Summary:
The treatment of young infertile women and women with menstrual cycle dysfunction by thyroid
gland extracts and later by pure thyroid hormones led to improvement of their menstrual cycle
and frequently also to desired conception. Therefore a functional connection between thyroid and
ovary, i.e. an effect of thyroid hormones on ovarian reproductive function was assumed.
However, till recently exact scientific evidence did not exist, which could explain the functional
connection between these two endocrine glands. The scientific discoveries of the last years in the
area of human reproduction (which continues in experimental work on the superfamily of stero-
id/thyroid receptors, which have been coded by protoonkogen c-erb-A variants), presented proof
of the presence of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) as well as of T3 -receptors in ovary and thus
way of direct TSH- and T3 -effect on steroidogenesis and oocyte maturation.
The authors present scientific discoveries from recent years, which seem to be crucial for the
explanation of the thyroid-ovary relation and present the treatment algorithm for practical clini-
cal application of experimental knowledge of human reproduction.
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