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pubmed:abstractText |
During the last few years new approaches to female contraception based on LHRH and its analogs have been developed. The physiological significance of pulsatile LHRH release and its stimulation of the pituitary has been elucidated by recent studies in rhesus monkey. Immunization against LHRH results in complete inhibition of reproductive function in animals and may find as a useful method of long-term fertility control in domestic animals. Clinical studies have utilized this knowledge to treat infertile hypogonadal women with chronic intermittent low-dose of LHRH. The superactive stimulatory LHRH analogs, used to treat infertility, paradoxically proved to have antifertility effects. They induce desensitization of the processes responsible for gonadotropic and gonadal hormone secretion, mediated by specific LHRH receptors in the pituitary and gonad. While contraceptive effectiveness of luteolytic approach remains to be proven, inhibition of ovulation by intranasal LHRH analog administration or continuous LHRH infusion by programmed minipumps seem to provide safe and effective contraception in women.
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