Successful Pregnancy in An Infertile Woman with Regular Menstruation and Autoimmune Oophoritis: A Case Report and Literature Review
- 1Department of Reproductive Medicine, Liuzhou People’s Hospital, Liuzhou, China
- 2Reproductive Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
Abstract
Autoimmune oophoritis (AIO) is a rare autoimmune disease characterized by T lymphocyte-predominant inflammatory infiltration into developing follicles, whereas primitive follicles characteristically remain unaffected. This inflammatory process leads to ovarian failure, often manifesting as menstrual disturbances or amenorrhea, and frequently coexists with other autoimmune disorders. To date, no standardized therapeutic protocol has been established for AIO. We report the case of a 32-year-old infertile woman with AIO concurrent with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. The patient had regular menstrual cycles and normal anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels, yet presented with persistent right ovarian cysts, anovulation, and mildly elevated serum progesterone. After three months of glucocorticoid therapy, ovulation was restored and a biochemical pregnancy was achieved; however, the ovarian cysts subsequently progressed to involve both ovaries. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed multicystic enlargement of the right ovary and a unilocular cyst in the left ovary. Laparoscopic bilateral ovarian biopsy demonstrated multiple simple cysts, luteinized cystic follicles, and atretic follicles, with extensive T lymphocyte infiltration around the cyst walls and atretic follicles (without plasma cell infiltration), along with minor stromal lymphocytic infiltration. Notably, primitive and primary follicles were entirely spared from inflammatory involvement. Driven by a strong desire for fertility preservation, the patient underwent controlled ovarian stimulation for in vitro fertilization (IVF), yielding nine cryopreserved embryos. She subsequently conceived after frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) and delivered a full-term healthy infant. This case underscores the heterogeneous clinical presentation of AIO, suggests a potential but transient therapeutic role for glucocorticoids, and highlights the pivotal role of assisted reproductive technologies in achieving successful fertility outcomes in patients with progressive AIO.
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BibTeX
@article{chen2026successful,
title = {{Successful Pregnancy in An Infertile Woman with Regular Menstruation and Autoimmune Oophoritis: A Case Report and Literature Review}},
author = {Liqun Chen and Ying Kong and Wenchao Yu and Kaiyuan Shen and Xiujuan Sun and Yihua Yang and Xiaoli Qu},
journal = {International Journal of Fertility \& Sterility},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.22074/ijfs.2026.2068755.1932},
url = {https://doi.org/10.22074/ijfs.2026.2068755.1932},
note = {CC BY-NC 3.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Successful Pregnancy in An Infertile Woman with Regular Menstruation and Autoimmune Oophoritis: A Case Report and Literature Review
AU - Liqun Chen
AU - Ying Kong
AU - Wenchao Yu
AU - Kaiyuan Shen
AU - Xiujuan Sun
AU - Yihua Yang
AU - Xiaoli Qu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/03
JO - International Journal of Fertility & Sterility
DO - 10.22074/ijfs.2026.2068755.1932
UR - https://doi.org/10.22074/ijfs.2026.2068755.1932
AB - Autoimmune oophoritis (AIO) is a rare autoimmune disease characterized by T lymphocyte-predominant inflammatory infiltration into developing follicles, whereas primitive follicles characteristically remain unaffected. This inflammatory process leads to ovarian failure, often manifesting as menstrual disturbances or amenorrhea, and frequently coexists with other autoimmune disorders. To date, no standardized therapeutic protocol has been established for AIO. We report the case of a 32-year-old infertile woman with AIO concurrent with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. The patient had regular menstrual cycles and normal anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels, yet presented with persistent right ovarian cysts, anovulation, and mildly elevated serum progesterone. After three months of glucocorticoid therapy, ovulation was restored and a biochemical pregnancy was achieved; however, the ovarian cysts subsequently progressed to involve both ovaries. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed multicystic enlargement of the right ovary and a unilocular cyst in the left ovary. Laparoscopic bilateral ovarian biopsy demonstrated multiple simple cysts, luteinized cystic follicles, and atretic follicles, with extensive T lymphocyte infiltration around the cyst walls and atretic follicles (without plasma cell infiltration), along with minor stromal lymphocytic infiltration. Notably, primitive and primary follicles were entirely spared from inflammatory involvement. Driven by a strong desire for fertility preservation, the patient underwent controlled ovarian stimulation for in vitro fertilization (IVF), yielding nine cryopreserved embryos. She subsequently conceived after frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) and delivered a full-term healthy infant. This case underscores the heterogeneous clinical presentation of AIO, suggests a potential but transient therapeutic role for glucocorticoids, and highlights the pivotal role of assisted reproductive technologies in achieving successful fertility outcomes in patients with progressive AIO.
SN - 2008-076X
SN - 2008-0778
ER -