Test tells women how many child-bearing years lie ahead

By JEREMY LAURANCE

LONDON - Women will be able to learn how late they can put off having a family by using a test that can predict the length of their reproductive life.

The test can reveal in advance the timing of the woman's menopause, allowing her to plan her career and family to fit in with her biological clock, researchers said.

The discovery has significant social and medical implications for women anxious to know how long they can put off motherhood without leaving it too late.

Initially, however, it is likely to be of greatest use to women whose long-term fertility has been affected by diseases such as cancer or genetic factors.

Hamish Wallace, a consultant at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh, who led the research, said: "In essence, it means we now have the potential to be able to tell a woman how fast her biological clock is ticking and how much time she has before it will run down."

The test is conducted using an ultrasound probe to measure the size of the ovaries.

Each woman is born with a fixed pool of immature eggs which are released each month from puberty. By the age of 37 there are on average only 25,000 eggs left and the decline accelerates. When the supply is down to 1000 - too few to generate a mature egg capable of being fertilised - the menopause begins marking the end of the woman's reproductive life.

Normally menopause occurs about the age of 50 but it can start at any time from the early 40s to the late 50s.

Studies have already shown that a woman's ovaries shrink as they age and this is linked to the declining number of immature eggs they contain. By measuring the size of a woman's ovaries and comparing them with what would be expected for a woman of her age, researchers were able to predict when menopause would occur.

The researchers, whose study is published in Human Reproduction, developed their technique while researching the likely menopause age of young women who have had cancer.

The calculations involve complex mathematical modelling carried out by a computer expert at the University of St Andrews, Thomas Kelsey.

"Ultrasound is an ideal method, because it is safe, non-destructive and relatively cheap," he said.

"The technology is readily available all over the Western world. It is possible this service can be made available at GP surgeries or at fertility clinics, and would be a likely first step in the family planning scenario."

- INDEPENDENT