Menopause: destined to disappear in 20 years?
Menopause is by definition the end of a woman’s childbearing age. On average it starts around age 45, but let’s say a normal range can be between 40 and 50.
The age of menopause has more or less remained stable over the centuries, even in the days of the Roman Empire the average age of a woman entering menopause was around 45.
So nothing has changed.
Now the new research conducted by an uncommon mind, the scientist Aubrey de Gray , envisages different scenarios. Biochemist, computer scientist and much more, the good de Gray is the head of the SENS (Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence) project, which aims to develop therapy to cure aging.
It is said to cure precisely because aging is considered a pathology, caused by the accumulation of waste in our body, which in the long run no longer allows the correct functioning of organs and systems. And if it is a disease then it is natural to think of a cure or a therapy to limit the symptoms. Menopause fits into this mechanism and, again according to the scientist, could be eliminated within 20 years when the aging process can be stopped and/or reversed.
This can be achieved thanks to stem cells and regenerative therapies which will make it possible to eliminate age limits on conception. In short, the same techniques that are applied to other organs can also be extended to the female reproductive sphere.
According to de Gray there are several viable and feasible paths: how to rejuvenate the ovary through stimulation with stem cells, or create a new ovary through tissue engineering . Apparently this is not science fiction but future prospects that can be achieved by medicine.
Not everyone agrees with his theory (moreover highly financed), other luminaries prefer to take different and perhaps simpler paths
Like Evelyn Telfer, reproductive biologist at the University of Edinburgh, who is mainly dealing with menopause and in particular with premature menopause (defined as when it occurs before the age of 40).
According to the latest theories, the ovary retains a reservoir of untapped primordial follicles even during menopause and these follicles can be used to extend the limits of female fertility.
There are studies done on primordial follicles taken from young women undergoing chemotherapy who wanted to preserve their fertility, which have shown that these follicles can be matured in vitro
Some also hypothesize the presence of a more immature stage of the primordial follicles in the ovaries, which would promise an unlimited supply of oocytes.
Kathryn Barlow is an OB/GYN doctor, which is the medical specialty that deals with the care of women's reproductive health, including pregnancy and childbirth.
Obstetricians provide care to women during pregnancy, labor, and delivery, while gynecologists focus on the health of the female reproductive system, including the ovaries, uterus, vagina, and breasts. OB/GYN doctors are trained to provide medical and surgical care for a wide range of conditions related to women's reproductive health.