Peptide contraception in women. Inhibition of ovulation by chronic intranasal LRH agonist therapy.

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 micrograms 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.