Gonadotropins and glucocorticoid therapy for "low responders"--a controlled study.

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial looks at Dexamethasone.

A randomized, nonplacebo controlled study was conducted to determine the effect of dexamethasone supplementation to a protocol of gonadotropin therapy in 42 "low-responder patients" aged 32 to 43 years.

Who Took Part

The age groups tagged for this paper are adults, women only.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized and placebo-controlled.

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

Some participants received a placebo instead of Dexamethasone, giving a reference point.

All underwent at least two previous cycles treated by gonadotropins for unexplained infertility, or anovulation.

A group of "low responders" who did not receive dexamethasone served as the controls.

The number of follicles, total amount of gonadotropins used, time required for stimulation, fertilization, peak estradiol levels and pregnancy rate were evaluated.

What Was Measured

PubMed files the paper under topics including Chorionic Gonadotropin, Clomiphene, Dexamethasone, Drug Resistance, Estradiol, Fertilization and Infertility, Female.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized and placebo-controlled study of Dexamethasone.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 2 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 1997 (Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics), a journal based in Netherlands.

More context: all human trials.