AUTHOR=Garavaglia Elisabetta , Sala Cinzia , Taccagni Gianluca , Traglia Michela , Barbieri Caterina , Ferrari Stefano , Candiani Massimo , Panina-Bordignon Paola , Toniolo Daniela 

TITLE=Fertility Preservation in Endometriosis Patients: Anti-Müllerian Hormone Is a Reliable Marker of the Ovarian Follicle Density

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Surgery

VOLUME=Volume 4 - 2017

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/surgery/articles/10.3389/fsurg.2017.00040

DOI=10.3389/fsurg.2017.00040

ISSN=2296-875X

ABSTRACT=Objective: To analyze the ovarian reserve via measurement of follicular density and AMH in endometriosis patients participating to a clinical program of cortical ovarian cryopreservation.
Design: Retrospective analysis of serum AMH levels and prospective investigation of ovarian follicle number.
Setting: University Hospital.
Patient(s): Two hundred and two women with endometriosis and 400 controls.
Intervention(s): Blood samples and ovarian biopsies.
Main Outcome Measure(s): Correlation of serum AMH levels and the number of non-growing follicles in the biopsied cortical tissues in endometriosis and control subjects, including age, type of AMH kit, and the laboratory performing the analysis as covariates. 
Result(s): AMH levels were shown to decrease with age in untreated endometriosis patients (P <1.0x10-5) but they were significantly lower in endometriosis compared to controls only in patients over 36 years old (P = 2.7x10-4). The AMH decrease was faster in endometriosis compared to controls (beta = 0.27, P = 4.0x10-4). Primordial follicle number decreased with the reduction of AMH levels in both cases and controls (beta = 0.3; P = 0.04).
Conclusion(s):  AMH is a reliable marker of ovarian reserve in endometriosis patients and it can predict follicular density in women undergoing ovarian tissue cryopreservation.