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Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) causes loss of ovarian function before age 40 in up to 3% of women. Mature follicles are typically not present, and the condition has no cure. However, emerging research from a team in Hong Kong suggests a possible new approach to restoring fertility in this setting.
The team first found that in aged mice, fibrotic stiffness of the stroma surrounding ovarian follicles suppressed the maturation of the oocytes — and that relieving the stiffness activated the follicles. They then assayed nearly 1300 drugs already approved for human use and identified 10 that activated follicles in mice. One of these — finerenone, an oral aldosterone blocker with a good safety profile — was shown to also diminish coll…