Premature Ovarian Failure Stem Cell Therapy
Premature ovarian follicle, also known as the primary insufficiency is a medical condition in which the ovaries stop working before a woman clocks the age of forty. This disease might be congenital or might develop shortly after birth. The ovary is responsible for releasing the oocytes, and also produces the hormones that regulate the sexual development in women. This condition is also referred to as premature menopause, however, the two conditions are different. On one hand, the women affected by the premature ovarian follicle occurs are capable of having menstrual periods, even though irregular and seldom. There’ve been cases of women getting pregnant. On the other hand, women affected with premature menopause do not have menstrual periods, and cannot be pregnant. Women affected by premature ovarian usually presents with symptoms such as infertility, irregular or absent menstrual periods, osteoporosis, and other menopausal symptoms.
What Causes Premature Ovarian Failure?
The cause of premature ovarian failure is usually unknown, however, some conditions have been identified as likely causes of the disease;
- Genetics: There are some genetic disorders that can cause the premature ovarian failure. Some of these genetic disorders include Turner’s syndrome. Turner’s syndrome is a genetic condition in which one of the X chromosomes that should be in a female’s cells is absent or altered. This missing component leads to the failure of the ovary to function well. This condition could lead to premature ovarian failure. Another example of a genetic disease that could be lead to this condition is Fragile X syndrome. This syndrome is a genetic condition in which there is a mutation of a gene on the X chromosome. This condition is more predominant in males, however, it does lead to premature ovarian failure when it happens in females.
- Radiations: Women who get exposed to a large dose of radiations frequently, are prone to having the premature ovarian failure. As a matter of fact, radiation therapy is one of the most common causes of acquired premature ovarian failure. This occurs mostly in women who have undergone radiation therapy, maybe for the treatment of some cancer diseases, or the elimination of a tumor. These radiations are toxic to the genetic makeup, and can successfully induce the premature ovarian failure.
- Chemotherapy: Drugs are also capable of causing this medical condition. There are some drugs whose side effect could lead to the premature ovarian failure. These drugs could be anti-tumor and anti-cancer drugs. This is common in cancer patients, who had to undergo a high-intensity use of drugs, consistently. Other causes of this medical condition are toxins such as chemicals, insecticide, smokes produced from a cigarette.
- Autoimmune disease: This is a condition in which the body immune system fails to recognize the ovary as part of the body tissue. The body immune attacks the ovaries, damaging it, and impairing its functions. The immune system release antibodies to attack and damage the tissues of the ovary, and the oocytes inside it. The reason why this happens cannot be ascertained.
- Unknown causes: There are cases whereby a woman has the premature ovarian failure, but has no chromosomal abnormalities, nor undergone any form of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and did not expose herself to toxins as well. In this kind of condition, the doctor must go ahead to perform further evaluations.
- Infection: There are some diseases that could cause premature ovarian failure, as a complication. An example of this disease is the tuberculosis of the reproductive tract.
- Other causes of this disease are enzyme deficiencies, gonadotrophin therapy that is used for a long time
What Are The Symptoms Of Premature Ovarian Failure?
The signs and symptoms of premature ovarian failure are quite menopause-like. This medical condition shares similar characteristics with women in menopause. This is because the ovary stops functioning before the age of forty, hugely reducing or entirely stopping sexual development. Below are some of the symptoms of this disease;
- Infertility: This occurs because of the damage and failure of the ovaries to release oocytes and sex hormones, as a result of the impairment in the functionality.
- Irregular menstrual periods
- Osteoporosis: This symptom also occurs in menopause, and it can be attributed to the low level of estrogen in the body. They can also present with reduced bone density. This predisposes them to have bone injuries like fractures, dislocation and so on.
- Hot flashes: This is typical of the premature arrest of the ovary functions. It’s also one of the most common symptoms of menopause.
- Headaches
- Night Sweats
- Reduced libido: This is also because of the low amount of sex hormones that are released into the blood.
- Dryness of the external reproductive organ, such as the vagina
How Is Premature Ovarian Failure Currently Treated?
The treatment of premature ovarian failure is based on the problems that arise from the deficiency of estrogen.
- Hormone therapy: Administering estrogen to a patient suffering from this disease would protect the patient from having menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, headache and so on. The physician might also administer progesterone alongside estrogen to prevent the side effects that might be caused by estrogen mono-therapy. However, these drugs will not restore the functions of the ovaries, although it can cause vaginal bleeding.
- Supplements: Osteoporosis is one of the most common symptoms of menopause and premature ovarian failure. This is why physicians always administer calcium and Vitamin D containing food and supplements. This would boost the bone density of the patient and prevent diseases and injuries that might occur as a result of low blood calcium.
How Can Stem Cell Therapy Be Used To Treat Premature Ovarian Failure?
Stem cells are cells that can proliferate and form new cells. They are capable of developing into any kind of specialized cells. They also can regenerate, repair and regulate the immune system. These stem cells can be used for the treatment of premature ovarian failure, especially the one caused by autoimmune disease. These cells, when introduced into the body, can regulate and protect the ovaries from being attacked by the immune system. The stem cells would “teach” the immune cells how not to attack the ovaries. In addition, research is ongoing on how stem cells can be made to replace and restore the function of the damaged ovaries.
References
Edessy, M. (2015). Successful Autologous Stem Cell Therapy in Premature Ovarian Failure. Women’s Health, 1(3).
Sarbu, Z. (2009). PREMATURE OVARIAN FAILURE (POF). Maturitas, 63, p.S133.
Simpson, J. (2009). Ovarian Dysgenesis and Premature Ovarian Failure Caused by X Chromosomal Abnormalities. The Global Library of Women’s Medicine.
Zangmo, R., Singh, N., and Sharma, J. (2016). Diminished ovarian reserve and premature ovarian failure: A review. IVF Lite, 3(2), p.46.
