oligomenorrhoea, infrequent menstruation
Oligomenorrhea generally refers to infrequent menstruation. More strictly, it is menstrual periods occurring at intervals of greater than 35 days, with only four to nine periods in a year. Also, menstrual periods should have been regularly established previously before the development of infrequent flow and often (but not always) involves irregular intervals. In contrast to "irregular cycles", the interval between one cycle and the next may still be consistent, but can still be regarded as "irregular" compared to the cycle length of a female without oligomenorrhea.
Oligomenorrhea can be a result of prolactinomas (adenomas of the anterior pituitary). It may also be caused by thyrotoxicosis, hormonal changes in perimenopause, Prader–Willi syndrome, and Graves disease. Oligomenorrhea can be also an important symptom manifesting in several medical conditions.
Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are also likely to suffer from oligomenorrhea. PCOS is a condition in which excessive androgens (male sex hormones) are released by the ovaries. Women with PCOS show menstrual irregularities that range from oligomenorrhea and amenorrhea, to very heavy, irregular periods. The condition affects about 6% of premenopausal women and is related to excess androgen production. Eating disorders can also result in oligomenorrhea.
Therapy of oligomenorrhea depends on the cause. In adolescents and women near menopause, oligomenorrhoea usually needs no therapy. For some sports women, changes in training schedules and eating habits can be enough to return the woman to a periodic menstrual cycle. Other women, including those with polycystic ovary syndrome, are treated with hormones.
Associated diseases
Complications
Negligence to treat menstrual bleeding cessation can lead to several complications-especially in PCO patients- that include:
Risk factors
Because women suffering from olligomenhorea are only experiencing a period a few times a year, their body is also ovulating less which affect woman's ability to get pregnant. Oligomenorrhea contributing to chronic anovulation and infertility are the most frequent conditions observed. If ovulation does not take place then of course, pregnancy becomes impossible.
Healthy nutrition and less energetic training plans for female athletes will usually prevent oligomenorrhoea. When oligomenorrhoea is caused by hormonal reasons, however, it is not preventable, but is usually treatable.
Dietary Habits
Changes in food habits can cause inadequate intake of calories, micronutrients, unsaturated fat, phytestrogens and fiber as well as increasing environmental toxins. These factors are speculated not only to influence the present lifestyle, but also to induce gynecologic disorders such as oligomenorrhea.
Sesamum indicum L. (the medicinal herbs) is a well-known medication in the Avicenna traditional medicine to induce menstrual bleeding in women with oligomenorrhea.
Available treatments for this disease are mostly hormonal drugs, such as contraceptive pills to regulate hormone inbalance. Unfortunately, contraceptive pills are not free from side effects. The most common side-effects in women taking the hormonal drugs include headache, mood changes, gastrointestinal disturbances, and breast pain. These drugs are also responsible for more serious adverse effects like breast cancer. Menstruation may be adjusted with a change in hormonal contraception use or progestin.
Surgical therapy
Non-existing.
Treatment procedures of oligomenorrhea depends on its cause. Fertility can be resumed by gonadotropin injections to stimulate follicle maturation and ovulation. If it is not sufficient for spontaneous conception IVF-ICSI should be done
An eating disorder characterized by the maintenance of a body weight below average, fear of gaining weight, and a distorted body image.
A condition in which a woman has an imbalance of female sex hormones. This may lead to changes in the menstrual cycle, cysts in the ovaries, trouble g
Failure of the ovaries to release an oocyte over a period of time generally exceeding 3 months.
The finger like overgrowths attached to the inner wall of the uterus that extend into the uterine cavity which are made of endometrial tissue
Thickening of the lining of the uterus.
The most common benign smooth muscle tumors of the uterus encountered in women of reproductive age.
Condition that occurs due to excessive production of thyroid hormone by the thyroid gland.
Two very fine tubes that transport sperm toward the egg, and allow passage of the fertilized egg back to the uterus for implantation.
The ovum-producing organs of the internal female reproductive system
The uterus is the largest and major organ of the female reproductive tract that is the site of fetal growth and is hormonally responsive
Cells composing an inner layer of the uterine lining.
The innermost layer of uterus forming the uterine lumen where the implantation of an oocyte happens.
A female germ cell involved in reproduction.
A hormone, that provokes the regression of male fetal Müllerian ducts.
A steroid and estrogen sex hormone produced in the ovaries of females.
The primary female sex hormone responsible for the development and regulation of the female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics.
FSH is a hormone secreted by the anterior pituitary gland. It regulates the development, growth, pubertal matur and reproductive functions of the body
The fusion of an ovum with a sperm to initiate the development of a new individual organism.
The very early stage of pregnancy at which the embryo adheres to the wall of the uterus.
The process of the maturation of the female gametes through the meiotic division.
The release of egg(s) from the ovaries.
A condition in which the body either does not produce enough, or does not properly respond to insulin, a hormone produced in the pancreas.
A medical condition of excess body fat that can have a negative effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and other health problems.
A common term for any practice of, or training for, a concrete sport which is in excess of that necessary to effectively participate in the sport.
Eating habits are one of the few factors within our control that impact not only our chances of falling pregnant.
Underweight is a term describing a person whose body weight is considered too low to be healthy
A long-term skin condition characterized by areas of blackheads, whiteheads, pimples, greasy skin, and possibly scarring.
The excessive hairiness on women in those parts of the body where terminal hair normally is absent or minimal, such as a beard or chest hair.
The failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse.
The medical term for infrequent, often light menstrual periods (intervals exceeding 35 days).
Irregular menstruation is a menstrual disorder whose manifestations include irregular cycle lengths as well as metrorrhagia
A term describing a person whose body weight is considered too low to be healthy.
An encyclopedia of medicine in five books compiled by Persian philosopher Avicenna (Ibn Sina) and completed in 1025.
Process by which a woman donates eggs for purposes of assisted reproduction or biomedical research.
A micromanipulative fertilization technique in which a single sperm is injected directly into an egg.
Drugs, which are used as a therapy of menstrual disorders.
The procedure in which a man (sperm donor) provides his sperm for fertility treatment.
A process in which an egg is fertilised by sperm outside the body: in vitro. Own or donated gametes may be used.
