Menopause ‘halted for 20 years’

Pioneering surgery puts biological clock on hold – but experts warn of health risks

‘Preventing real medical problems’

WOMEN will be able to delay the menopause by up to 20 years through a revolutionary new procedure, a UK fertility clinic claims.

In a world first doctors in Birmingham have started performing the surgery, which works by tricking a woman’s biological clock into thinking she is much younger, on healthy patients.

The team, led by a fertility expert who helped develop IVF, says it will allow women to have children at an older age and put off the symptoms of the menopause.

However, others warned about the safety of the technique last night, saying it carried the risk of making a patient infertile. IVF pioneer Lord Winston said it was playing on people’s fears and he would be ‘horrified’ if one of his relatives went through it.

The procedure involves removing a small piece of the ovary and freezing it at -150C. It is then stored until a woman starts to reach the menopause, when it is thawed and transplanted back into the body. This kick-starts natural hormones which delay the menopause and can preserve fertility as the tissue contains thousands of eggs.

One of the surgeons offering the operation claims its impact could be ‘bigger than IVF’.

So far nine women aged 22 to 36 have had the 30-minute procedure at the ProFaM clinic – which stands for Protecting Fertility Menopause. Costing between £7,000 and £11,000, it is also being promoted as an alternative to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in alleviating symptoms of the menopause such as hot flushes, a loss of sex drive and thinning bones.

Professor Simon Fishel, an IVF pioneer who is the clinic’s chief executive, said: ‘A woman does not know what her future is going to hold regarding her fertility.

‘If she has tissue stored she has a double benefit – storing her hormones for the menopause period if of use to her, and storing thousands of eggs if she finds herself in the position of needing them.

‘Women are living longer than at any time in human history, and it’s quite likely that many will be in the menopause for longer than in their fertile period.

‘We know that women the world over suffer from menopausal issues such as increased risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, depression to name a few.

‘It’s no surprise that drug therapy like HRT is heavily prescribed – but it’s not well tolerated by everyone.

‘ProFaM means normal premenopausal hormones continue, using the natural hormones, produced in the body’s usual, rhythmical pattern.’ Professor Fishel said he was going to offer the treatment to his own daughter for a 30th birthday present.

The procedure will be offered to patients up to the age of 40 for women who want to delay the menopause only, and up to the age of 35 for women who also want to preserve their fertility.

Those who want only to delay the onset of the menopause but not boost fertility would have the ovarian tissue grafted into an alternative part of the body such as the armpit, where it would continue to generate hormones but without producing eggs.

How long its effects last for depends on when the tissue is taken, so while that from a 25-yearold might delay the menopause for 20 years, that from a 40-year-old might postpone it for only five.

A video produced for ProFaM advertising the surgery promises women it can help them ‘put your biological clock on hold’.

Ovarian tissue freezing has been used on cancer patients for decand ades as a way of preserving their fertility before they undergo chemotherapy or radiotherapy, which can destroy the ovaries.

One of the other doctors involved in the venture, Professor Arri Coo-marasamy, said he thought the treatment had the potential to be ‘bigger than IVF’.

He added: ‘This is preventing real medical problems. I do think this would be as big as IVF or even bigger. It is not just giving a woman a better chance of pregnancy later in life, but also tackling her health and quality of life.’

But others warned the technique was playing on people’s fears of infertility and said removing tissue could damage a healthy ovary.

Lord Winston said: ‘It may delay the menopause, but it may make them infertile. It’s a treatment I don’t think you’d want to do except if there’s a serious risk from radiation therapy or cancer therapy.

‘The trouble really is that couples are so desperate to do anything to have children, and as people are leaving childbirth for very long times, people get very anxious.

‘There is a market for people who are the worried well. I’d be horrified if a relative of mine went through this process. It might make them infertile.’

Richard Anderson, professor of clinical reproductive sciences at the University of Edinburgh, said more research was needed before it was considered a safe option.

‘There are several hundred women worldwide who have had ovarian tissue replaced, with almost all showing hormonal activity,’ he added. ‘So it is “old news” that ovarian transplants can provide hormone replacement, but what is less clear is whether this is a safe and effective way of doing so.’