Fragile X premutations are known to be a risk factor for diminished ovarian function at a relatively young age. We studied endocrine profiles of female fragile X family members (n = 79) at risk of premature ovarian failure (POF). Of these 79 women aged <40 years, 45 had menstrual cycles, and 34 were using oral contraceptives. Of the women with menstrual cycles, the premutation carriers had high...

Premature ovarian failure (POF) is a typical pathological disease of the reproductive system in aging females. Infection, inflammation, immune abnormalities, genetic mutation, radiotherapy and chemotherapy can cause POF. Tripterygium glycosides (TGs) are a component extracted from the Chinese herb Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. f., also known as Huangteng. Although TGs have been used to treat var...

Infertility is one of the major clinical problems which affect approximately 15% of couples, where 30% show women factors, 30% with men factors and 30% show involvement of the two. Another 10% infertility reason is explained to be idiopathic. Premature ovarian failure (POF, OMIM 311360), a different feature of female infertility has become an attractive subject for investigation due to its incr...

Genetic factors may influence the timing of menopause. Premature ovarian failure (POF) has recently been identified as a genetic entity, but no genetic data are available on early menopause (EM). We investigated 36 patients with EM (age of menopause between 40 and 45 years of age) using cytogenetic and pedigree analysis. In 30 patients of this study the EM was idiopathic and 15 subjects (50%) h...

BACKGROUND The WNT4 gene plays an important role in female sex determination and differentiation. It also contributes to maintaining of the ovaries and the survival of follicles. METHODS We sequenced the coding region and splice sites of WNT4 in 145 Han Chinese women with premature ovarian failure (POF) and 200 healthy controls. RESULTS Only one novel variation, in Exon 2 (195C > T), was de...

Premature ovarian failure (POF) affects 1% of young women. This condition has significant psychological sequelae and major health implications. POF seriously interferes with fertility and family planning. Diverse etiologies are associated with POF. Literature review related to the causes and pathogenesis of POF, cited between the year 1900 and May 2010. POF may be either spontaneous or induced....

BACKGROUND Premature ovarian failure (POF) is a heterogeneous syndrome, possibly due to mutations of genes involved in the normal development of the ovary and/or follicles. Based essentially on animal models, these mutations are associated with various ovarian phenotypes, from a complete absence of follicles to a partial follicular maturation. The aim of the present study was to determine wheth...

OBJECTIVE Cyclophosphamide (CYC) therapy for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a disease predominantly affecting women of childbearing age, causes an unacceptably high incidence of irreversible premature ovarian failure (POF). This study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of depot leuprolide acetate, a synthetic gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog (GnRH-a), for protection against P...

Interactions between germ cells and surrounding somatic cells are central to ovarian development as well as later function. Disruption of these interactions arising from abnormalities in either cell type can lead to premature ovarian failure (POF). The forkhead transcription factor FOXL2 is a candidate POF factor, and mutations in the FOXL2 gene are associated with syndromic and non-syndromic o...

BACKGROUND FOXE1 is one of the candidate genes for genetic predisposition to premature ovarian failure (POF) and it contains an alanine tract. Our purpose is to assess the influence of length of the alanine tract of FOXE1 on genetic susceptibility to POF. METHODS The group studied consisted of 110 Chinese patients with idiopathic POF and 110 women from normal controls. The polyalanine tract a...