Ovulation Disorders

Ovulation disorders, infrequent or absent ovulation (anovulation), typically result in infrequent periods (oligomenorrhea). The results are

  • fewer opportunities to conceive
  • difficulty detecting a woman's fertile periods
  • eggs not breaking through the follicle
  • eggs being released off-sync with other factors crucial to fertilization or implantation

Sometypical causes of ovulation disorders include:

  • hypothalamus dysfunction
  • hyperprolactinemia
  • polycystic ovarian syndrome
  • luteal phase defect
  • tumors of the pituitary or adrenal glands or ovaries

Less typical causes of ovulation disorder are:

  • Primary ovarian failure (POF)
  • Resistant ovary syndrome
  • Autoimmune oophoritis

Diagnosis

In general, assessment for ovulation disorders may begin with the following lab tests:

  • serum FSH
  • serum LH
  • serum prolactin
  • serum testosterone
  • free androgen index
and may also include:
  • CAT scan or MRI scan of pituitary and hypothalamus
  • endometrial biopsy
  • ovarian biopsy
  • more specific antibody tests (antithyroid, adrenal, islet-cell, gastric parietal cell)

Treatment

Treatments vary with the conclusion after diagnostic testing. In general, the treatments may include:

  • use of ovulation-inducing fertility medications
  • use of other drugs more specific to the diagnosed cause
  • nutritional adjustment
  • stress reduction
  • surgery (in the case of tumors)

Only primary ovarian failure, and the related conditions of resistant ovary syndrome and autoimmune oophoritis, are considered untreatable in regards to fertility.