Chromosome studies and fertility treatment in women with ovarian failure.

In vitro fertilization and embryo transfer or gamete (or zygote) intra-Fallopian transfer after ovum donation were performed in 16 patients with primary or secondary amenorrhea, associated with chromosome abnormalities. The patients showed the wide range of (mostly X) chromosome abnormalities characteristic for women with primary or premature ovarian failure. Four of these patients became pregnant and three of them have delivered healthy infants with a normal karyotype. This pregnancy rate is far superior to the accepted fertility figure in these patients. When these results were compared with the fertility treatment results of three other groups of women with absent ovarian function (1. ovarian dysgenesis; 2. surgical castration; 3. premature menopause) but with a normal 46,XX karyotype, no difference in treatment efficiency could be detected. These results offer a promising approach for the treatment of infertility in agonadal patients with chromosome aberrations.