Fertility drugs

Fertility medication, better known as fertility drugs, are drugs which enhance reproductive fertility. For women, fertility medication is used to stimulate follicle development of the ovary. There are currently very few fertility medication options available for men.

Agents that enhance ovarian activity can be classified as either Gonadotropin releasing hormone, Estrogen antagonists or Gonadotropins.

Either Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) or any Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (i.e. Lupron) may be used. GnRH stimulates the release of gonadotropins (LH and FSH) from the anterior pituitary in the body.

Fertility medication inhibiting the effects of estrogen includes Clomiphene and Aromatase inhibitors.

Clomiphene (trademarked as Clomid) is a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM). It is the most widely used fertility drug. It is used as an ovarian stimulator by inhibiting the negative feedback of estrogen at the hypothalamus. As the negative feedback of estrogen is inhibited, the hypothalamus secretes GnRh which in turn stimulates the anterior pituitary to secrete LH and FSH which help in ovulation.

Although primarily a breast cancer treatment, aromatase inhibitors can also work as fertility medication, probably through a mechanism similar to clomiphene.

Gonadotropins are the hormones in the body that normally stimulate the gonads (testes and ovaries). For medication, they can be extracted from urine or by genetic modification.

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