Effect of profound suppression of luteinizing hormone during treatment with gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogue and purified follicle stimulating hormone upon development of cryopreserved embryos

In response to previously published evidence from monkeys, this studyexamined the influence of the degree of luteinizing hormone (LH)suppression during the follicular phase of the stimulation cycle, uponcryopreserved embryo survival and development. The LH concentration of themid-follicular phase was assessed in 250 in-vitro fertilization (IVF)cycles treated with gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogue (GnRHa) andeither purified follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) or human menopausalgonadotrophin (HMG), and was related to the performance of cryopreservedembryos in 351 subsequent embryo transfer cycles. Rates of embryo survival,embryo development rates, implantation rates, and pregnancy rates wereexamined with respect to the LH concentration recorded in themid-follicular phase. In contrast to experimental evidence from otherprimates, there was no significant influence of the follicular phase LHconcentration upon any of the parameters examined.