Ann Infertil Reprod Endocrinol | Volume 2, Issue 1 | Research Article | Open Access
Erin Ahart*, Matthew Goering and Courtney Marsh
University of Kansas Center for Advanced Reproductive Medicine, USA
*Correspondance to: Erin Ahart
Fulltext PDFObjective: Women with Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR) have extremely low pregnancy rates after In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) cycles and there are currently few treatment options available. Testosterone supplementation prior to controlled ovarian hyperstimulation may improve IVF outcomes via enhanced folliculogenesis.
Methods: This retrospective cohort study analyzed 83 IVF cycles based on inclusion criteria of age <42 and diagnosis of DOR. Cycles in the control group were carried out using the standard IVF protocol while cycles in the treatment group were supplemented with transdermal testosterone prior to ovarian stimulation. Four primary outcomes were evaluated: total number of oocytes retrieved, number of mature oocytes retrieved, number of embryos generated, and pregnancy potential of the generated embryos.
Results: Pretreatment with transdermal testosterone had no impact on the total number of eggs retrieved after ovarian stimulation. Testosterone had a negative impact of the number of mature oocytes retrieved, but had no impact on the number of embryos generated from those oocytes. Pregnancy rates between the treatment and control groups were no different per embryo transfer, but were lower per cycle initiation with testosterone therapy.
Conclusion: Within this study population, retrospective analysis of testosterone therapy revealed no improvement in IVF outcomes. A randomized controlled trial is recommended to further investigate this association.
Ahart E, Marsh C, Goering M. Testosterone Supplementation in Women with Diminished Ovarian Reserve. Ann Infert Rep Endocrin. 2019;2(1):1015.