A Case Series on Natural Conceptions Resulting in Ongoing Pregnancies in Menopausal and Prematurely Menopausal Women Following Platelet-Rich Plasma Treatment
Konstantinos Pantos, Mara Simopoulou, Anna Rapani
Petroula Tsioulou, Athanasios Pappas, Michael Koutsilieris, Konstantinos Sfakianoudis, Nikolaos Nitsos , Agni Pantou, Stephen Syrkos
Author affiliations (4)
Centre for Human Reproduction, Genesis Athens Clinic, 14-16, Papanikoli, 15232 Athens, Greece
Department of Physiology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, GreeceROR
Since the introduction of autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in medical practice, various studies have documented that implementing PRP can enhance healing and the anti-aging process, employing angiogenesis regeneration due to the multiple growth factors and cytokines involved. Numerous reports have shown promising results with the use of PRP in ovarian treatment, regarding ovarian regeneration and reactivation of folliculogenesis. This case series reports on two women with premature ovarian failure (POF) aged 40 and 27 years, respectively, and one menopausal woman aged 46 years. All patients presented with lack of menstrual cycle for over a year. The women reported previous failed in vitro fertilization (IVF) attempts, and, after rejecting the option of oocyte donation, they opted for the approach of autologous ovarian PRP treatment. Following PRP treatment, the three patients were invited to conceive naturally. The primary outcome was the restoration of menstruation following autologous ovarian PRP treatment, as well as an improvement in hormonal profile, a decrease in follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels, and a concurrent increase in anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels. Further to that, our patients achieved pregnancy through natural conception within 2-6 months following PRP treatment, resulting in currently ongoing complication-free clinical pregnancies - a first report in the literature for menopausal and POF patients. Implementation of PRP should be further investigated through randomized controlled trials (RCTs), as it may hold the key to successful treatment for a certain cohort of patients exploring reproductive treatment options following menopause.
PMID 31271054 31271054 DOI 10.1177/0963689719859539 10.1177/0963689719859539
Cite this article
Pantos, K., Simopoulou, M., Pantou, A., Rapani, A., Tsioulou, P., Nitsos, N., Syrkos, S., Pappas, A., Koutsilieris, M., & Sfakianoudis, K. (2019). A Case Series on Natural Conceptions Resulting in Ongoing Pregnancies in Menopausal and Prematurely Menopausal Women Following Platelet-Rich Plasma Treatment. Cell transplantation, 28(9-10), 1333-1340. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963689719859539
Pantos K, Simopoulou M, Pantou A, Rapani A, Tsioulou P, Nitsos N, et al. A Case Series on Natural Conceptions Resulting in Ongoing Pregnancies in Menopausal and Prematurely Menopausal Women Following Platelet-Rich Plasma Treatment. Cell Transplant. 2019;28(9-10):1333-1340. doi:10.1177/0963689719859539
Pantos, Konstantinos, et al. "A Case Series on Natural Conceptions Resulting in Ongoing Pregnancies in Menopausal and Prematurely Menopausal Women Following Platelet-Rich Plasma Treatment." Cell transplantation, vol. 28, no. 9-10, 2019, pp. 1333-1340.
Ovarian rejuvenation is an innovative procedure intended to restore ovarian fertility and development during the climacteric and has been used to enhance fertility in women with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI). This retrospective study was conducted to determine the effects of an intraovarian platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection on ovarian stimulation outcomes in women referred to an in vitro fertilisation centre. This was a retrospective observational study, and the inclusion criteria included women of reproductive age with at least one ovary with a history of infertility, hormonal abnormalities, an absence of a menstrual cycle, and premature ovarian failure. During the patient's first consultation, a detailed reproductive history was recorded, a pelvic scan for ovarian size was conducted, and hormonal analysis for follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), estradiol (E2), and luteinizing hormone (LH) was conducted. In the study, 469 women with a history of infertility, hormonal abnormalities, an absence of a menstrual cycle, and premature ovarian failure had hormonal levels recorded up to four months after treatment, and these were included in the study. The volume of peripheral blood required to prepare 6-8 mL of PRP for administration was 40-60 mL. The initial concentration of platelets in the peripheral blood sample was about 25000/µL, whereas the prepared PRP had a concentration of 900.000/µL. A volume of approximately 2-4 mL per ovary, depending on the ovarian volume, was used for the intraovarian injection. PRP intervention had significant effects on FSH concentration at the α = 0.05 level. Statistically significant increases in normal values of FSH and E2were observed for months three and four after the PRP intervention for all age groups. The results of our observational study revealed that a PRP intraovarian injection is associated with improved ovarian tissue and function. Future randomised clinical trials are needed to shed light on the use of PRP in ovarian rejuvenation before offering it routinely in clinical practice.
Perimenopause/MenopauseReproductive Endocrinology
Open Access
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