gynecology and obstetrics
Primary Ovarian Insufficiency
Introduction
In primary ovarian insufficiency, ovaries do not regularly release eggs and do not produce enough sex hormones despite high levels of circulating gonadotropins (especially follicle-stimulating hormone [FSH]) in women<40. Diagnosis is by measuring FSH andestradiollevels. Typically, treatment is with combined estrogen/progestogen therapy. In primary ovarian insufficiency, the ovaries stop functioning normally in women who are < 40. This disorder used to be called premature ovarian failure or premature menopause; however, these terms are misleading because women with primary ovarian insufficiency do not always stop menstruating and their ovaries do not always completely stop functioning. Thus, a diagnosis of primary ovarian insufficiency does not always mean that pregnancy is impossible. Also, this disorder does not imply that a woman is aging prematurely; it means only that her ovaries are no longer functioning normally. In primary ovarian insufficiency, the ovaries Stop releasing eggs or release them only intermittently Stop producing the hormonesestrogen,progesterone, andtestosteroneor produce them only intermittently 