Urinary follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) versus recombinant FSH in clomiphene citrate-resistant, normogonadotropic,chronic anovulation: a prospective randomized study. Clinical assessment of human gonadotrophins produced by recombinant DNA technology. A comparative prospective study of a chronic low dose versus a conventional ovulation stimulation regimen using recombinant human follicle stimulating hormone in anovulatory infertile women.
To compare the efficacy and safety of urinary FSH and recombinant FSH for ovulation induction in patients with clomiphene citrate-resistant, normogonadotropic, chronic anovulation.
                Prospective, randomized trial.
                University-based infertility clinic.
                Fifty-one women.
                Subjects were randomized to receive either urinary FSH (35 patients, 64 cycles) or recombinant FSH (16 patients, 32 cycles). A maximum of three cycles using the low-dose step-up protocol with the same gonadotropin were undertaken.
                Cumulative ovulation and pregnancy rates after three cycles, total gonadotropin dose, duration of stimulation, and single follicle development rate.
                Cumulative ovulation rates were 89.3% and 93.1% for the urinary FSH and recombinant FSH groups, respectively. The threshold and total doses of FSH and the duration of stimulation were similar between the two groups. Significantly more single follicle development was noted in the recombinant FSH group. The respective clinical pregnancy rates per noncanceled cycles in the urinary FSH and recombinant FSH groups were 23.2% and 27.6%. There were three sets of twins in the urinary FSH group. No case of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome was encountered.
                Urinary FSH and recombinant FSH are both efficient and safe for inducing ovulation with the low-dose step-up protocol. nan The efficacy and safety of a chronic low dose (group A) and a conventional (group B) stimulation regimen of recombinant human follicle stimulating hormone (r-HFSH) were compared in 103 WHO Group II infertile women with clomiphene citrate-resistant anovulation. Mono- or bifollicular development was induced in 88.1% of patients in group A compared with 76.1% in group B. Ovulation and pregnancy rates were higher in group A (71.4% and 33.3%, respectively) than in group B (63.0% and 20%), but these differences were not statistically significant. Additionally, the total number of follicles that were >10 mm diameter was lower in group A than group B (3.0+/-2.6 versus 6.3+/-6.5; P < 0.0001), as was the oestradiol concentration (504+/-477 pg/ml versus 988+/-740 pg/ml; P < 0.03). The median dose of FSH (75 IU ampoules) used per cycle was 11 ampoules in group A and 12.5 in group B. In terms of the incidence of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, no differences were recorded between the two groups. The results demonstrated that r-HFSH is effective and safe in both these treatment protocols. The chronic low dose regimen was associated with a trend towards a higher rate of mono- or bifollicular development, without jeopardizing the incidence of pregnancy.
At this moment there are not sufficient data to determine which of rFSH or uFSH is preferable for ovulation induction in women with PCOS.