IMR Press / CEOG / Volume 41 / Issue 1 / DOI: 10.12891/ceog16742014

Clinical and Experimental Obstetrics & Gynecology (CEOG) is published by IMR Press from Volume 47 Issue 1 (2020). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with S.O.G.

Original Research
DHEA pre-treated patients, poor responders to a first IVF (ICSI) cycle: clinical results
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1 Gynaecology-Obstetrics Clinic. Department of Health of Women and Children, University of Padua, Padua (Italy)
Clin. Exp. Obstet. Gynecol. 2014, 41(1), 5–9; https://doi.org/10.12891/ceog16742014
Published: 10 February 2014
Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of the premedication with dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) on the results of the in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments in a group of women with evidence of diminished ovarian reserve. Materials and Methods: This experimental, prospective, pre-post study enrolled 29 patients with evidence of diminished ovarian reserve and poor-responders to a previous treatment. They received 75 mg/die of DHEA for a minimum of eight weeks; from the 18th day of the cycle before the stimulation with follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), they took trans-dermal estradiol (E2) (50 mcg every other day). The protocol of the stimulation consisted of a short cycle with follicle stimulating hormone receptor-human menopausal gonadrotropin (FSHr-HMG) and low doses of gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) (0.05 mg/die). The study was carried out comparing the results obtained respectively with the pre-DHEA and the post-DHEA treatments. Results: The comparative analysis of the results showed a significant increase in the number of the retrieved oocytes (p < 0.01), of the oocyte quality (p = 0.02) and a reduction of cancelled cycles (p = 0.03). Moreover, after the treatment with DHEA, there was an increase, though non-significant, in the number of embryos, in the fertilization rate, and in the number of pregnancies. Conclusions: This study confirms the beneficial effects of DHEA in patients who resulted poor responders to IVF treatments. Therefore, DHEA appears to be an effective treatment for age related sub-fertility.
Keywords
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)
Diminished ovarian reserve (DOR)
FIVET/ICSI cycle
Non responders (OFF)<
Poor ovarian response (POR)
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