Thursday, June 27, 2013

Anti Mullerian Hormone: What’s the Story?


Infertility in older women can now be evaluated by assessing the AMH; that is the anti-mullerian hormone, also known as MIS or Mullerian inhibiting substance.  The AMH level in the blood is a quantitative indicator that allows us to measure egg quality and egg quantity.  In other words, it gives us a look at your ovarian reserve.  This hormone is produced in granulosa cells in the ovarian follicles. With a good ovarian reserve, the AMH level should remain consistently high as antral follicles are plentiful.

Before AMH testing was available , we used to depend on checking FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) levels.  High FSH levels were indicative of poor ovarian reserve.  However, because of the fluctuation of FSH levels with the day of your cycle, these levels were not always dependable.  FSH levels can also be artificially suppressed by high estrogen levels.  AMH is a much better indicator of ovarian reserve.  It remains constant throughout the cycle and is not affected by estrogen levels.

Should your AMH level turn out to be low, don’t panic.  Low AMH levels do correlate with lower IVF success rates, but, it’s not the test , but the patient we treat here at Malpani Infertility Clinic !

For additional information see I have a low AMH level - what should do I do ?

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