To the menopause, hormonal upheavals are often accompanied by symptoms that are difficult to live with. Weight gain, hot flashesinsomnia osteoporosis, emotional turmoil… The effects of menopause can become very disabling for women. This is why researchers at the Wake Forest Institute in North Carolina (United States) have studied the issue of artificial ovaries as a treatment avenue. Their results appeared in Nature Communications.
The researchers worked with 344 rats. They first took two types of cells, called granulosa and theca cells, from 21-day-old immature spleens. These cells have been cultured in the laboratory and various methods have been used to form functional three-dimensional tissues. These artificial ovaries were then implanted in mature rats aged 3 months.
Safer treatment
After a week, estrogen, progesterone and two other natural hormones not found in hormonal treatments current substitutes, began to be produced. Scientists have observed very good results in preventing weight gain and improving bone health. This technique could make it possible to personalize, for each woman, the quantities of hormones delivered, making this treatment safer than current ones.
Clinical trials on women are not yet planned. Several questions remain to be resolved, such as the origin of the cells necessary for the conception of these artificial ovaries. The study mentions, for example, the possibility of removing ovarian tissue from voluntary donors.
Read also :
Menopause: is it normal for sleep to change?
Gentle anti-hot flash solutions
