The women between 40 and 50 years have a natural decrease in reproductive hormones leading to menopause; However, in some cases these hormonal and physical changes can occur before the age of 40, which could indicate that you suffer from ovarian failure primary, also known as IOP.
Is disease is chronic, alters the menstrual cycle and affects the maturation and release of eggs. Patients with POI may present infertility, vaginal dryness, anxiety, depression, heart complications and osteoporosis, the latter two due to low levels of estrogen.
In 90 percent of the cases the causes are unknown, while in the rest it is attributed to genetic motives, autoimmune and even by radiotherapies, chemotherapies and ovarian surgical procedures.
“It is generally reported worldwide that between 30 and 35 years of age one in a thousand can suffer from IOP; Obviously, the older, from 35 to 49, the more common and it can get to be one of every 100 women the one that presents / displays this problem ”, explains Johana Ojeda, president of the Life and Stem Cell Association.
Currently, POI is treated with hormonal treatments, however, there are mild to severe adverse effects that could lead to long-term illnesses.
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The also a biomedical engineer graduated from the University of Monterrey assures that there are women who can present this condition, but who do not want a pregnancy, then, what is done is that they are given hormonal treatment so that they do not have complications, as matters of osteoporosis, increased risk of heart diseases, decreased libido or some problems of dryness.
But the situation changes when the patient does want to get pregnant, since one of the most serious problems is that this condition causes infertility. It is even known that with hormonal treatment the pregnancy rate is only between five and 10 percent.
“Most of the women who present this problem cannot get pregnant, obviously, there are other types of treatments, such as in vitro fertilization or adoption ”, the expert shares.
Other alternatives against IOP
Given the difficulty of women to get pregnant due to POI and lack of effective treatments, various groups of specialists have been given the task of undertaking research from different approaches.
One of them is the one that has to do with the mesenchymal cells of the bone marrow, adipose tissue, menstrual blood, umbilical cord, fluid and amniotic tissue, since they have detected that they have certain mechanisms that could serve to treat some of the dysfunctions in POI.
“For more than 10 years, the use of different types of stem cells has been investigated, today the favorites in the race to find a treatment they are called mesenchymal cells, which is a type of stem cell that we can find in various tissues in our body, ”says Johana Ojeda.
With these cells what they have seen is that in a certain way the ovary is stimulated so that these structures, which are responsible for making the ovum mature, come out at the Fallopian tube and can be fertilized by a sperm.
This treatment has only been tested in animal models and in some small clinical cases, where they have seen that with mesenchymal cells they recover what is called folliculogenesis; that is, the process in which the follicle matures an egg and it breaks off and enters the fallopian tubes.
In addition, they have seen that it increases the levels of hormones that are important in this cycle and that are markers that are commonly used to determine the function of the ovulation.
“Much remains to be investigated, because despite the fact that there are some cases with humans where this treatment is beginning to be evaluated with an experimental use, many things are missing that must be verified and validated so that it is a treatment that is included as such in the guides of clinical practices, which is what doctors use as their decision diagram ”, says the president of the Life and Stem Cells Association.
For this treatment to be endorsed and recognized, Ojeda acknowledges, it could take a few more years, so it is important that the scientific investigation continue, to know well who would be the beneficiaries and statistically measure how much is the benefit that is being generated.
“In Mexico, as such, there are no specifically reported cases with mesenchymals for ovarian failure, but there are beginning to be investigation with its use to promote ovulation ”, says the expert.
Each woman is born with the exact number of eggs that she will have for the rest of her life and, normally, after the age of 45 or 50, the reserve is exhausted, leading to menopause.
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False promises
Stem cell treatments will only be possible through investigation and of validation to determine that they are safe and that they generate a real benefit, reason why it is necessary to be careful with the charlatans.
As research and knowledge about them have increased, so has the disinformation. In many places it is offered as a miracle cure for everything.
Although it is very difficult for the population to identify when it comes to a treatment that has some scientific justification and when it is a hoax, Johana Ojeda shares several points that are warning signs.
“The first is that when a treatment with stem cells is carried out, there must always be an informed consent where the patient is explained what is going to be done, especially since all treatments doctors they have a risk, ”he says.
The biochemical engineer ensures that the health personnel in charge of the treatment has the obligation to inform the patient if it is a treatment approved and proven or if it is something that is of experimental use or part of a clinical trial.
“There are many different types of stem cells, so if they come to you and say ‘I’m going to do a stem cell treatment for lupus’, the first thing I would doubt is why they are telling me ‘stem cells’, when it should be more specific, ”shares Johana.
And, finally, it indicates if they come to comment that it is a treatment that works for everything and that cures multiple diseases O ailmentsAt that time it is necessary to distrust and think that, then, it is useless.
Find out: The Life and Stem Cells Association (banks-cell-mother.org) is a non-profit organization, which seeks the truthful disclosure of information about mesenchymal cells and break myths about them.
You can also read: UNAM designs alternative therapy for cancer: develops particles as vaccines
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