Dr. Marc Yeste Oliveras joins the RAED as a Numerary Member

His Excellency Dr. Marc Yeste Oliveras, Europaeus cum laude in Cell Biology, is inducted as a Numerary Member of the Royal European Academy of Doctors, with the speech “Influencia de la edad materna en la competencia funcional del oocito” (The influence of maternal age on the functional competence of the oocyte).

Reply by: Her Excellency Dr. M. Àngels Calvo Torras, PhD in Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy

Foment del Treball Nacional Building, Via Laietana, 32, main floor, Room A, Barcelona, 08003

Tuesday, 22 July 2025

18:30 h

Format: Face-to-face

Inscription: Please confirm attendance at the Secretariat: secretaria@raed.academy or tel. 93 667 40 54

The influence of maternal age on the functional competence of the oocyte

Given that the induction address as a corresponding member was based on the male gamete (sperm), the full member’s address will be a continuation of the previous one and will focus on the female gamete (oocyte).

Over the past few decades, the number of women who decide to postpone having children has steadily increased substantially, especially in Western countries. The reasons for this decision are multiple and include, among others, career, job stability, socioeconomic status, emotional factors, and the possibility of having a stable partner. Unfortunately, increasing maternal age also increases infertility, as the likelihood of a woman conceiving naturally after one year of unprotected intercourse decreases significantly after age 35. This is due to the aging processes that occur in the ovary, which are unique and complex and involve a reduction in both the quantity and quality of oocytes.

The decrease in oocyte count is due to the fact that oocyte reserves are established during fetal development, so women have a fixed number of follicles that decrease with age. Furthermore, the reduction in quality is explained, among other reasons, by increased DNA damage and the percentage of aneuploid oocytes, mitochondrial dysfunction, and oxidative stress.

Furthermore, the primary effects of oocyte aging lead to other subsequent consequences, such as the degradation of certain proteins, cytoskeletal instability, changes in the regulation of cell signaling pathways, and alterations in the communication of the cumulus cell-oocyte complex (COC). Although there are several strategies to mitigate the effects of oocyte aging, such as oocyte cryopreservation, they cannot be completely avoided. Therefore, research in this field is essential for women’s reproductive health and constitutes one of the greatest challenges in the field of human fertility in our society.