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. 2017 Dec 19;2(1):96-105.
doi: 10.1210/js.2017-00359. eCollection 2018 Jan 1.

Effect of Growth Hormone on Uterine Receptivity in Women With Repeated Implantation Failure in an Oocyte Donation Program: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Signe Altmäe  1   2 , Raquel Mendoza-Tesarik  3 , Carmen Mendoza  3 , Nicolas Mendoza  3   4 , Francesco Cucinelli  5 , Jan Tesarik  3
Affiliations

Effect of Growth Hormone on Uterine Receptivity in Women With Repeated Implantation Failure in an Oocyte Donation Program: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Signe Altmäe et al. J Endocr Soc. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Background and objective: Administration of growth hormone (GH) during ovarian stimulation has been shown to improve success rates of in vitro fertilization. GH beneficial effect on oocyte quality is shown in several studies, but GH effect on uterine receptivity is not clear. To assess it, we studied whether GH administration can improve the chance of pregnancy and birth in women who experienced repeated implantation failure (RIF) using donated oocyte programs.

Design and study population: A total of 105 infertile women were enrolled in the randomized controlled trial: 70 women were with a history of RIF with donated oocytes, and 35 infertile women underwent the first oocyte donation attempt. Women receiving donated oocytes were treated with progressively increasing doses of oral estradiol, followed by intravaginal progesterone after previous pituitary desensitization with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist. Thirty-five RIF patients were treated with GH (GH patients), whereas the rest of the 35 RIF patients (non-GH patients) and 35 first-attempt patients (positive control group) were not.

Results: RIF patients receiving GH showed significantly thicker endometrium and higher pregnancy and live birth rates as compared with RIF patients of non-GH study group, although these rates remained somewhat lower as compared with the non-RIF patients of the positive control group. No abnormality was detected in any of the babies born.

Conclusion: Our data of improved implantation, pregnancy, and live birth rates among infertile RIF patients treated with GH indicate that GH improves uterine receptivity.

Keywords: IVF; RIF; endometrial receptivity; growth hormone; implantation failure.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow chart of the study design. All 105 infertile women underwent oocyte donation program, in which 70 women were with history of RIF and 35 women were the first oocyte donation patients with no history of RIF. No losses or exclusion occurred after randomization. The recruitment of patients started in 2010, and the follow-up ended in 2017, when the analysis of all pending outcomes was terminated.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
ORs of having a better treatment outcome after GH administration. Non-GH patients were set as reference group in the analyses and are graphically represented by the dashed line. RIF women cotreated with GH in donated oocyte program demonstrate >5 times higher chance of obtaining positive pregnancy test and live birth than women in the non-GH group.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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