Female Infertility: Primary Ovarian Insufficiency

Infertility now affects 8–12% of reproductive-age couples globally and is a widespread issue. Female Infertility can be treated in a variety of methods, such as with medication, intrauterine insemination, and in vitro fertilisation. The topic of managing reproductive problems including primary ovarian insufficiency, Asherman Syndrome and endometrial thinning has recently experienced new promise owing to stem cell therapy.

Every 1 in 100 women has POI. The likelihood rises if you suffer from an autoimmune condition. Premature ovarian failure is another name for POI, albeit it's becoming less common. It begins when your ovaries stop producing the usual levels of oestrogen. Your periods could become unpredictable or stop completely. Additionally, your body might not routinely release eggs, which might cause infertility or make it difficult to get pregnant.

What leads to POI?

The precise reason for POI is unknown in around 90% of cases. According to research, follicular issues are connected to POI. In your ovaries, there are little sacs called follicles. They allow your eggs to develop and grow. One sort of follicular issue is when your supply of active follicles depletes quicker than usual. The follicles also may not be functioning adequately. The follicular issue's root cause is typically unknown. But occasionally, the reason can be:

• Turner syndrome and Fragile X syndrome are examples of genetic diseases that can lead to female infertility

• fewer follicles than usual

• Thyroiditis and Addison's disease or some other autoimmune diseases

• Radiation or chemotherapy therapy

• abnormalities in metabolism or hormonal problems

• Toxicity caused by any chemical, smoking or pesticides

Available Treatment Modalities

A woman's ovaries cannot currently be treated with a method that has been shown to work. The symptoms of POI can be treated, nevertheless, in some cases. Additionally, there are methods for treating the ailments that POI can cause as well as reducing your health risks:

• Hormonal Replacement Therapy (HRT): The most frequent therapy is HRT. The oestrogen and other hormones that your body lacks from your ovaries are provided by this. By lowering heart disease and osteoporosis risks, HRT also enhances sexual health. At around age 50, when menopause typically starts, you should take it till.

• Vitamin D: You should take calcium and vitamin D every day because women with POI have an increased chance of developing osteoporosis.

• Healthy lifestyle: A healthy body weight and regular exercise. You can reduce your chances of osteoporosis and heart disease by exercising frequently and maintaining a healthy weight.

• Medications: It's crucial to treat any linked conditions you may have if you suffer from POI. Medicines and hormones may be used in treatments.

• In vitro fertilization: If you want to get pregnant but have POI, you might think about considering IVF.

How can Stem Cells help?

Essentially, stem cells are immature cells that may differentiate into any type of tissue and are present in all of our bodies. They have unique healing and regenerative abilities that have the ability to treat a number of ailments. However, you might wonder how exactly stem cells treat female infertility. Well, they promote the development of oocytes and the healing of the injured ovaries (or eggs).

Female infertility stem cell therapy is still in clinical trials and has not received FDA approval. However, every trial's outcomes for correcting female infertility have been encouraging.

The breadth and prospects of stem cell therapies for female infertility are further discussed in a study paper by Saha et al. The researchers started by looking at the numerous stem cell subtypes. They also looked into a number of additional treatments for female infertility. They came to the conclusion that while embryonic stem cells have demonstrated good promise, they are clouded by a number of ethical problems. The next best choice is bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells.

But you're probably wondering how it works

Various roles performed by stem cells make them useful in the treatment of many different diseases. The following five traits particularly aid in addressing female infertility:

• They can swap out and fix damaged and diseased cells. They also possess a "self-homing property," which enables them to find the damaged cells on their own.

• They start cell division by reactivating repressed and inactive cells. The body produces more new cells as a result.

• Different enzymes, cytokines, and proteins secreted by stem cells encourage cell division and prevent the demise of functioning cells.

• Our bodies' natural killer cells are immunosuppressed by stem cells, which prolong the life of the cells.

• They encourage intercellular signalling to return, improving cellular activities.

The future

Stem cell IVF is another growing treatment. It combines both of these treatments, yielding much better results. The stem cells help to improve the functioning of the uterus, lowering the risk of miscarriage. This medication, however, is still in its early stages and will need a few more trials before it can be used in mainstream practice.