The extension of reproductive lifespan through technological advances has made human females the only mammalian species capable of outliving its natural reproductive potential. At the same time, women have ultimately assumed an equal role with men in virtually every facet of human endeavor. But when it comes to reproduction, this advancement has come at a price. In order to compete in the workplace with men, women often have to put their childbearing aspirations on the backburner, only to find that by the time they decide to have a family, their eggs (oocytes) have been compromised in terms of both egg quality and quantity.

It has, until now, been universally accepted that a woman is born with all the eggs that she will ever have, and that from the mid-thirties, a progressive decline in her fertility will inevitably take place – a decline that cannot be arrested or reversed by even the most sophisticated medical interventions. The fear of childlessness that this reality evokes, especially in the infertile community, hangs as a “sword of Damocles” over the heads of such women.

But now, the findings reported by Jonathan Tilly, director of the Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital, could change all this. Dr. Tilly and his team of researchers claim to have successfully isolated a population of egg stem cells from human ovaries and suggest that such cells might be capable of propagating human eggs.

If proven correct through independent corroboration, Dr Tilly’s findings could be the forerunner to extending the reproductive potential of aging women and perhaps could even lead to the development of an “elixir of youth.”

Futhermore, it would literally turn much of what we have hitherto believed about female reproductive aging – and aging in general – upside down. Consider the following:
First, it would suggest that rather than the menopause occurring once a finite number of eggs (present from birth) have been “used up” over time, a woman’s eggs could, given an optimal ovarian environment, be capable of self-regeneration by ovarian stem cells.

Second, were this to be the case, a clear understanding of the genetic and hormonal processes involved in such stem cell activity could lead to treatments that might invigorate the regeneration process and thereby extend the woman’s reproductive lifespan.

Third, this could refute the theory that diminishing ovarian reserve and the menopause are entirely ovarian events resulting from progressive exhaustion (through utilization) of eggs that have been in the woman’s ovaries since birth. Since molecular changes in the ovary are largely under the influence of hormonal regulation by the pituitary gland, it might instead be that age-related alterations in the biological activity of pituitary gonadotropin hormones (and perhaps other hormones as well) lead to a progressive down-regulation of egg generation by ovarian stem cells. In other words, the process and timing of menopause might be pituitary-regulated rather than primarily being due to ovarian failure (as is currently believed).

Fourth, a better understanding of ovarian stem functionality might not only lead to therapies that enhance or extend reproductive potential but would also improve the quality and duration of a woman’s life.

Fifth, ovarian stem cells might even be used to propagate and bank a woman’s eggs for future dispensation.
This having been said, it is important to bear in mind that as yet, no one has been able to replicate these findings. Until this happens, the potential benefits remain speculative. And, even if the findings of Tilly et al can be corroborated, it would likely take many years (if it could be done at all) to take this technology from the conceptual phase to the point where human ovarian stem cells could propagate viable eggs that upon being fertilized would develop into normal human offspring.