The subject of fertility problems has come up in recent postings.
The most recent was by Karen Bulmer, who wrote:

> Since I was diagnosed basically through my son, I never knew there
> was any problem with fertility and celiac.  Is it common to a
> lot of women...?

The following comes from a summary of some information presented
by Dr. Joseph Murray at the 1994 American Celiac Society conference.
It appears on page 9 of the February 1995 issue of *The Sprue-nik
Press*:

"Untreated celiac women often have low estrogen levels and an
erratic or non-existent menstrual cycle.  In both men and women
fertility can be affected if they are badly malnourished.  For
young untreated celiac girls, the onset of menarche can be delayed.
Like so many other symptoms, these problems are caused by
malabsorption.  Once the gut heals, these problems are usually
eliminated.  Note:  Women with a long history of malabsorption
will sometimes reach menopause at a younger age; in some cases
as early as in their late twenty's."

--- Jim Lyles, [log in to unmask] ---
--------- Holly, Michigan, USA --------