Semaglutide Improves Metabolic Abnormalities and Fertility in Obese Infertile Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Summary

To investigate the efficacy of semaglutide in obese infertile women of childbearing age with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), we design this prospective, randomized, open and controlled study. 75 obese infertile PCOS patients will be recruited and randomized into three groups: metformin, semaglutide and metformin+semaglutide, on the basis of calorie-restricted diet and physical exercise. All subjects will be treated for 12 weeks, and then stop taking the drug for at least 8 weeks to initiate ovulation induction or ovulation induction combined with artificial insemination. All subjects will be followed up for 24 weeks for pregnancy outcome. The primary endpoint of the study is the percentage of weight loss at 12 weeks of treatment. The secondary endpoints include HOMA-IR and androgen levels at 12 weeks of treatment, ovulation rate at 24 weeks of follow-up, clinical pregnancy rate and cumulative pregnancy rate, and depression, anxiety, diet and quality of life scores at 12 weeks of treatment.

Timeline

Start

2023-05-09

Primary completion

2024-12-31

Completion

2025-06-30

Publications

• Results Jensterle Sever M, Kocjan T, Pfeifer M, Kravos NA, Janez A. Short-term combined treatment with liraglutide and metformin leads to significant weight loss in obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome and previous poor response to metformin. Eur J Endocrinol. 2014 Feb 7;170(3):451-9. doi: 10.1530/EJE-13-0797. Print 2014 Mar.
• Results Jensterle M, Kravos NA, Pfeifer M, Kocjan T, Janez A. A 12-week treatment with the long-acting glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist liraglutide leads to significant weight loss in a subset of obese women with newly diagnosed polycystic ovary syndrome. Hormones (Athens). 2015 Jan-Mar;14(1):81-90. doi: 10.1007/BF03401383.
• Results Salamun V, Jensterle M, Janez A, Vrtacnik Bokal E. Liraglutide increases IVF pregnancy rates in obese PCOS women with poor response to first-line reproductive treatments: a pilot randomized study. Eur J Endocrinol. 2018 Jul;179(1):1-11. doi: 10.1530/EJE-18-0175. Epub 2018 Apr 27.
• Results Han Y, Li Y, He B. GLP-1 receptor agonists versus metformin in PCOS: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Reprod Biomed Online. 2019 Aug;39(2):332-342. doi: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2019.04.017. Epub 2019 Apr 25.
• Results Cena H, Chiovato L, Nappi RE. Obesity, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, and Infertility: A New Avenue for GLP-1 Receptor Agonists. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2020 Aug 1;105(8):e2695-709. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgaa285.
• Results Xing C, Zhao H, Zhang J, He B. Effect of metformin versus metformin plus liraglutide on gonadal and metabolic profiles in overweight patients with polycystic ovary syndrome. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2022 Aug 17;13:945609. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2022.945609. eCollection 2022.
• Results Papaetis GS, Kyriacou A. GLP-1 receptor agonists, polycystic ovary syndrome and reproductive dysfunction: Current research and future horizons. Adv Clin Exp Med. 2022 Nov;31(11):1265-1274. doi: 10.17219/acem/151695.
• Results Ge JJ, Wang DJ, Song W, Shen SM, Ge WH. The effectiveness and safety of liraglutide in treating overweight/obese patients with polycystic ovary syndrome: a meta-analysis. J Endocrinol Invest. 2022 Feb;45(2):261-273. doi: 10.1007/s40618-021-01666-6. Epub 2021 Aug 29.
• Results Liu X, Zhang Y, Zheng SY, Lin R, Xie YJ, Chen H, Zheng YX, Liu E, Chen L, Yan JH, Xu W, Mai TT, Gong Y. Efficacy of exenatide on weight loss, metabolic parameters and pregnancy in overweight/obese polycystic ovary syndrome. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2017 Dec;87(6):767-774. doi: 10.1111/cen.13454. Epub 2017 Sep 13.
• Results Ma RL, Deng Y, Wang YF, Zhu SY, Ding XS, Sun AJ. Short-term combined treatment with exenatide and metformin for overweight/obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Chin Med J (Engl). 2021 Nov 3;134(23):2882-2889. doi: 10.1097/CM9.0000000000001712.
• Results Li R, Mai T, Zheng S, Zhang Y. Effect of metformin and exenatide on pregnancy rate and pregnancy outcomes in overweight or obese infertility PCOS women: long-term follow-up of an RCT. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2022 Nov;306(5):1711-1721. doi: 10.1007/s00404-022-06700-3. Epub 2022 Jul 13.

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