Ovarian stimulation during assisted reproduction treatment: a comparison of recombinant and highly purified urinary human FSH. On behalf of The Feronia and Apis study group.

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Follicle Stimulating Hormone in this randomized controlled trial publication.

This randomized, single-blind, multicentre, multinational study compared recombinant human FSH (rhFSH, Gonal-F) with highly purified urinary human FSH (uhFSH, Metrodin HP) in women undergoing ovarian stimulation for IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

Following desensitization in a long gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist protocol, patients received s.c.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 496 women taking part.

PubMed indexes the participants as adults, women only.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized, double-blind, single-blind and multicenter study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Follicle Stimulating Hormone and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

Neither the women nor the staff measuring them knew who was on Follicle Stimulating Hormone, so expectations could not easily colour the readings.

Only one side, usually the women, was kept unaware of whether Follicle Stimulating Hormone was given.

More than one site took part, so the women came from several places.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Embryo Transfer, Embryo, Mammalian, Fertilization in Vitro, Follicle Stimulating Hormone, Follicle Stimulating Hormone, Human, Menotropins and Ovulation Induction.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and single-blind study of Follicle Stimulating Hormone in 496 women.

With several hundred people or more, it is a fairly large study for this kind of research.

The publication is from 2000 (Human reproduction (Oxford, England)), a journal based in England.

More context: all human trials.