Influence of ovarian stimulation with highly purified menotrophin (HP-hMG) or recombinant follicle-stimulating hormone (rFSH) on embryo quality parameters in patients undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF)¹

METHODS

Trial type: Randomised, assessor-blind, multinational.

Participants: 731 women undergoing IVF.

Primary endpoint: Ongoing-pregnancy rates.

Sub-analysis: Evaluation of embryo quality.

Comparator agents: Highly purified menotrophin (HP-hMG) (n=363) and recombinant FSH (rFSH) (n=368).

Protocol: Long gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist down regulation; all oocytes retrieved were evaluated until transfer on day 3 by both local site embryologists and a central panel of three embryologists.

SUB-ANALYSIS RESULTS

Proportion of top-quality embryos: HP-hMG = 11.3%, significantly more than with rFSH = 9.0% (p=0.044) in the local assessment, but comparable in the central assessment (9.5 and 8.0%, respectively).

Morphology: Significant differences in favour of HP-hMG were observed for number of blastomeres and degree of fragmentation, while uniformity of blastomere sizes, localisation of fragments, frequency of multinucleation and homogeneous cytoplasm were comparable between HP-hMG and rFSH treatment groups.

CONCLUSION

Composition of gonadotrophin preparations used during ovarian stimulation has an impact on some embryo quality parameters. The capacity to implant of the top quality embryos derived from stimulation with HP-hMG appears to be improved, although the mechanism needs to be elucidated.