Women's Health

Blocked Tubes
Infections of the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and pelvis – called pelvic inflammatory disease – frequently scar or destroy the tubes, blocking the egg’s path. Today, microsurgery is overcoming the damage that infections inflict. Dr. Luigi Mastroianni, Jr., of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, a pioneer in repairing blocked or damaged tubes, says that the success rate can be as high as 80 percent if there is only light scarring.
Endometriosis
Studies show that in half of all women, pieces of the inner lining of the uterus (the endometrium) grow outside the uterus after menstruation each month. In severe cases, the tissue spreads over the ovaries and fallopian tubes. Called endometriosis, this condition can cause severe pain during menstruation and intercourse.
But worst of all, a third of the women stricken with endometriosis become infertile – exactly how is unknown. And because the risk of endometriosis increases with age, it may be a major cause of infertility in older women.
The drug Danocrine helps some women. In others, surgery removes the wandering tissue. Pregnancy practically cures the disease by stopping the growth of endometrial tissue, but the problem is to get pregnant in the first place. Likewise, treatment with birth control pills, which induce artificial pregnancy, can] clear up the condition.

“Sperm Allergy”
About 10 percent of women are infertile because their immune system attacks their husbands’ sperm. Bonnie Marangoni, 28, an attorney from East Meadow, New York, tried to conceive for years. One pregnancy ended in miscarriage. Dr. Richard Bronson of North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York, discovered that Mrs. Marangoni produced antibodies that stopped her husband’s swimming sperm. He treated her with a hormone that suppressed the allergic response. In August 1983, Jillian was born. “She’s adorable,” says the proud mother. Dr. Bronson reports 40 percent success.
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WOMEN’S HEALTH