Efficacy assessment of highly purified follicle-stimulating hormone alone or in combination with human menopausal gonadotropin during pituitary suppression in patients undergoing GIFT for unexplained infertility

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of highly purified follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH-HP) alone versus the combination of FSH-HP + human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) treatment during pituitary suppression with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analog on the clinical outcome and endocrine parameters in 120 randomized women undergoing gamete intra-Fallopian transfer (GIFT) for unexplained infertility. Our data did not show any significant difference between the two groups as regards dose of administered gonadotropins, duration of treatment, estradiol 17β levels, estradiol 17β increase curves, number of follicles > 16 mm, number of recruited and transferred oocytes, and endometrial thickness. The percentages of clinical pregnancies (33.3% with FSH-HP and 31.6% with FSH-HP + hMG), of miscarriages and twin gestations were also similar in the two groups. It is concluded that, during GnRH analog suppression, FSH-HP treatment alone is effective in inducing normal follicular steroidogenesis and adequate oocyte maturation, but no detrimental effect of luteinizing hormone (LH) activity of hMG on the outcome of ovarian stimulation was found.

Key Words:

• GIFT
• Ovarian Stimulation
• Follicle-Stimulating Hormone
• Human Menopausal Gonadotropin
• GnRH Analog