Peptide Contraception in Women

Inhibition of ovulation by chronic intranasal LRH agonist therapy

Abstract

Seventy-one healthy female volunteers used the LRH superagonist D-Ser(TBU) ⁶-EA¹⁰-LRH (buserelin) for contraception during 3–26 months. One daily dose of 200–600 ög was administered by the nasal route. No pregnancy occurred during the 628 treatment months. The bleeding pattern varied from fairly regular menstrual bleedings (n=26) to oligomenorrhoea (n=27) and amenorrhoea (n=18). No severe or dysfunctional bleeding disturbances were observed. No signs of hyperplastic changes of the endometrium were found in 57 endometrial biopsies. After cessation of the long-term treatment normal ovulation and menstruation returned after 41.3 days, on average. Thus, intranasal administration of an LRH agonist for inhibition of ovulation is a promising new contraceptive method for women.