[Clinical study on LRH-A contraception by luteolysis]

Thirty-eight healthy female volunteers, aged 26-38 years with regular menstrual cycles entered into a clinical trial for contraception with Chinese made superactive stimulatory analog of LRH i.e., (D-Ala, des-GLY-EA10)-LRH yielding luteolysis. LRH-A 1 mg a day was administered by intranasal spray from the 15th through 25th day of the menstrual cycle for 1-12 consecutive cycles. During LRH-A administration no additional contraceptive was used. Luteolysis refers to reduction in plasma progesterone and shortening of the luteal phase. The results showed that luteolysis occurred in 154/158 cycles, 4 pregnancies occurred due to faulty administration. No severe side-effects were observed during administration and apparently normal cycles occurred immediately after the withdrawal of LRH-A spray. The above data indicated that LRH-A may provide a fairly good luteolytic effect. More intensive study is required for clinical application in contraceptive practice.