Researchers find new fertility drug to be more effective than one used for the past 40 years

31-Jul-2014 - USA

A fertility drug used for more than four decades could soon be replaced with another drug, which is 30 percent more effective in helping women become pregnant, according to a study with University of Florida ties. In a study published recently in The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers at seven different academic centers recruited 750 couples to compare the long-used fertility drug clomiphene citrate, commonly called clomid, to letrozole, a drug initially developed to prevent recurrence of breast cancer in women. Of the 376 women who were given clomid, 72 became pregnant and gave birth. Of the 374 women who took letrozole, 103 gave birth.

“Letrozole works better, has about the same cost, has fewer side effects and has a slightly lower twin rate than clomid,” said Gregory Christman, M.D., director of the division of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the University of Florida. “Clomid has been available for fertility treatment for more than 40 years, but with this new information, we may soon have to reconsider its role in the treatment of infertility due to anovulation in women with polycystic ovarian disorder.”

Clomid is often prescribed to women with polycystic ovary syndrome as a first step in their treatment — and this population of women account for about a third of women who seek fertility treatment, Christman said.

Christman oversaw one of the trial’s sites as one of the principal investigators at the University of Michigan. There, he recruited 75 of the 750 couples for the study. Women in the study, who were an average of 29 years old, were randomly assigned to take either clomid or letrozole. Because the drugs were administered in the same way — both were given for a five-day period at the beginning of a woman’s cycle — the study was double-blinded. Neither the doctor nor the patient knew which drug the patient was receiving.

Clomid works by traveling to the brain, where it partially blocks estrogen receptors. This triggers the brain to send a signal to the ovaries to produce more estrogen, which causes ovulation. Letrozole is prescribed to prevent recurrence of breast cancer in women by shutting off an enzyme that converts circulating testosterone to estrogen. It works primarily in fat or adipose tissue throughout the body, causing estrogen levels in a woman’s bloodstream to fall. The brain sees this drop in estrogen and tells the ovaries to make more estrogen, which triggers ovulation, Christman said.

The study also found that letrozole results in fewer twins. Approximately 10 percent of women who are treated with clomid give birth to twins. The rate drops to between 3 to 4 percent in women who take letrozole.

“It always makes you smile when you hear someone is expecting twins, but because of the increased risks of a multiple pregnancy it would be better and safer if people conceived one baby at a time.” Christman said.

https://www.bionity.com/en/news/149314/researchers-find-new-fertility-drug-to-be-more-effective-than-one-used-for-the-past-40-years.html