my personal edition > infertility > news


  E-Mail this DGDispatch to a colleague

DGDispatch

Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone Agonist, Antagonist Show Similar Efficacy In Ovarian Stimulation: Presented at ASRM

By Robert H. Carlson

SAN ANTONIO, TX -- October 16, 2003 -- Infertile women who are treated with controlled ovarian stimulation with a gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist have equivalent rates of embryo and clinical pregnancy compared with women who have stimulation with a GnRH agonist, according to a study from two large Mexican fertility clinics.

The results of the study comparing the GnRH antagonist Antagon (called Orgalutran in Latin America) against the GnRH agonist Lupron were presented here October 13^th at the 59^th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

Efrain Perez Pena, MD, director, Vida Institute of Human Reproductive Sciences, Guadalajara, Mexico, said no statistical differences were observed with either drug in terms of clinical pregnancy rates, implantation rates, number of deliveries or number of miscarriages.

During the period from July 2001 through February 2002, 38.5% of 39 women taking Antagon gave birth compared with 32.4% of 37 women on Lupron. The number of miscarriages was 2.6% and 5.4%, respectively.

Dr. Perez Pena added the GnRH antagonist allowed for a more convenient treatment schedule since injections are given for only 11 days of the woman's cycle, compared with 28 days for the GnRH agonist.

Study co-author Arturo Garza Morales, MD, director, Vida Clinic, Matamoros, Mexico, said fewer injections would also make the antagonist treatment less expensive.

In a separate study, researchers from Argentina Orgalutran Study Group reported that the GnRH antagonist could be used successfully in a short, safe and flexible program when combined with follitropin-beta (Puregon). The regimen was used for ovarian hyperstimulation in 132 women preparing for in-vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

The regimen optimised patient convenience and resulted in good clinical outcomes, the authors noted.


[Study title: Quality Embryo and Pregnancy Clinical in Women Undergoing Controlled Ovarian Stimulation with GnRH agonist versus Antagonist. Abstract P-538]

E-Mail this DGDispatch to a colleague

To print, use this version