• Gonadotrophin releasing hormone agonists for hirsutism
• Gonadotrophin releasing hormone agonists for hirsutism references

Gonadotrophin releasing hormone agonists for hirsutism

Gonadotrophin releasing hormone agonists (GnRH) have been suggested as potential treatments for hirsutism. The most common GnRH agonists used are leuprolide acetate, buserelin and decapeptyl. GnRH agonists are drugs that decrease ovarian steroid production and some studies show that GnRH agonists could be very effective for treating hirsutism where ovarian hyperandrogenism (too much androgen production by the ovaries) is the problem. However, the effect of GnRH agonists is on ovarian production so they are not very effective for hirsutism where the root cause is over activity of the adrenal glands.

GnRH agonists are still primarily an experimental treatment. Some studies suggest that addition of GnRH agonists to treatment using antiandrogen drugs prolongs remission of hirsutism. GnRH agonists have to be taken along with hormone replacement therapy (often called "add back treatment") as the GnRH agonist shuts down ovarian hormone production almost completely so while androgens are no longer produced, neither are estrogens and progesterones. Hormone replacement is particularly important as using GnRH agonists without estrogen and progesterone supplements bone density decreases significantly.

The greatest barrier to wide spread use of GnRH agonists is that the drugs are quite expensive compared to cyproterone acetate or spironolactone.

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