Your Fertility Pharmacist

A retrospective cohort study found that maternal age (40-44 vs. 45-49 vs. >49 years) impacts live birth rates using donor oocytes (eggs).

Resources Alemu BK, Wang CC, Li L, Zhu Z, Li Q, Wang Y. Effect of preconception antibiotics exposure on female reproductive health and pregnancy outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. EClinicalMedicine . 2024;78:102935. Published 2024 Nov 22. doi:10.1016/j.eclinm.2024.102935 Shao S, Pan W, Wang B, et al. Association between antibiotic exposure and the risk of infertility in women of chil...

A comparison of accuracy between delayed, mail-in semen analysis and fresh, clinic-based samples.

This study compared efficacy of two r-FSH medications: follitropin alpha (Gonal-F) vs. follitropin beta (Puregon) on the number of live births cumulatively (CLBR). This was looking at patients 21-45yrs doing fresh embryo transfer after their first IVF or ICSI cycle. Resources Cao JX, Song JY. Follitropin Alpha versus Follitropin Beta in IVF/ICSI Cycle: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Drug Des Devel...

The most rigorously designed trial (to date) of intraovarian PRP demonstrated no improvements in # of mature oocytes obtained or # of live births versus no injections.

Resources Bronson R. and Kruljac I, Butorac D, Vrkljan M. and Legro RS, Zhang H; Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHD Reproductive Medicine Network. Letrozole or clomiphene for infertility in the polycystic ovary syndrome. N Engl J Med . 2014;371(15):1463-1464. doi:10.1056/NEJMc1409550 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) and Diabetes. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/b...

A new study examines the associations between COVID-19 infection with pregnancy and miscarriage rates, looking at the first ten weeks after fresh embryo transfer.

A study compared fertility and sexual markers in obese men with low testosterone and erectile dysfunction who took liraglutide, uFSH + HCG, or testosterone. These men were separated into three groups based on their plans for parenthood; results showed impressive improvements on the GLP-1 agonist liraglutide. Resources Giagulli VA, Carbone MD, Ramunni MI, et al. Adding liraglutide to lifestyle chan...

A recent study compared GnRH antagonists in egg donor ovarian stimulation cycles. The first drug is a newer agent, elagolix (Orilissa), that is taken as a tablet at night. The older drug is an injectable agent called ganirelix (Fyremadel). How did Orilissa stack up in terms of eggs retrieved and embryos formed vs. ganirelix? Were there adverse events, like ovarian hyperstimulation or early LH surg...

A new trial tested a new way to give FSH to improve ovarian function in obese women without PCOS who are struggling to conceive. Resources Borgert BJ, Bacchus MW, Hernandez AD, Potts SN, Campbell KJ. The availability of gonadotropin therapy from FDA-approved pharmacies for men with hypogonadism and infertility. Sex Med. 2023;11(2):qfad004. Published 2023 Apr 10. doi:10.1093/sexmed/qfad004 Kumar TR...

New study on combining low-dose dexamethasone with letrozole in women with PCOS who failed to ovulate with letrozole alone. This study looked at ovulation, pregnancy, and live birth rates and took place at the Mayo Clinic from 2019 to 2022. Resources Barbieri RL and Ehrmann DA. Diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome in adults. In: Post T, ed. UpToDate. Waltham, Mass.: UpToDate; 2034. www.upto...

Women report their use of herbs and supplements to a fertility clinic that assesses their herb-drug interactions. Resources Friedman J, Sheeder J, Lazorwitz A, Polotsky AJ. Herbal supplement use among reproductive-aged women in an academic infertility practice. F S Rep . 2022;4(1):104-111. Published 2022 Dec 17. doi:10.1016/j.xfre.2022.12.001 Natural Medicines Database Checker. Therapeutic Re...

Does vaginal progesterone prevent miscarriages after early pregnancy bleeding? The research world has yet to agree, but a recently published Australian study (aka "the STOP trial") attempted to tackle this question. After seven years of recruiting ~300 women, the STOP trial was stopped prematurely based on early results. Hurdles with study execution plus thinly-disguised jabs at other research mad...

This is the first randomized controlled multi-arm trial comparing how three hCG trigger doses impact endogenous progesterone levels in IVF- fresh embryo transfer cycles. Resources Abdalla HI, Ah-Moye M, Brinsden P, Howe DL, Okonofua F, Craft I. The effect of the dose of human chorionic gonadotropin and the type of gonadotropin stimulation on oocyte recovery rates in an in vitro fertilization progr...

This is the first meta-analysis published in seven years to examine dose-response associations between caffeine or coffee consumption and pregnancy loss. Resources Blehar MC, Spong C, Grady C, Goldkind SF, Sahin L, Clayton JA. Enrolling pregnant women: issues in clinical research. Womens Health Issues . 2013;23(1):e39-e45. doi:10.1016/j.whi.2012.10.003 Jafari A, Naghshi S, Shahinfar H, et al. Rela...

This is the first study to test the use of vaginal tadalafil on endometrial thickness and pregnancies in women using IVF to conceive. Resources Balduyck J, Ameye A, Decleer W. Effect of vaginal/oral tadalafil on endometrial thickness in IVF patients: a double-blind, placebo controlled RCT: a pilot study. Facts Views Vis Obgyn . 2022;14(2):155-161. doi:10.52054/FVVO.14.2.026 Belapurkar P, Jaiswal A...

A recent randomized controlled trial compares ovarian stimulation protocols (standard vs. tamoxifen vs. letrozole) for freezing oocytes or embryos used in women diagnosed with breast cancer.

A recent well-designed American trial asked women with PCOS and obesity to take either placebo or GLP-1 agonist. 1/3 of participants were African-American and 2/3 were Caucasian. Most women had a goal of pregnancy. After 32 weeks, the women were compared for differences in weight loss, menses, and hormones. Links and study details can be found at www.yourfertilitypharmacist.com The differences wer...

An overview of research on women who completed ICSI, IVF, and/or embryo transfer while actively or recently testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19).

A large multi-national study detects higher stroke risks in women with infertility, miscarriages, and stillbirths.

Resources CDC-State-Specific Assisted Reproductive Technology Surveillance. https://www.cdc.gov/art/state-specific-surveillance/index.html Accessed May 20, 2022. Herbenick D, van Anders SM, Brotto LA, Chivers ML, Jawed-Wessel S, Galarza J. Sexual Harassment in the Field of Sexuality Research. Arch Sex Behav . 2019;48(4):997-1006. doi:10.1007/s10508-019-1405-x brilliant paper! Horvath K. Does Bragd...

Letrozole with estrogen, just before progesterone: a thoughtful study on frozen embryo transfer.

This is the first study to examine the perspectives of mothers whose daughters used fertility treatments to have their first child. This study looked at how the mothers (struggled to) support their daughters.

This study sought to answer how five-year-olds, born from egg donation or biological IVF, perceive their family relationships.

A large retrospective study examines how OSA relates to infertility.