Novel drug may extend womens fertility by 6 years

New York Feb 23 (IANS) Researchers have identified a drug that extends egg viability in worms even when taken midway through the fertile window which could potentially extend a woman s fertility by three to six years.

"One of the most important characteristics of ageing is the loss of reproductive ability in mid-adulthood " said Coleen Murphy Professor at the Princeton University in the US.

"As early as the mid-30s women start to experience declines in fertility increased rates of miscarriage and maternal age-related birth defects. All of these problems are thought to be caused by declining egg quality rather than a lack of eggs " Murphy added.

The team used a microscopic worm Caenorhabditis elegans (C.elegans) as they share many of the genes as humans including longevity genes.

They found that a group of proteins called Cathepsin B proteases "downregulate" or lead to lower-quality oocytes (unfertilised eggs) as one ages.

In the study published in the journal Current Biology when the team administered the Cathepsin B inhibitor halfway through the worms reproductive period they found that even a late administration of the drug could extend the worms egg quality.

Another experiment that knocked out the cathepsin B genes entirely succeeded in extending worms fertility by about 10 per cent.

If applied to humans Nicole Templeman from the varsity said "It could be a three- to six-year extension of your reproductive period".

Reproductive decline is a hallmark of ageing but despite its prevalence interventions to slow the loss of reproductive capacity are lacking researchers said.

However the cathepsin B inhibitor is nowhere near ready for testing in humans Murphy said yet it could one day do something mid-reproduction to improve the rest of reproduction.

--IANS
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