Abstract

*Dr. Hira Naeem, Dr. Maira Altaf and Dr. Zuhaib Khalid Sial

ABSTRACT

The Research question: Whether mitochondrial dysfunction might be responsible for age-related decline in female fertility. Study design: Review of the literature on decline in fertility with advanced female age, and relation between ageing and mitochondrial dysfunction was performed in 2000 when the idea was conceived. This study was conducted in Services hospital, Lahore between 2017-2018. Findings: In humans, the fertility in female declines slowly from the age of 30 years Embryo implanting ability and survival start declining gradually after 30 years of age, but by more than two thirds after 40 years and in younger women with reduced ovarian reserve. While decline in the frequency of intercourse is one of the reasons, reduction in the quality of either the embryos arising from ageing oocytes due to higher incidence of oocyte aneuploidy or the older uterus have been implicated as the probable causes. Controversy still exists about which one of these is the main cause or whether both of them play a role together. While the suboptimal quality of the ageing oocytes and/or older uterus may be responsible for the age-related decline in female fertility, it is not clear why the functional quality of the uterus or the oocytes declines with increasing age. Recent researches have indicated the role of oxygen radical damage to the mitochondria in the somatic cells leading to mitochondrial dysfunction as the possible cause of the ageing process. In this article, a possible role of age-related mitochondrial dysfunction in the ageing oocytes and/or the uterus has been proposed as the cause of age-related decline in female fertility. Implications: Research in to this area would be useful to explore the possibility. If decline in fertility with advanced female age is found to be associated with mitochondrial dysfunction preventive measures that might retard the process of mitochondrial dysfunction associated with ageing could be taken in advance. N. B. The hypothesis was originally conceived and the article was written by the author in 2000 and has been included here as it was written in 2000.