Diagnostics and therapeutics for early-onset menopause

Abstract

A method of predicting whether a subject is predisposed to developing early-onset menopause is provided. The method involves genotyping a patient at the IL-1 gene loci.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 09 / 632,657 filed Aug. 4, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,730,476, which is a continuation in part of U.S. Pat. No. 6,268,142, filed Jun. 30, 1999 the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.1. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002] Menopause is defined as the permanent cessation of menstruation caused by failure of ovarian follicular development in the presence of elevated gonadotrophin levels. Comprehensive Gynecology (eds. Mishell et al 1997). A hallmark of menopause is the decrease in ovarian follicular estrogen synthesis, although this is only one aspect of the array of physiological events that accompanies the climacteric. Symptoms accompanying menopause vary from woman to woman, but usually include some component of vasomotor instability or hot flashes, often accompanied by psychological symptoms like mood swings and irritability. The loss of estrogen predisposes to coronary artery disease. Loss o...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention provides a method for identifying a woman who is predisposed to early-onset menopause (EOM) by detecting an EOM associated allele in a nucleic acid sample obtained from the woman. This method can be performed by analyzing the DNA, RNA, or protein products of the allele. The EOM associated allele can be determined using a hybridization reaction, sequencing, or other methods such as immunodetection or biochemical testing. The invention also provides kits for performing the method and biomarkers that can be used to monitor a woman's progress towards and through menopause. The invention also features transgenic non-human animals and their uses in identifying EOM therapeutics and screening test substances. The technical effect of the invention is the ability to identify and treat EOM in women at risk for the condition."

Problems solved by technology

Loss of estrogen further results in loss of overall bone mineral content caused by an increased resorption of bone without a correlative increase in bone formation.

These symptoms represent formidable challenges to the health care system.

In such a patient, hormonal analysis may not yield a diagnosis until after EOM has taken place.

Hormone assays in a younger patient may only be transiently abnormal prior to the onset of permanent ovarian failure.

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