Unique genetic profile helps over-45s get pregnant

Women who have a special genetic profile can conceive spontaneously after the age of 45 years, a scientist said at the 21st annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today (Tuesday 21 June 2005). Dr. Neri Laufer, from the Haddassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel, told the conference that his team's work to identify a specific gene expression profile linked to later fertility would help understanding of the ageing process, as well as enabling the development of better treatments for infertility in older patients.



Dr. Laufer and colleagues studied a large group of 250 women over 45 who conceived spontaneously. Women are generally not fertile after this age due to ageing of the ovaries, so the scientists thought that there might be some special factor that was allowing these women to conceive. "Mostly they had had a large number of children and also a low miscarriage rate", he said "and these two factors indicated to us that they had a natural ability to escape the ageing process of the ovaries. We decided to see if we could find any differences in gene expression between 8 such women and another 6 women of the same age group who had finished their families at the age of 30."



Using gene chip technology, the scientists found that blood samples from the 8 women had a unique pattern of gene expression that did not exist in the control group. The two main groups of genes expressed in these women were involved in apoptosis (cell death) and in DNA repair mechanisms. "These women appear to differ from the normal population due to a unique genetic predisposition that protects them from the DNA damage and cellular ageing that helps age the ovary", said Dr. Laufer. "What we do not yet know is whether this reproductive success is linked with potential longevity." The women were all Ashkenazi Jews but Dr. Laufer's team does not believe that the gene profile is unique to this group. "We already have preliminary results demonstrating similar results from another group", he said. The team intends to study women from different ethnic, and hence genetic, groups and study their genetic fingerprints against those of the first group.



Identifying women with these genetic fingerprints will enable doctors to know which women are still fertile at an advanced age and may determine the counselling they require, said Dr.Laufer. "However, the question of motherhood over the age of 45 is a delicate and complex one. It is very dependent on the religious and cultural background of the women in question. Our first study group came from an ultra-religious sector which encourages natural conception and discourages contraceptive use. These women would in any event continue to challenge their reproductive system until menopause. But for other groups the ethical implications may be different and counselling on all the aspects of late motherhood will play an important part in determining what is best for the individual woman."



Contact: Mary Rice

marymrcommunication

European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology

Study Offers Hope For Women With ER-Negative Breast Cancer

Women who have estrogen (ER)-negative breast cancer may have more drug-treatment options than previously thought, a Creighton (pronounced Cray-ton) University study suggests. The study is reported in the Oct. 11 online version of the journal Oncogene.


"The prevailing thought is that estrogen signaling is not involved in the development or progression of ER-negative breast cancer and, as a result, hormonal treatments that may follow surgery or radiation are not an effective option for this type of cancer. However, our study suggests that estrogen-signaling is involved, and novel hormonal treatments may help a number of women with ER-negative cancer," said Zhao-Yi "Charlie" Wang, Ph.D., the articles's principal author.


Wang, a professor of cancer research in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology and the Department of Pathology at Creighton University School of Medicine, described the findings as very promising. He added that more research is needed.


"About 25-30 percent of all breast cancers are ER-negative," he noted. "ER-negative breast cancers, especially triple-negative ones, are usually very aggressive; young African American women are at particular risk. This is potentially very promising news for these women."


For the study, researchers looked at specimens from 12 human cases of triple-negative breast cancer, known as such because this form of ER-negative cancer lacks estrogen and progesterone receptors and does not express the protein HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2).


Of the 12 cases, ER-a36, a novel estrogen receptor variant that Wang's laboratory identified and cloned in 2006 (U.S. Patent No. 7,745,230), was highly expressed in 10.


The researchers then investigated the mechanism by which non-genomic estrogen signaling, brought about by ER-a36, contributes to the malignant growth of triple-negative breast cancer cells. Their findings indicate that ER-a36 may play an important role as a diagnostic and prognostic marker to assist in the individualization of breast cancer therapy as well as in the development of new therapeutic approaches.


In addition to Wang, Zoran Gatalic, M.D., Creighton professor of pathology; Semir Vranic, M.D., a former Creighton research fellow; and Ling Ding, M.D., of Zhejiang University School of Medicine in China, were among the co-authors of the article.


The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Nebraska Tobacco Settlement Biomedical Research Program (LB-595 and LB-692).


Source: Creighton University

Antidepressant Use May Boost Fracture Risk, From Harvard Women's Health Watch

Evidence is accumulating that
depression is a risk factor for osteoporosis, reports the June 2007 issue
of Harvard Women's Health Watch. A recent study found that people ages 50
and over who regularly took antidepressants called selective serotonin
reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) had double the rate of fractures as people not
using such medications. Other research points to depression itself as a
source of endocrine changes that can damage bone.



Whether the danger comes from depression, the drugs used to treat it,
or something else, doctors are paying more attention to this association.
During the 1990s, depression began to emerge as a possible cause of bone
loss, rather than a result. Scientists studied women who didn't have
osteoporosis symptoms or even know they had the condition. They found lower
bone mineral density in those who were depressed. Moreover, the link was
found in both younger women and women past menopause. Other studies have
found a similar relationship, so investigators have been looking at
hormones and brain chemicals potentially involved in both depression and
bone loss.



Researchers working with an animal model found that depression triggers
the release of noradrenaline, which interferes with bone-building cells.
Moreover, they found that imipramine-a member of an older class of drugs
called tricyclic antidepressants-reversed both depression and depression-
induced bone loss.



It may be a long time before the depression-osteoporosis connection is
fully clarified. In the meantime, Harvard Women's Health Watch suggests
that you continue taking an antidepressant if you already use one;
depression is a serious illness that can have profound consequences. You
may also want to talk to your doctor about getting a bone density test, and
make sure you get adequate calcium.


Harvard Health Publications

health.harvard.edu/women

Videos Discuss Antiabortion Threats, Benefits Of Health Reform For Women

The following summarizes selected women's health-related videos.

 Maddow Examines Violent Threats: On Tuesday, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow discussed a potential connection between violent anti-government threats and antiabortion-rights activism. Maddow reports that a Washington man was arrested after leaving anti-health-reform messages that called Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) a "baby killer," while a Texas man was charged for threatening to use physical force to stop a Dallas clinic from performing abortions. The segment also includes an interview with Zachary Roth of Talking Points Memo, who noted that many abortion-rights groups reported an "uptick in this kind of violent language and rhetoric" after the murder of abortion provider George Tiller last year. However, it is not entirely clear if the two men who were arrested can be linked with the antiabortion-rights movement, he added (Maddow, "The Rachel Maddow Show," MSNBC, 4/8).

 Richards Discusses Health Reform: In an interview on MSNBC's "The Daily Rundown," Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Cecile Richards said that although abortion-rights groups "didn't like" the abortion restrictions in the health reform law, the "important thing is this is going to expand health care coverage for millions of women and their families." She added that the health reform debate helped remind abortion-rights supporters that "we don't have a pro-choice Congress" (Todd/Guthrie, "The Daily Rundown," MSNBC, 4/1).


Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.


© 2010 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.