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Ovulation in a postmenopausal woman
Aimee Seungdamrong1, Gerson Weiss
1Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Women's Health, New Jersey Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07101, USA. seungdai@umdnj.edu
Objective:
To report the first documented case of ovulation in a postmenopausal woman.
Design:
Case study.
Setting:
University reproductive endocrinology and infertility clinic.
Patient(S):
A 57-year-old woman, who had been postmenopausal for 3 years and presented with breast tenderness and was found to have laboratory and ultrasound evidence of ovulation.
Intervention(S):
Laboratory evaluation and transvaginal ultrasound.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Ovulation in a postmenopausal woman.
Result(S):
Laboratory evaluations revealed estrogen and progesterone consistent with an ovulatory pattern. Ultrasound revealed a thickened endometrium and a corpus luteum, both of which resolved after menses.
Conclusion(S):
This is the first report of ovulation in a postmenopausal woman. This observation opens the door to new questions about the sensitivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis in menopause as well as about ovarian senescence.
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