Female Fertility Flashcards
Secondary infertility in women
Inability to conceive after having had a child
Non nutrition determinants of female fertility (3)
Fixed reproductive span
Health of reproductive tract
Function and regulation of HPO axis
Define amenorrhea
Loss of menstrual cycle
Oligorrhea
Abnormally long cycles
Anovulation
Failure to ovulate
Common causes of disordered cycling (2)
Obesity
Extreme weight loss
What is polycystic ovary syndrome (3)
Ovaries form clusters of immature follicles
Which becomes cysts
High androgen concentrations
What is PCOS driven by
Insulin resistance
How can PCOS be alleviated?
weight loss
Leptin and the menstrual cycle (3)
Leptin increases production of GnRH, FSH and LH
Stimulates HPO axis
Increases oestrogen
Obesity and fertility associations (4)
Suppression of natural cycles
Increased miscarriage risk
More congenital defects
Poor response to ovulatory drug treatment in IVF
Obesity and leptin resistance (4)
Obese women overproduce leptin
Reproductive actions of leptin depend upon binding to the receptors in hypothalamus
High leptin up regulated SOCS3
This blocks pathway
What is ROS required for in fertility
Required in follicular fluid to ensure only one egg is released
What is excess NO linked to?
Endometriosis
Where are antioxidants required in order to protect sperm from ROS?
Fallopian tubes
