Research suggests anti-inflammatory drugs can help old women get pregnant

One of the widely observed effects of aging is that women struggle to conceive over the age of 40, and this has largely been attributed to the diminishing quality of the egg.

But scientists in the US have recently discovered that inflammation in the ovaries and fibrosis are the real factors coming in the way of motherhood for older women.

This has led to the hope that anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen are capable of helping older women become pregnant, and is the first step for treating ovarian environment to improve the reproductive function.

The study, conducted on ovarian tissues from young mice equivalent to women in their 20s and older mice equivalent to women over 40, showed that age has little effect on quality of eggs, but it does damage the environment they are bred in.

Dr Francesca Duncan, executive director of the Center for Reproductive Science atNorthwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine told The Telegraph that, “There is no way this environment won’t impact the eggs growing in it, and it very likely contributes to their decrease in quality.”

The study has established that firbrosis and inflammation are significant aspects of aging of the ovary, and suggests usage of anti-inflammatory or anti-fibrotic drugs to delay the effects of aging on the reproductive system.

Dr Duncan added that, “People tend to overlook that the egg is growing in a complex environment, and no one has taken a deep look at what is happening to that environment with age.”