Induction of spermatogenesis by recombinant follicle-stimulating hormone (puregon) in hypogonadotropic azoospermic men who failed to respond to human chorionic gonadotropin alone

What Was Tested

Researchers studied hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) in this randomized controlled trial publication.

Patients were pretreated for 16 weeks with hCG to normalize testosterone levels.

Treatment time necessary for first sperm cells to appear in the ejaculate was related to the initial testicular volume.

Who Took Part

The study group was 14 subjects.

PubMed indexes the participants as adults, men only.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized, open-label and multicenter study.

The subjects were allocated by chance, so the hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) group and the comparison group should start out alike.

Being open-label, the hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) study did not mask who received what.

Running at several centres spread the hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) study over different clinics and patient groups.

The methods mention a period of 16 weeks.

What Was Measured

Patients were pretreated for 16 weeks with hCG to normalize testosterone levels.

Treatment time necessary for first sperm cells to appear in the ejaculate was related to the initial testicular volume.

The subject headings attached to it are Chorionic Gonadotropin, Follicle Stimulating Hormone, Human, Hypogonadism, Oligospermia, Recombinant Proteins, Spermatogenesis and Testis.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, open-label and multicenter study of hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) in 14 subjects over 16 weeks.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The publication is from 2003 (Journal of andrology), a journal based in United States.

More context: the hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) compound page, all human trials.