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Review
. 2022 Nov 9;14(11):e31291.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.31291. eCollection 2022 Nov.

A Review on the Use of Letrozole in Female and Male Infertility

Sandhya Pajai  1 , Jyotsana Potdar  1 , Uplabdh Gopal  1 , Tanvi Banait  1
Affiliations
Review

A Review on the Use of Letrozole in Female and Male Infertility

Sandhya Pajai et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Infertility in developing countries is a distinct and complex problem that disproportionately affects women. Though not a physically restraining disease, it causes a huge social burden on the emotional, financial, and psychosocial quotients of those who suffer from it. Assisted reproductive procedures are frequently used to treat infertility. Years ago, the emergence of ovulation induction represented a significant advancement in treating female infertility. Letrozole, an aromatase inhibitor, is a potential therapy for ovulation induction. Numerous clinical conditions, including anovulatory infertility, polycystic ovarian syndrome, unexplained infertility, and early stages of endometriosis-related infertility, as well as many with improved live birth rates, have been proven to benefit from letrozole treatment. Letrozole is a superior alternative to the widely utilized ovulation induction with clomiphene citrate. While clomiphene citrate has certain limitations, letrozole successfully overcomes these limitations because of its lack of prolonged anti-estrogenic activity, short half-life, and lack of estrogen receptor activation. In most cases, this results in mono-follicular development and excellent live birth rates. According to the most recent research, letrozole can be used as the first-line therapy to treat infertility caused by polycystic ovarian syndrome and other causes. Letrozole is also emerging as a possible treatment for male infertility of unknown cause, proving to be an effective way of influencing hormonal profiles and increasing various seminal parameters such as sperm motility and concentration, as it inhibits aromatization affecting the feedback mechanism to the hypothalamus. This review focuses on our current knowledge of the uses of letrozole for female and male infertility, its mechanisms, and its benefits.

Keywords: anovulatory infertility; letrozole; male infertility; ovulation induction; polycystic ovarian syndrome.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Structure of letrozole
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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