Active clinical trials for "Menopause, Premature"

Women who enter menopause early are at a greater risk for developing cardiovascular disease later in life as compared to women with normal onset of menopause. This increased risk may be due to a prolonged length of time with decreased hormone levels post-menopause; however, this health risk remains understudied. The current study plan to study why women with early menopause are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease by evaluating their sympathetic nervous system and heart-blood vessel function. In addition, there is lack of promising treatment plans for cardiovascular disease in post-menopausal women. Therefore, the current study will also test the impact of dietary nitrate on post-menopausal women to determine if it might serve as a potential treatment to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease in older women.

The investigators intend to establish feasibility/acceptability of a pilot randomized trial comparing hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and combined oral contraceptives (COCs) in women with premature ovarian insufficiency to estimate differences in quality of life (QOL) and serum hormone assays and markers of bone turnover/cardiovascular risk. At baseline, QOL survey will be administered and serum testing performed. Patients then randomized to HRT or COCs. Repeat testing will be performed after 3 and 6 months.

This study will determine whether giving estrogen replacement therapy through an estradiol patch can improve ovulation rates in women with spontaneous premature ovarian failure. The ovaries are glands in women that produce female hormones and normally release an egg once a month. In women with spontaneous premature ovarian failure, the ovaries stop working too soon. Women with this disorder have abnormally high levels of leuteinizing hormone (LH) in their blood, which impedes normal ovulation. In some women, estrogen replacement can suppress LH levels to the normal range. Women between 18 and 40 years of age with premature ovarian failure may be eligible for this 4-month study. Participants receive either standard hormone replacement therapy, consisting of an estradiol patch and progestin tablets, or placebo. The placebo group receives patches and tablets that look the same as those for the group with active treatment but they contain no hormone. All participants wear the patch every day and take the tablets the first 12 days of each month. In addition to taking the study drug, participants have blood drawn once a week for the 16 weeks of the study. At the end of the trial, women who were in the placebo group are offered the opportunity to receive the estrogen patch and progestin therapy for another 16 weeks and continue the blood tests to determine if they ovulate on this treatment.

This purpose of this study is to gain information about normal ovarian function that will be useful in developing a test for early detection of ovarian failure. The ovaries produce female hormones, such as estrogen, that are important in maintaining a woman's health. When the ovaries do not work properly, problems can develop. Unfortunately, there is no test that can detect ovarian failure early in its course. By the time premature ovarian failure is diagnosed in young women, two-thirds have already developed osteopenia (loss of some bone mass) and nearly one in ten have osteoporosis, a greater loss of bone mineral density that weakens bones and increases the risk of fractures. Women with normal ovarian function ages 18 to 55 and postmenopausal women 60 years of age or older may be eligible for this study. Candidates will be screened with a medical history, physical examination, blood tests and vaginal ultrasound examination. For the ultrasound study, a probe that emits sound waves is inserted into the vagina, and the sound waves are converted to form images of the ovaries. The procedure is done with an empty bladder and takes about 10 minutes. After this screening visit (Visit 1), those enrolled in the study will return to the NIH Clinical Center for the following additional procedures: Visit 2-Will be scheduled between days 3 and 5 of the menstrual cycle (for women who are still menstruating). Participants will have blood tests to measure hormone levels and to check for pregnancy, and will have another transvaginal ultrasound examination. They will then receive an injection of a synthetic form of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), a hormone the body makes normally. Visits 3 and 4-Will be scheduled 24 and 36 hours after the FSH injection given during Visit 2 for collection of blood samples. Visit 5-Will be scheduled 48 hours after the FSH injection for additional blood sampling and a final transvaginal ultrasound examination.

DHEA supplementation has been used in women with infertility and diminished ovarian reserve. There is a small report in 5 women with POF that benefited from the use of DHEA over several months. The investigators aim to evaluate further the use of DHEA in women with Premature ovarian failure (POF).

The study will describe the effectiveness of ovarian stimulation in correlation with female infertility causes in a Lebanese population: a comparative study using 5 protocols of ovulation induction (treatment with "A" gonadotropins alone, "B" short GnRH agonist, "C" multiple-dose GnRH antagonist, "D" long GnRH agonist and "E" combined protocol of GnRH antagonist and agonist) and the outcomes of ICSI. This comparative study will help clinicians to select the relevant protocol of ovarian stimulation related to the female infertility disorders.

Specific Aim 1: To compare effects of Vitamin D supplementation to usual care on symptoms in women transitioning to early postmenopause and determine the associated effect size in order to conduct a power analysis for a future RCT. Hypothesis: Vitamin D insufficient women in early postmenopause who are randomized to supplementation, titrated to achieve sufficiency for 2 months, will have fewer symptoms including hot flashes, mood, and musculoskeletal complaints than women randomized to usual care. Specific Aim 2: To compare effects of Vitamin D supplementation to usual care on body composition (by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry [DXA] and by weight, BMI, waist to hip ratio) in overweight/obese women transitioning to early postmenopause and determine the associated effect size for a power analysis for a future RCT. Hypothesis: Vitamin D insufficient women in the menopausal transition randomized to supplementation, titrated to achieve sufficiency for 9 months, will improve DXA body composition (less total body and abdominal fat), compared to women in usual care, who will have increased body weight, including total and abdominal fat. Specific Aim 3: To estimate the proportion of overweight/obese middle-aged women who achieve sufficiency by 1 month versus 2 or more months and to determine if achieving sufficiency by 1 month varies by baseline characteristics. Hypothesis: About 80% of participants will achieve sufficient Vitamin D level by 1 month. Those who need more than 1 month for sufficiency will have lower baseline levels and higher initial BMI.

The purpose of this study is to assess the bioequivalence and food effect for a new Premarin formulation compared with a Premarin reference tablet in Japanese healthy postmenopausal women.

This project will investigate the safety and effectiveness of human amniotic epithelial cells in primary ovarian insufficiency patients and provide a new cell therapy against infertility.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether Adipose Derived Stem Cells are effective in the treatment of Premature Ovarian Failure (POF). Stem cell transplantation has been reported to rescue ovarian function in a pre-clinical mouse model of chemotherapy-induced POF; however, maintaining the survival of transplanted cells in human ovarian tissues to enable the POF patients regain ovary function over the long-term and achieving a successful pregnancy remain a troublesome issue. In this study the investigators are aiming to determine whether the CD29+/CD44+ human Adipose Derived Stem Cells could later enable ovaries produce mature oocytes.