a Increasing number of people Delaying having children. There are many reasons why people may want to postpone the decision to have children. About one-third of couples If a woman’s partner is over 35 years old, it becomes difficult for her to conceive. This is because the woman’s fertility is declining. decline around that age.
But the researchers Ongoing clinical trials Rapamycin, a drug commonly used to prevent organ transplant failure, Women’s reproductive age This can be extended up to a maximum of five years.
This is based on early reporting of results from a small pilot study they conducted, which has not yet been peer-reviewed.
Although it’s still too early to say whether rapamycin is the future of fertility treatment (we have to wait two years for clinical trials to be completed), there are some reasons to be optimistic about the reported findings.
Numerous studies in mice have shown that rapamycin is beneficial for many aspects of aging, including fertility.
Future fertility can begin before birth. While in the mother’s uterus, a woman’s gametes (eggs) form “primordial follicles” surrounded by specialized cells in the ovaries. Each follicle contains a single egg and remains dormant until it is available during puberty.
Many follicles die before birth. This means that every woman is born with a lifetime supply of follicles.Ovarian reserve“This early established ovarian reserve may affect a woman’s ability to conceive. Throughout the reproductive years.
Dozens of follicles are selected each menstrual cycle, but only one, the dominant follicle, releases an egg for fertilization. to degrade By the ovaries.
As women age, Decreased ovarian reserve At this stage, the amount of estrogen circulating in your body decreases until only a limited number of good follicles remain, and menopause begins.
The average age is Menopause at age 51 – However, this varies greatly from woman to woman depending on ovarian reserve. Early menopause (Occurs by age 45).
Approximately 1% of women may experience Early menopauseMenopause occurs by age 40. Because menopause directly affects fertility, early menopause can have serious implications on a woman’s child-rearing plans.
However, if we could slow down the aging of the ovaries, we could extend a woman’s fertility. Rapamycin I may be able to do it.
Repurposing rapamycin
Rapamycin is a bacterial compound that can make cells survive longer in a laboratory environment.
It is often used by organ transplant patients to weaken their immune systems so they don’t reject the new organ, and it is also used medically. Certain vascular disorders By slowing cell growth (such as tumors).
Increasing evidence suggests that rapamycin may also have an effect against aging.
In studies using mice, Prevents muscle loss due to agingDaily administration of rapamycin Extending lifespan of elderly mice by 10%.
Regarding fertility, studies have shown that daily administration of rapamycin Delays ovarian aging and menopause With a mouse.
Older female mice fed a diet containing rapamycin had an increased pool of primordial follicles, or ovarian reserve.
Moreover, these mice continued to have offspring, suggesting that rapamycin may delay early menopause in women.
But does the drug have the same effect in humans? Here’s what the research team found: An investigation was launched.The research team studied 50 pre- and post-menopausal women aged 35 to 45. Pilot Study.
The women received either rapamycin or a placebo every week for three months, and their ovarian reserve was monitored with transvaginal ultrasound and several blood tests to detect various ovarian hormones.
The researchers: Initial Results The highly promising results suggest that the drug has the potential to reduce ovarian ageing in women by 20 percent without any side effects, which the researchers hope could mean an extra five years of fertility.
Rapamycin may cause this positive effect by limiting the number of primordial follicles that are recruited and activated per menstrual cycle.
Women who received rapamycin formed only 15 follicles per menstrual cycle, compared with 50 in women of the same age. Fewer follicles appear to prolong ovarian reserve.
Previous studies in mice have shown that rapamycin Fewer folliclesThis may help preserve ovarian reserve.
Maintaining fertility
The initial cohort size of the study was fairly small, but given what the researchers claim are promising results, they will likely move forward with the next phase of the experiment, which will involve recruiting 1,000 women.
Hopefully, the initial results will be confirmed again and peer-reviewed studies will show that rapamycin is an effective treatment for ovarian aging. Additional studies will then be needed to investigate whether this fertility extension occurs.
However, if rapamycin is shown to be beneficial in clinical trials, it could be useful for women with low ovarian reserve and those who wish to extend their fertility period.
Additionally, the study highlights the potential for repurposing existing medicines to treat other conditions for the benefit of women’s health and well-being. My team members and I Similar research is being carried out at the University of Central Lancashire.
We are currently studying in cells whether repurposing commonly used diabetes medications could improve the uterus to make it easier for an embryo to implant, and we are also investigating these targets to treat ovarian cancer.
Stephane BernaudLecturer, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Biomedical Sciences University of Central Lancashire
This article is reprinted from conversation Published under a Creative Commons license. Original Article.
