Ovarian stimulation in an infertile patient with growth hormone-deficient Oliver-Mcfarlane syndrome

Several authors have suggested that growth hormone may augment ovarian responses to follicle stimulating hormone in women (Homburg et al., Clin. Endocrinol., 29, 1988; Ibrahim et al., Fertil. Steril., 55, 1991), and that this effect may be mediated by insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) (Davoren and Hsueh, Endocrinology, 118, 1986). Menashe et al. (Hum. Reprod., 6, 1991) reported spontaneous pregnancies in women with a deficiency in growth hormone receptors and, consequently, low serum concentrations of IGF-I. In this report, we present the case of a patient with a rare syndrome first described by Oliver and Mcfarlane (Arch. Ophthalmol., 74, 1965). The patient was shown to be growth hormone deficient, with hypopituitarism as part of the syndrome. Adjuvant growth hormone did not influence her ovarian responses to exogenous gonadotrophins during assisted conception treatment, as reflected by the required total number of ampoules of human menopausal gonadotrophin, the number of developing follicles, the rate of follicular growth and the serum oestradiol concentrations.