Interest of growth hormone-releasing hormone administration for improvement of ovarian responsiveness to gonadotropins in poor responder women.
Hugues. J N JN; Torresani. T T; Herve. F F; Martin-Pont. B B; Tamboise. A A; Santarelli. J J
Key Findings
- Twice‑daily 500 µg GRF‑1‑29 significantly raised overnight urinary and plasma GH concentrations.
- IGF‑I showed a biphasic rise and follicular fluid IGF‑I was slightly higher after treatment.
- Women receiving GRF‑1‑29 had a small but noticeable increase in recruited follicles and retrieved oocytes compared with their previous cycles.
Practical Outcomes
- For biohackers focused on fertility, GRF‑1‑29 may act as an adjunct to improve ovarian response in poor‑responder IVF cycles, but the evidence is limited to a very small, uncontrolled study. The protocol used was 500 µg taken twice daily from cycle day 2 until ovulation, alongside standard GnRH‑a and hMG. More robust trials are needed before recommending this as a standard practice.
Summary
In a tiny study of 12 women who had trouble responding to standard IVF hormones, giving the peptide GRF‑1‑29 (a short form of growth‑hormone‑releasing hormone) twice daily boosted their natural growth‑hormone levels and led to a modest rise in the number of follicles and eggs retrieved.
Abstract
We have investigated the beneficial effect of a somatotroph axis stimulation on ovarian response to gonadotropin. Growth hormone-releasing hormone (GH-RH) was administered in a prospective study in women undergoing an in vitro fertilization protocol. Twelve patients were selected for their poor ovarian response to previous stimulations using gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog (GnRH-a) and human menopausal gonadotropins (hMG). Five hundred micrograms of GH-RH1-29 were administered two times daily concomitantly with GnRH-a and hMG from day 2 of the cycle to the time of ovulation. Stimulation of somatotroph axis was appreciated by measuring over-night urinary growth hormone (GH) output, plasma GH, and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and follicular fluid (FF) IGF-I. The effects of GH-RH administration on ovarian function were determined by plasma estradiol levels and follicular data. Administration of GH-RH was associated with a significant improvement of urinary (P less than 0.025) and plasma (P less than 0.001) GH concentrations and of the hormonal response to hMG (P less than 0.01). Levels of IGF-I followed a biphasic plasma variation, and a slight increase in recruited follicles, retrieved oocytes, and FF IGF-I content was also observed. Activation of the somatotroph axis by GH-RH enhances the hormonal ovarian response to hMG and may be an adjunctive therapy to improve follicular maturation.
Study Information
pubmed
1991
10.1016/s0015-0282(16)54304-0