Induction of ovulation with pulsatile gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) in anovulatory women.

In this study we employed pulsatile GnRH therapy in different anovulatory disorders to test its real efficacy on ovulation induction. Ten adult women, 25-35 years old with primary or secondary infertility, underwent our study; all women showed anovulatory disorders such as Secondary Amenorrhea (n. 4), PCOD (n. 3) or Oligomenorrhea resistant to Clomiphene Citrate (n. 3). Pulsatile gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) was given intravenously via automatic micropump, with a pulse interval of 90' and a pulse dose of 5 mcg/day. Ovulation was achieved in 7 cases (70%), whereas the failure of therapy was observed in 3 patients (30%), all affected by PCOD. The mean duration of follicular phase was 15 days and the ovulatory cycles did not need the luteal phase support. The maximum length of infusional therapy was 20 days with a low incidence of adverse side effects such as phlebitis; only in one patient a mild ovarian hyperstimulation was observed. Our results confirm that infusional pulsatile GnRH therapy is a very important tool to ovulation induction and it is more successful in primary or secondary amenorrhea and in hypothalamic disorders than in PCOD.