By FRANCESCA MOLD health reporter
Auckland researchers have discovered a mutant gene they believe is linked to premature menopause - a condition which robs young women of their ability to have children.
After three years of intensive research, a University of Auckland team based at National Women's Hospital has found that the gene inhibin alpha is mutated in some women who have gone through premature menopause.
The researchers collected medical histories and DNA from 43 women with the condition and found 7 per cent had the mutated gene, compared to 0.7 per cent in a control group.
The women with the mutated gene were all aged under 24.
If the discovery is proven accurate, the mutated gene could be responsible for thousands of premature menopause cases in women aged under 25.
The find, revealed yesterday in the Human Reproduction journal, is an important clue in the search for causes and a cure for the disorder, which strikes women as young as 13.
Researcher Dr Andrew Shelling told the Herald that other factors would have contributed to the condition, but the team had at least found one component.
"It has been extremely rewarding - especially the amount of close contact we've had with all the women involved."
Dr Shelling said the findings were preliminary and needed to be substantiated by testing women in other parts of the world.
Once the discovery was verified, it could lead to a genetic test for women with a family history of premature menopause.
This would help to give women the option of planning their families before menopause set in.
At least one in 100 women aged under 40 and one in a thousand under 30 suffer from premature menopause.
Auckland physical education teacher Anne McKay was diagnosed with premature menopause at the age of 34.
She was trying to start a family and had visited her GP for a pregnancy test after missing several periods.
"When I found out, I just thought, 'Oh my God, that's ridiculous.' It was pretty devastating when it finally sank in and when we realised there was nothing they could do."
Mrs McKay, now 41, says she has been one of the incredibly lucky ones. Ten weeks ago, she gave birth to twin daughters Rebecca and Hana after receiving donated eggs that had been fertilised in vitro.
Mrs McKay said she had been thrilled to take part in the research. An important offshoot of it was the setting up of a support group for affected women.
"It's been wonderful to share the stories of what people have been through and know that having a family is not necessarily out of the question. In the past, this has been something women did not want to talk about."
Dr Shelling said the discovery of the mutated gene signalled the beginning rather than the end of research.
He said the team hoped other women who had been through premature menopause would come forward to offer DNA samples.
The researchers also hoped to investigate reproductive disorders such as polycystic ovarian syndrome and ovarian cancer.
Herald Online Health
Gene find offers hope on early menopause
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