Is There A Role For Mechanical Stimulation In Ovarian Follicular Activation?

Overview

Premature ovarian failure (POI) is a loss of normal function before age 40, leading to infertility and hypoestrogenism. About 1% of women younger than 40 years old and 0.1% before 30 are affected. Most patients already had impaired or complete loss of fecundity when diagnosed. Hence, the treatment of POI is particularly tough. Currently, no optimal regimen exists to ameliorate ovarian function.

In women, the non-growing population of follicles that comprise the ovarian reserve is determined at birth and serves as the reservoir for future fertility. This reserve of dormant, primordial follicles and the mechanisms controlling their selective activation which constitute the committing step into folliculogenesis are essential for determining fertility outcomes in women. While POI is sometimes called premature menopause, it is not identical with menopause. Women with POI may still have occasional irregular periods and may even occasionally achieve a pregnancy. Symptoms of POI include irregular menses or amenorrhea, infertility, hypoestrogenic symptoms and decreased libido. POI may be caused by chromosomal defects such as mosaic Turner's syndrome, exposure to toxins (chemotherapy or radiation), autoimmunity, genetic factors (FMR1) and other unknown factors. Recently, new promising approaches have emerged for infertility treatment in patients with POI, which are based on arousing the still available primordial follicle pool. It is supposed that these techniques activate dormant primordial follicles using a combination of mechanical signaling and biochemical factors. The hypothesis that mild local ovarian injury, such as ovarian puncture, which is a usual procedure in an IVF center with minimal side effects, might exert a similar favorable effect in women with POI arouses our curiosity. Different groups have published case series of ovarian procedures, injecting substances in the ovaries (A-PRP) or ovarian biopsies / scratch in infertile patients with low ovarian reserve (LOR) or/and patients with POF. However, those studies were underpowered, including not enough number of cases, with variable inclusion criteria and reporting results with very low scientific evidence. Furthermore, the mechanical effect of injecting the ovary should be taken into consideration during the evaluation of these patients, yet it might improve the ovarian function as well. There are no previous randomized controlled trials considering a procedure as ovarian puncture, which is easier and accessible at any fertility center.

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