Gual C, Garza-Flores J, Menjivar M, Gutierrez-Najar A, Pal R, Talwar G P
Hospital Angeles del Pedregal, México City, México.
Fertil Steril. 1997 Feb;67(2):404-7. doi: 10.1016/S0015-0282(97)81932-2.
To determine the effects of immunization with an anti-LH-releasing hormone (LH-RH) vaccine in postmenopausal women.
Pilot clinical study.
Normal human volunteers in a medical research-training environment.
PATIENT(S): Three postmenopausal women with a mean age of 60 years, 5 years of amenorrhea, and severe hypoestrogenism with elevated serum LH and FSH.
INTERVENTION(S): Intramuscular immunization with 300 micrograms LH-RH equivalent of the vaccine in two occasions 1 month apart.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Patients were followed for clinical assessment and serum LH, FSH, and anti-LH-RH titers at regular monthly intervals for 7 months.
RESULTS(S): The injection of the anti-LH-RH vaccine followed by a booster injection 1 month later resulted in a sharp decrease, 60 days after the first injection, of both serum gonadotropins, accompanied by an increase in anti-LH-RH antibody titers, which were reversible after 180 days in the absence of further booster immunization.
CONCLUSION(S): Active immunization offer a safe option to induce antibody response, which in the present regime employed was of about 6-months duration. This procedure opens new possibilities for its use as an affordable therapeutic agent in some hormone-dependent clinical conditions.
