some women are genetically programmed for later fertility

Apparently some women are naturally meant to conceive and give birth
later in life. So, if you can't conceive now, depending on your
situation, that doesn't mean you never will be able to. The article I
read about it is at health.dailynewscentral.com. Here's the article

Some Women Are Genetically Programmed for Later Fertility
Contributed by Lisa Olen| 21 June, 2005 16:46 GMT

genetic profile fertility over
'These women appear to differ from the normal population due to a
unique genetic predisposition that protects them from the DNA damage
and cellular aging that helps age the ovary. What we do not yet know is
whether this reproductive success is linked with potential longevity.'
Spontaneous conception occurs in women over 45 who have a certain
genetic profile, an Israeli scientist told the 21st annual conference
of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today.

Dr. Neri Laufer of the Haddassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, said
that his team's work to identify a specific gene expression profile
linked to later fertility would help understanding of the aging
process, as well as enable the development of better treatments for
infertility in older patients.

Dr. Laufer and colleagues studied 250 women over 45 who conceived
spontaneously. Women generally are not fertile at this time of life,
due to aging of the ovaries, so the scientists thought that there might
be some special factor that was allowing these women to conceive.

Longevity Link?

"Mostly, they had had a large number of children and also a low
miscarriage rate," he said, "and these two factors indicated to us that
they had a natural ability to escape the aging process of the ovaries.
We decided to see if we could find any differences in gene expression
between 8 such women and another 6 women of the same age group who had
finished their families at the age of 30."

Using gene chip technology, the scientists found that blood samples
from the 8 women had a unique pattern of gene expression that did not
exist in the control group. The two main groups of genes expressed in
these women were involved in apoptosis (cell death) and in DNA repair
mechanisms.
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"These women appear to differ from the normal population due to a
unique genetic predisposition that protects them from the DNA damage
and cellular aging that helps age the ovary," said Dr. Laufer.

"What we do not yet know is whether this reproductive success is linked
with potential longevity," he noted.

Delicate Issue

The women were all Ashkenazi Jews, but Dr. Laufer's team does not
believe that the gene profile is unique to this group. "We already have
preliminary results demonstrating similar results from another group",
he said. The team intends to study women from different ethnic -- and,
hence, genetic -- groups and study their genetic fingerprints against
those of the first group.

Identifying women with these genetic fingerprints will enable doctors
to know which women are still fertile at an advanced age and may
determine the counseling they require, said Dr. Laufer.

"However, the question of motherhood over the age of 45 is a delicate
and complex one," he pointed out. "It is very dependent on the
religious and cultural background of the women in question. Our first
study group came from an ultra-religious sector which encourages
natural conception and discourages contraceptive use. These women
would, in any event, continue to challenge their reproductive system
until menopause.

"But for other groups, the ethical implications may be different," Dr.
Laufer said, "and counseling on all the aspects of late motherhood will
play an important part in determining what is best for the individual
woman."

http://health.dailynewscentral.com/c...ew/0001106/31/

isn't this interesting and informative?

-heidi