Sequential Versus Continual Purified Urinary FSH/hCG in Men With Idiopathic Hypogonadotropic Hypogonadism

Abstract

Context: Gonadotropin therapy using a human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and FSH preparation is an effective regimen in inducing masculinization and spermatogenesis in men with idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH). However, the high cost of medication and frequent injections affect compliance.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of sequential use of highly purified urinary FSH (uFSH)/hCG in men with IHH.

Design and setting: A randomized, open-label, prospective, controlled noninferiority trial with an 18-month follow-up was conducted in 9 tertiary hospitals.

Patients and intervention: A total of 67 Chinese men with IHH were randomly allocated into group A receiving continual uFSH (75 U, 3 times a week) and hCG (2000 U, twice a week) injection and group B receiving sequential uFSH (75 U, 3 times a week every other 3 months) and hCG (2000 U, twice a week) injection.

Main outcome measure: The primary outcome was the proportion of subjects with a sperm concentration of ≥ 1.0 × 10(6)/mL during the 18 months. The efficacy between groups A and B was compared for noninferiority.

Results: Of the patients, 17/33 (51.5%) receiving continual uFSH/hCG and 19/34 (55.9%) receiving sequential uFSH/hCG achieved sperm concentrations of ≥ 1.0 × 10(6)/mL. The efficacy in the sequential uFSH/hCG group was not inferior to that in the continual uFSH/hCG group (noninferiority, P = .008) by intention-to-treat analysis.

Conclusions: The efficacy of the sequential uFSH/hCG regimen is not inferior to that of the continual uFSH/hCG regimen in inducing spermatogenesis and masculinization of patients with IHH.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01403532.