Anti-Müllerian hormone: ovarian reserve testing and its potential clinical implications

BACKGROUNDIn women, anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is exclusively produced by granulosa cells of ovarian follicles during the early stages of follicle development. After an initial increase until early adulthood, AMH concentrations slowly decrease with increasing age until becoming undetectable ∼5 years before menopause when the stock of primordial follicles is exhausted. However, major individual variability exists in the pace of follicle pool depletion and the initial size of the follicle pool, reflected by a wide range of age at menopause. Individual AMH serum concentration does accurately reflect the size of the pool of antral follicles, representing the quantity of the remaining primordial follicles. Accordingly, AMH levels may vary significantly in women of the same chronological age, allowing AMH to predict the remaining length of a woman's reproductive lifespan.