Due to copyright issues, an electronic copy of the thesis must be ordered from the faculty. For the faculty to have time to process the order, the order must be received by the faculty at the latest 2 days before the public defence. Orders received later than 2 days before the defence will not be processed. After the public defence, please address any inquiries regarding the thesis to the candidate.
Trial Lecture – time and place
See Trial Lecture.
Adjudication committee
- First opponent: Professor Matts Olovsson, Uppsala University, Sweden,
- Second opponent: Professor Ulrik Schiøler Kesmodel, Aalborg University Hospital, Denmark,
- Third member and chair of the evaluation committee: Professor Kristina Lindemann, University of Oslo
Chair of the Defence
Associate Professor Hely Katariina Laine, University of Oslo
Principal Supervisor
Research Scientist, PhD Gareth Greggains, Oslo University Hospital
Summary
Age and the number of ovarian follicles are the most influential factors for fertility and success in treatment for infertility. Ovarian follicle number decline begins in foetal life and continues until there is a near exhaustion of follicles at menopause. The progressive depletion of ovarian reserve and diminishing response to gonadotropin stimulation are considered to be hallmarks of female reproductive ageing. Unilateral oophorectomy (UO, removal of an ovary) might therefore be assumed to result in an age-related decline of ovarian response.
The central aim of this doctoral thesis is to provide insight into the biological and clinical factors that affect women undergoing UO, which can lead to clear reproductive recommendations for this patient group. The goal of this work is to determine to what extent IVF (in vitro fertilisation) treatment outcome and embryo quality is altered in women after UO, as well as how surgical loss of one ovary has an impact on later reproductive life. Additionally, the study investigates if female reproductive decline is affected by chronological age or the size of follicle pool.
Based on our findings we can conclude that UO reduces ovarian response during IVF treatment but has a limited effect on reproductive ageing. Additionally, women undergoing UO may be reassured that the effect on age of menopause is limited, and despite fewer eggs being harvested, no effect on their quality was observed. Therefore, we would recommend clinicians consider that the primary challenge facing women with one ovary is the total number of recruitable follicles available, rather than the quality of the remaining reserve. Hormone dose during infertility treatment should be increased in order to recruit more follicles to growth, and women should be counselled that they may require additional treatment cycles as compared to those with two ovaries.
Additional information
Contact the research support staff.