What is Antimullerian hormone or AMH?
Is a hormone that occurs naturally in the ovarian follicles in women and controls the menstrual cycle.
Its production controls the growth of the follicles and the maturation of the ovum in each menstrual cycle. The different concentrations of this hormone control the expenditure of ovules and therefore the reserve of fertile ovules that remain in the woman.
How much important is this hormone?
In assisted reproduction treatments it is one of the first parameters used to find out the fertile age of the woman, this means the available number of ovules woman has at a certain age and if these are valid for fertilization.
Measurement of Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) concentrations is mainly used for fertility studies in women.
Concentrations of this hormone decrease with age, leading to ovarian aging and thus the end of a woman’s fertile stage.
Therefore, the levels of this hormone can be used to predict the success rate of these treatments. In addition, these levels practically do not vary throughout the menstrual cycle so they can be measured at any moment during this cycle.
Antimullerian Hormone studies also serve to predict the remaining fertile life in a woman, that is, the time she still has to be a mother and, based on this, be able to plan fertility treatments.
Low antimullerian hormone. Do some medications affect fertility?
It´s true that some drugs, such as used for cancer chemotherapy or hormonal contraceptives, could cause variations in blood levels of Anti-Mullerian Hormone, but in most cases normal levels are reestablished at the end of treatment, not affecting the fertility of the woman.
In addition, Antimullerian Hormone is also useful clinically to determine ovarian damage that may have caused very aggressive treatments, such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
Does this hormone have any more function?
Antimullerian Hormone is also responsible for the correct development of the embryo’s sexual organs during pregnancy. Its secretion during this period, at different concentrations, will determine the development of the female or male characteristics of the baby.
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Posted by Gda: Celia Ortiz (Farmacia Bulevar del Pla – Alicante)
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