Premature menopause. I. Etiology

The premature menopause syndrome has been regarded as one of the organ-specific autoimmune disorders because circulating antibodies to ovarian tissue have been demonstrated. Fifteen women with spontaneous cessation of menses after initial menarche before they were 35 years old were seen between 1975 and 1977. Increased serum levels of gonadotropin and failure of estrogen secretion were documented. Serum from each woman was examined for antibodies to normal ovary. Proteins from ovaries of normal premenopausal women were extracted and iodinated with 125I. The labeled proteins were incubated with sera for 48 hours, after which goat antihuman gamma-globulin was added and allowed to incubate for 72 hours. The precipitate was washed and evaluated for radioactive label. The binding of antibodies increased in the sera of patients with the premature menopause syndrome, compared with the control sera. This suggests that the etiology of premature menopause may be mediated by circulating antibodies to ovarian tissue.