No one knows for sure when a woman's biological clock will stop
ticking, but eventually, it does. It's an alarming thought for
some women who've put off having children in favor of a career
or other life pursuits. Now a new study suggests it may soon be
possible for women to predict when they'll go through menopause,
then calculate when they'll likely run out of eggs, since that
happens about 15 years before menopause hits. In the current
study, doctors in Iran took blood samples from 266 women then
measured their levels of a hormone that can show how many eggs
are left in the ovaries. Researchers said the test was able to
predict when menopause would set in within a four month window.
Whether the test will be as accurate in future studies remains
to be seen. Some fertility experts are skeptical about using it
in clinical practice. "Since only 2% of people have what we call
premature menopause before 40, is it worth testing everyone to
find out which 2% are gonna be in pre-menopause?" asks Dr.
William Hurd of