A better, safer way to stimulate the ovaries

Two different treatments are used for women trying to get pregnant: gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonists and agonists. Authors of a Cochrane Systematic Review have changed their minds about the effectiveness of the two treatments. They have now concluded that they both give about the same live birth rate. It was previously believed that women using antagonists tended to not be as successful, having lower live birth rates, as women using agonists.

The systemic review also showed that GnRH antagonists can cut the risk of over-stimulating the ovaries in half when compared to GnRH agonists. The number of women who have to abandon the therapy is also cut in half.

For women who experience some types of infertility, doctors will treat them with hormone mimicking drugs that encourage the development of eggs in the ovaries. One danger is the occurrence of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) which can be life threatening. Women had been advised that antagonists were safer but lowered their chances of getting pregnant.

These conclusions were based on a limited amount of data in 2006. Now with more research and more data, they can make a better recommendation. “This increased amount of data lets us get a much better idea of hw well the two approaches compare,” says Dr. Hesham Al-Inany, who was lead author of the research and works at Cairo University, Egypt.

“The reduction in ovarian hyperstimulation combined with a comparable live-birth rate mean justifies a move away from the standard GnRH agonist to using GnRH antagonists,” concluded Dr. Al-Inany.

Source: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, MedicalNewsToday