英國研究人員日前報告說,，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)了與更年期到來時間相關的基因，有望幫助女性預測生育年齡,，避免出現(xiàn)由于更年期過早出現(xiàn)而導致的不育,。
英國?？巳卮髮W等機構研究人員在新一期《人類分子遺傳學》雜志上報告說,，他們對2000名過早出現(xiàn)更年期,，即45歲以前就絕經(jīng)的婦女進行了基因分析，結果發(fā)現(xiàn)了4個與更年期過早出現(xiàn)有關的基因,。其中,，每個基因都會增加更年期過早到來的風險，如果攜帶全部4個基因，過早出現(xiàn)更年期的風險將大幅上升,。
領導研究的安娜·默里說,，通常婦女從絕經(jīng)前10年開始生育能力就會逐漸下降，而英國婦女中過早出現(xiàn)更年期的比例約為5%,，這部分女性如果要孩子的計劃太晚,，到時可能就無法生育。研究人員希望能在本次成果基礎上研發(fā)出一種檢測技術,，幫助女性更早預知自己生育年齡的期限。
據(jù)介紹,，現(xiàn)在有一些通過檢查激素變化來預測更年期的技術,，但只能在絕經(jīng)前兩三年進行預測，那時女性可能已快要失去生育能力,。研究人員表示,，如果能從基因層面入手進行預測，將有望將預測的時間大大提前,，并提高預測的準確性,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦英文摘要：
Hum.Mol.Genet.(2010) doi:10.1093/hmg/ddq417
Common genetic variants are significant risk factors for early menopause: results from the Breakthrough Generations Study
Anna Murray1,*, Claire E. Bennett1, John R.B. Perry1, Michael N. Weedon1, ReproGen Consortium, Patricia A. Jacobs2, Danielle H. Morris3, Nicholas Orr4, Minouk J. Schoemaker3, Michael Jones3, Alan Ashworth4 and Anthony J. Swerdlow3
1Peninsula Medical School, University of Exeter, St Lukes, ExeterEX1 2LU, UK,
2Wessex Regional Genetics, Salisbury District Hospital, SalisburySP2 8BJ, UK,
3Section of Epidemiology, The Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton, SurreySM2 5NG, UK and
4Breakthrough Research Centre, The Institute of Cancer Research, 237 Fulham Road, LondonSW3 6JB, UK
Women become infertile approximately 10 years before menopause, and as more women delay childbirth into their 30s, the number of women who experience infertility is likely to increase. Tests that predict the timing of menopause would allow women to make informed reproductive decisions. Current predictors are only effective just prior to menopause, and there are no long-range indicators. Age at menopause and early menopause (EM) are highly heritable, suggesting a genetic aetiology. Recent genome-wide scans have identified four loci associated with variation in the age of normal menopause (40–60 years). We aimed to determine whether theses loci are also risk factors for EM. We tested the four menopause-associated genetic variants in a cohort of approximately 2000 women with menopause ≤45 years from the Breakthrough Generations Study (BGS). All four variants significantly increased the odds of having EM. Comparing the 4.5% of individuals with the lowest number of risk alleles (two or three) with the 3.0% with the highest number (eight risk alleles), the odds ratio was 4.1 (95% CI 2.4–7.1, P = 4.0 × 10?7). In combination, the four variants discriminated EM cases with a receiver operator characteristic area under the curve of 0.6. Four common genetic variants identified by genome-wide association studies, had a significant impact on the odds of having EM in an independent cohort from the BGS. The discriminative power is still limited, but as more variants are discovered they may be useful for predicting reproductive lifespan.
