Find information on thousands of medical conditions and prescription drugs.

Amenorrhea

Amenorrhoea (BE) or amenorrhea (AmE) is the absence of a menstrual period in a woman of reproductive age. Physiologic states of amenorrhoea are seen during pregnancy and lactation (breastfeeding). Outside of the reproductive years there is absence of menses during childhood and after menopause. more...

Home
Diseases
A
Aagenaes syndrome
Aarskog Ose Pande syndrome
Aarskog syndrome
Aase Smith syndrome
Aase syndrome
ABCD syndrome
Abdallat Davis Farrage...
Abdominal aortic aneurysm
Abdominal cystic...
Abdominal defects
Ablutophobia
Absence of Gluteal muscle
Acalvaria
Acanthocheilonemiasis
Acanthocytosis
Acarophobia
Acatalasemia
Accessory pancreas
Achalasia
Achard syndrome
Achard-Thiers syndrome
Acheiropodia
Achondrogenesis
Achondrogenesis type 1A
Achondrogenesis type 1B
Achondroplasia
Achondroplastic dwarfism
Achromatopsia
Acid maltase deficiency
Ackerman syndrome
Acne
Acne rosacea
Acoustic neuroma
Acquired ichthyosis
Acquired syphilis
Acrofacial dysostosis,...
Acromegaly
Acrophobia
Acrospiroma
Actinomycosis
Activated protein C...
Acute febrile...
Acute intermittent porphyria
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Acute lymphocytic leukemia
Acute mountain sickness
Acute myelocytic leukemia
Acute myelogenous leukemia
Acute necrotizing...
Acute promyelocytic leukemia
Acute renal failure
Acute respiratory...
Acute tubular necrosis
Adams Nance syndrome
Adams-Oliver syndrome
Addison's disease
Adducted thumb syndrome...
Adenoid cystic carcinoma
Adenoma
Adenomyosis
Adenosine deaminase...
Adenosine monophosphate...
Adie syndrome
Adrenal incidentaloma
Adrenal insufficiency
Adrenocortical carcinoma
Adrenogenital syndrome
Adrenoleukodystrophy
Aerophobia
Agoraphobia
Agrizoophobia
Agyrophobia
Aicardi syndrome
Aichmophobia
AIDS
AIDS Dementia Complex
Ainhum
Albinism
Albright's hereditary...
Albuminurophobia
Alcaptonuria
Alcohol fetopathy
Alcoholic hepatitis
Alcoholic liver cirrhosis
Alektorophobia
Alexander disease
Alien hand syndrome
Alkaptonuria
Alliumphobia
Alopecia
Alopecia areata
Alopecia totalis
Alopecia universalis
Alpers disease
Alpha 1-antitrypsin...
Alpha-mannosidosis
Alport syndrome
Alternating hemiplegia
Alzheimer's disease
Amaurosis
Amblyopia
Ambras syndrome
Amelogenesis imperfecta
Amenorrhea
American trypanosomiasis
Amoebiasis
Amyloidosis
Amyotrophic lateral...
Anaphylaxis
Androgen insensitivity...
Anemia
Anemia, Diamond-Blackfan
Anemia, Pernicious
Anemia, Sideroblastic
Anemophobia
Anencephaly
Aneurysm
Aneurysm
Aneurysm of sinus of...
Angelman syndrome
Anguillulosis
Aniridia
Anisakiasis
Ankylosing spondylitis
Ankylostomiasis
Annular pancreas
Anorchidism
Anorexia nervosa
Anosmia
Anotia
Anthophobia
Anthrax disease
Antiphospholipid syndrome
Antisocial personality...
Antithrombin deficiency,...
Anton's syndrome
Aortic aneurysm
Aortic coarctation
Aortic dissection
Aortic valve stenosis
Apert syndrome
Aphthous stomatitis
Apiphobia
Aplastic anemia
Appendicitis
Apraxia
Arachnoiditis
Argininosuccinate...
Argininosuccinic aciduria
Argyria
Arnold-Chiari malformation
Arrhythmogenic right...
Arteriovenous malformation
Arteritis
Arthritis
Arthritis, Juvenile
Arthrogryposis
Arthrogryposis multiplex...
Asbestosis
Ascariasis
Aseptic meningitis
Asherman's syndrome
Aspartylglycosaminuria
Aspergillosis
Asphyxia neonatorum
Asthenia
Asthenia
Asthenophobia
Asthma
Astrocytoma
Ataxia telangiectasia
Atelectasis
Atelosteogenesis, type II
Atherosclerosis
Athetosis
Atopic Dermatitis
Atrial septal defect
Atrioventricular septal...
Atrophy
Attention Deficit...
Autoimmune hepatitis
Autoimmune...
Automysophobia
Autonomic dysfunction
Familial Alzheimer disease
Senescence
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Medicines

Etymology and definition

The term is derived from Greek: a = negative, men = month, rhoia = flow. Derived adjectives are amenorrhoeal and amenorrheic. The opposite is the normal menstrual period.

There are two types of amenorrhoea, primary and secondary amenorrhoea. Primary amenorrhoea is the absence of menstruation in a woman by the age of 16. Also, as pubertal changes precede the first period, menarche, women who have no sign of thelarche or pubarche and thus are without evidence of iniation of puberty by the age of 14 have primary amenorrhoea. (Reference: Speroff L et al, Clinical Gynecologic Endocrinology and Infertility, 1999)

Secondary amenorrhoea is where an established menstruation has ceased for about six months or the time of three menstrual cycles.

Overview

Amenorrhoea is a symptom with many potential causes. Primary amenorrhoea may be caused by developmental problems such as the congenital absence of the uterus, or failure of the ovary to receive or maintain egg cells. Also, delay in pubertal development will lead to primary amenorrhoea. Secondary amenorrhoea is often caused by hormonal disturbances from the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland or from premature menopause, or intrauterine scar formation.

Read more at Wikipedia.org


[List your site here Free!]


Amenorrhea
From Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence, 4/6/01 by Gail B. Slap, M.D. University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

There are two types of amenorrhea, primary and secondary. Primary amenorrhea is delayed menarche (the first menstrual period) and is defined as any one of three conditions:

1.) absence of menarche by age 16 with otherwise normal pubertal development (development of breasts and/or pubic hair)

2.) absence of menarche by age 14 with delayed pubertal development

3.) absence of menarche two years after puberty is otherwise completed

Family history should be taken into consideration in any adolescent with primary amenorrhea. Mothers who started to menstruate late will often have daughters who also menstruate late.

Secondary amenorrhea is the absence of menstruation after menarche has taken place. Although it is not uncommon for menstrual periods to be irregular during early adolescence , periods usually become regular within 18 months after the first one. After that time, it is considered abnormal for an adolescent to miss three consecutive periods.

Pregnancy

An adolescent with amenorrhea most likely does not have a serious underlying medical problem. Even so, all teenagers with amenorrhea should seek medical care, and an adolescent who has had sexual intercourse even once and then missed a period should assume she is pregnant until a reliable pregnancy test proves otherwise. It should be noted that spotting, or even bleeding, is not unusual during early pregnancy. In addition, it is possible for a girl to conceive before she has had even one period.

Other causes of amenorrhea

If pregnancy is ruled out as the cause of an adolescent's amenorrhea, a doctor will consider several other causes. After pregnancy, the most common reason for amenorrhea (both primary and secondary) is that the ovaries are not receiving appropriate messages from the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland. When this happens, the ovaries do not produce adequate amounts of hormones to trigger menstruation .

Less common causes of amenorrhea include pituitary tumor or a problem with the ovaries or uterus. In most cases, however, amenorrhea does not indicate a serious medical problem, and regular periods will resume without any treatment.

Stress

Emotional stress will sometimes prevent the brain from signaling the ovaries properly. It is not uncommon for a woman's period to be delayed when she is having problems with school, work, or relationships. A change in environment (the start of college, for example) can also cause a period to be late.

Physical stress is a common cause of amenorrhea. A girl who is too thin or has too little body fat may not begin to menstruate at the expected age. In girls who have started menstruating, insufficient body fat may cause the periods to stop. Athletes and other women who exercise strenuously sometimes experience amenorrhea even when their body weight and body fat levels are within normal ranges.

Diagnosis

One way to determine whether a teenager's ovaries and uterus are functioning is a "progesterone challenge test." In this test, an amenorrheic teenager is given a dose of progesterone, either orally or as an injection. If her ovaries are making estrogen and her uterus is responding normally, she should start a menstrual period within a few days of the progesterone dose. This indicates that the ovaries and uterus are functioning normally, and the cause of the amenorrhea is probably in the brain.

Risks and treatment

The most serious risk associated with amenorrhea is osteoporosis (thinning of the bone) caused by low estrogen levels. Because osteoporosis can begin as early as adolescence, hormone replacement therapy is sometimes recommended for teenagers with chronic amenorrhea.

Further Reading

For Your Information

Books

  • Bell, Ruth, et al. Changing Bodies, Changing Lives . New York: Vintage, 1988.

Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood & Adolescence. Gale Research, 1998.

Return to Amenorrhea
Home Contact Resources Exchange Links ebay