Immune system may help to trigger the menopause

The immune system may play a role in stopping a woman's biological clock.

John Perry at the University of Oxford and colleagues looked at 43 genomic studies of the menopause, covering more than 50,000 women. By comparing the age that menopause began, Perry's team identified 13 regions with possible links to menopause timing. Three of the regions were housed within genes associated with the immune system. Other regions occurred within genes that control gene repair, regulate hormones and trigger inflammation.

It's not yet clear whether the immune system is the main driver of the menopause or merely a backseat player to biological forces such as hormonal fluctuations. "This will become clearer when we have identified more of the genetic basis of menopause onset," says Perry. However, a genetic test to predict when menopause will begin is still a distant prospect.

The link between ovulation and the immune system isn't unexpected: some women with primary ovarian insufficiency, who undergo an unusually early menopause, have an autoimmune disease of the ovaries.

Journal reference: Nature Genetics, DOI: 10.1038/ng.1051

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