Biological Basis of Female Reproductive Aging: What Happens to the Ovaries and Uterus as They Age?

doi:10.1017/9781009025270.003

Chapter 2 - Biological Basis of Female Reproductive Aging: What Happens to the Ovaries and Uterus as They Age?

from Section 2 - Biological Basis of Female Reproductive Aging: What Happens to the Ovaries and the Uterus as they Age?

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 September 2022

Jacquelyn Shaw ,

Jennifer K. Blakemore and

David L. Keefe

Edited by

Dimitrios S. Nikolaou and

David B. Seifer

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Dimitrios S. Nikolaou: Affiliation:
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London
David B. Seifer: Affiliation:
Yale Reproductive Medicine, New Haven, CT

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Summary

The loss of oocytes and reduced oocyte quality contribute to age-associated ovarian decline and decreased fertility, which is at odds with the social trend toward delayed family building. Females are born with a finite cohort of germ cells, arrested from mid-gestation, and they progressively lose them throughout their reproductive lifespan, reaching a state of near depletion at menopause. Declining oocyte number, however, is not the sole culprit for age-related infertility. Oocyte competence, the ability to fertilize, develop, implant, and produce a live offspring, deteriorates more or less in concert with declining ovarian reserve. The uterus likely also plays a role, further hindering reproduction later in life, though additional studies are needed.

Keywords

Oocyte competence ovarian ageing meiotic non-disjunction chiasmata formation cohesion defectes telomete attrition reactive ogygene species mitochondria amyloid sirtruins reservatrol

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Type: Chapter
Information: Optimizing the Management of Fertility in Women over 40 , pp. 19 - 26

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009025270.003 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2022

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