Mice Prompt Look at Cholesterol's Role in Female Fertility
By Jennifer Couzin-Frankel
SCIENCE
www.sciencemag.org
Vol 332
June 10, 2011
Summary: It's easy to forget that cholesterol isn't simply a villain. The white, waxy substance is
famously intertwined with heart disease, but cholesterol lives all over the body, building cell membranes and hormones. A
small group of researchers is now wondering whether cholesterol also helps maintain fertility—and whether cholesterol abnormalities
impair a woman's ability to get and stay pregnant. There's even speculation that a cholesterol-lowering drug, which is no
longer on the market, could treat a subset of women who are battling infertility.
SCARB1 Gene Update
Johns Hopkins Medicine
Media Relations and Public Affairs
Media Contact: Stephanie Desmon
410-955-8665
sdesmon1@jhmi.edu
May 16, 2011
Summary: A variation in a gene involved in regulating cholesterol in the bloodstream also appears to affect
progesterone production in women, making it a likely culprit in a substantial number of cases of their infertility,
a new study from Johns Hopkins researchers suggests.
