovary containing the immature eggs removed and stored. Much later on, they could be thawed, fertilised and finally implanted into the womb.

The breakthrough, which comes as MPs prepare to debate the controversial Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, raises again the ethical debate surrounding the freezing of eggs.

Some say it is morally wrong for a woman to do so and have them fertilised years later in order to delay having children while she pursues a career.

However, scientists hope the new process will revolutionise fertility preservation for women because it will allow them to store many more eggs than they can under traditional IVF techniques.

And, because immature eggs survive the freezing process much better than the mature ones used in IVF, it is much more likely that older women will be able to conceive using them.

It brings forward the prospect that thousands of women will use the technique to side-step the menopause, delaying motherhood for the sake of their careers.

The process, which could be available in five years, also provides hope for cancer sufferers who at the moment are often left infertile following chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Powerful anti-cancer drugs can destroy follicles in the ovaries, wiping out any possibility of women having children.

At the moment, these women have a piece of ovary removed, frozen and then re-transplanted after their cancer treatment. But there is always the danger that the cancer could be reintroduced by the implant.

The new technique means women's immature eggs contained in the patch of ovary could be grown in the lab and then screened for cancer before being used in IVF treatment.

There are also hopes it will provide a rich source of eggs for scientists to study for clues on ways to treat a range of diseases.

There is a shortage of human eggs for medical research, and if the technique works it would bypass the controversy over the use of animal-human 'hybrid' embryos.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, which MPs are due to debate next month, would allow scientists to use these embryos in medical research, but many MPs plan to vote against.

The research, carried out by an Edinburgh University team led by Dr Evelyn Telfer, is published today in the journal Human Reproduction.

"This is a significant step in developing immature eggs to maturity outside the body," said Dr Telfer.

"Women who face infertility as a result of chemotherapy, or who want to put their biological clock on hold, could benefit from this system.

"However, there is a lot more research to be carried out before this technique could be safely applied within a clinical setting."

Last year, Canadian scientists announced the first birth of a child created from a human egg matured in the laboratory.

However, they did not use the same "primordial follicles" studied by the researchers from Edinburgh.

These are the tiny egg-bearing pockets within the ovaries that are present in their millions at birth, but gradually die off over the course of a woman's life.

They represent a woman's fertility "battery" which once depleted cannot be recharged.

Many remain dormant, but some go on to mature and eventually release their eggs in preparation for fertilisation.

For the first time, the team led by Dr Telfer has succeeded in growing primordial follicles to a late stage of maturation in the lab.

They took pieces of ovary containing the follicles from six volunteer women who were giving birth by caesarean section.

These were then exposed to a chemical that promotes growth, similar to the one that functions in the ovaries.

Around a third of them survived and went on to reach the advanced 'antral' stage of development.

At this stage, the follicles are filled with fluid and contain eggs almost ready to be fertilised.

It means that it could soon be possible to grow hundreds of eggs in the laboratory.

The Canadian team which managed to create a child from immature eggs was working with only around a dozen.

Another advantage is that the follicles mature much more quickly in the lab than they do in the ovary.

The scientists do not yet know whether eggs - or oocytes, to give them their technical name - matured in this way are completely normal and suitable for in-vitro fertilisation. But animal studies suggest they are.

The next step is to use hormones and other substances to try to nudge the 'antral' eggs on to the next stage of maturation, and then test the technique on humans.

"We believe there's good evidence that we can get normal oocytes, but of course you would never apply this technique clinically until you are sure," said Dr Telfer.

"We're seeking funding for further research to bridge that gap. It might take five to ten years from now before we get to the stage of a clinical trial."

Dr Jane Stewart, consultant in reproductive medicine at the Newcastle Fertility Centre, said:

"This work increases our understanding of the maturation of human eggs in the lab and takes us a step nearer the goal of strong immature eggs for fertility preservation for women."

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_id=560951&in_page_id=1774

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Breakthrough may preserve fertility post menopause

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London, April 21 (ANI): Scot scientists have achieved a breakthrough in taking early stage follicles tiny egg-bearing pockets in the ovaries from a woman’s ovaries, and maturing them into eggs in the lab for the first time.

The achievement of Edinburgh University researchers means that women undergoing cancer treatment, or wishing to delay motherhood to concentrate on their careers, may have a way of preserving their fertility in the next five to 10 years.

Dr Evelyn Telfer and her colleagues say that they have established a procedure to develop early stage follicles to a much later stage.

The researchers took pieces of ovary containing the follicles from six volunteer women who were giving birth by elective caesarean section, and exposed them to an artificial growth factor.

They revealed that about one-third of the follicles survived, and went on to reach an advanced stage.

“This is a significant step in developing immature eggs to maturity outside the body. Women who face infertility as a result of chemotherapy, or who want to put their biological clock on hold, could benefit from this system, the Scotsman quoted Dr. Telfer as saying.

“However, there is a lot more research to be carried out before this technique could be safely applied within a clinical setting,” she added.

Normally, a woman undergoing cancer treatment has to have a piece of ovary removed and frozen for future transplantation, a procedure that carries the risk of reintroducing cancer cells to the patient.

They may also rely on fertility medication to produce eggs to be harvested for use at a later date, but this poses risks in delaying treatment, and defrosting the eggs does not always work.

Dr Telfer says that one alternative may be to maturing eggs in the laboratory may make it possible to screen them for cancer before they are returned.

In a report published in the journal Human Reproduction, the researcher says that women wishing to preserve their fertility past the menopause may also have their follicles stored for later use when they are ready to start a family.

She has revealed that in animal studies, eggs matured in this way appear to be completely normal and suitable for in vitro fertilisation.

However, her team have yet to confirm the same for humans.

“We believe there’s good evidence that we can get normal oocytes (eggs], but of course you would never apply this technique clinically until you are sure,” said Dr Telfer. (ANI)

Source: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/breakthrough-may-preserve-fertility-post-menopause_10040356.html

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Technique measures a woman's 'biological clock'

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A technique has been developed by scientists to tell a woman how fast her biological clock is ticking and when menopause is likely to hit.

Sandy Martinez, a 30-year-old manager of actors, is busy building a career, but she also wants to raise a family.

She wonders how long she can put it off. "Obviously your body's not the same when you're older, so that is a concern to me," she told CTV News.

"A woman of say, 30 or 32, who's thinking about whether to press on with her career, or wants to get into a better financial situation to have a family, could be rest assured they have more time," said Dr. Hamish Wallace, one of the study's authors.

"What we have done is to come up with a method that may allow us to predict for a woman what ovarian reserves she has and at what age she is likely to experience the menopause," Wallace, a pediatric oncologist and lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, told Reuters.

The Scottish scientists say they can do this by measuring the volume of a woman's ovaries using ultrasound.

This could also tell them how many eggs a woman has left, which could have a significant impact on fertility treatments.

"The ultrasound measurement is taken to work out the volume of the ovaries. If the ovaries are larger than average for her age, then she is likely to have a later menopause and if they are smaller she is likely to have an earlier one. Essentially we try to quantify by how much, by how many years," Dr. Thomas Kelsey, a computer scientists at the University of St. Andrews, told Reuters.

Women start with an estimated 800,000 eggs, but that number declines over time.

By the time a woman reaches 37, she's down to about 25,000 eggs. At that time, the rate of decline speeds up. The ovaries shrink until almost all the eggs are depleted. At that point, menopause occurs.

That generally happens at age 50, but can happen between the ages of 42 and 58.

Wallace and Kelsey reported their findings in the medical journal Human Reproduction.

"It is going to be useful for couples who have fertility problems because it is an easy way for the fertility clinics to work out essentially whether it is worth doing IVF (in-vitro fertilization) or whatever treatment," Kelsey said.

For example, a woman with a number of fertile years ahead might be better off trying to conceive naturally or to space out fertility treatments, he said.

Conversely, if the egg supply is low, it might not be worth it, he said.

Two instances in which the diagnostic method won't work is for women taking oral contraceptives or those suffering from polycystic ovarian syndrome, which causes infertility.

The scientists are planning to do longer-term studies to track young women until they hit menopause.

"It opens the door to the possibility of screening women for early ovarian aging. These women may be at increased risk to their general health from the effects of having an early menopause," Wallace said.

But some warn against the use of this technique by perfectly healthy women.

"The difficulty of getting pregnant goes up as you get old. And the risk of miscarriage or Down's Syndrome goes up as well. So it's not just how many eggs you've got," Diane Allen of the Infertility Network.

Study: Ovarian reserve and reproductive age may be determined from measurement of ovarian volume by transvaginal sonography

Source: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20040617/fertility_study_040617?s_name=&no_ads=

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