Evolution of clinical agents for ovulation induction.

Abstract

Since the first use of human urinary gonadotropins in the 1960s, the number of agents available for ovulation induction has remained fairly static. However, the nature of gonadotropin therapy is expected to change rapidly in the near future, and by the end of the decade these changes may be augmented by nongonadotropin ovulation induction therapies. Newer agents described in the literature include highly purified preparations of follicle-stimulating hormone and recombinant forms of follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and human chorionic gonadotropin. Protein fragments, cytokines, and growth factors also show great promise as ovulation adjuncts. Other promising approaches being explored are the use of genetically engineered human gonadotropin derivatives, the creation of chimeric proteins, and gene therapy.