Urinary follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) is more effective than recombinant FSH in older women in a controlled randomized study

ObjectiveThe following study was conducted to determine which FSH, recombinant or urinary, works better in older women.DesignWe conducted a controlled randomized study in a single university IVF center.SettingUniversity IVF center.Patient(s)Women (N = 257) over 39 years old undergoing IVF.Intervention(s)The patients were randomized into two study groups at their first IVF cycle: 121 patients were treated with recombinant FSH, and 120 patients were treated with urinary FSH. Both groups were suppressed with a long GnRH analog protocol.Main Outcome Measure(s)Days of stimulation, E2 at the day of hCG, total amount of FSH administered, number of oocytes collected, amount of FSH per oocyte, and number of embryos obtained.Result(s)Patients treated with urinary FSH required a significantly lower total amount of FSH, and a lower amount of FSH per oocyte than women treated with recombinant FSH. The other measures evaluated did not show any statistically significant differences.Conclusion(s)Our study showed that urinary FSH performed better in older women than recombinant FSH when associated with the long protocol.