Abstract
Treating infertility in women with advanced maternal age has become a common practice in reproductive medicine, especially in developed countries, owing to postponing maternity. There are some characteristics that define these patients that make them particularly difficult to manage. One of the most difficult issues is the poor response after ovarian stimulation observed in the majority of women above the age of 40 years. This poor response presents complicated situations that are almost impossible to reverse, such as a low total number of oocytes retrieved after ovarian puncture, and the resulting decreased number of embryos available for transfer. If they happen to have a sufficient number of oocytes to be fertilized, there is a high probability that the quality of those oocytes will be low. In this article we will review the available options for clinicians, mainly during IVF treatment, to revert the two most critical issues in this specific kind of patient, which are the low ovarian reserve and low oocyte quality.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.