TUESDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDay News) -- A 30-year-old woman seems to have developed chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction as a result of treatment with buserelin, the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRh) agonist, prior to in vitro fertilization, researchers report in the January issue of Gastroenterology. The drug may have caused production of anti-GnRH antibodies that destroyed GnRH-producing neurons of the myenteric plexus.
Anders Wallmark, M.D., Ph.D., of Malmo University Hospital in Sweden, and colleagues report that the woman, who had no previous history of intestinal pseudo-obstruction and was otherwise healthy, developed abdominal pain, vomiting and constipation as well as signs of esophageal aperistalsis, delayed gastric emptying and small intestinal bursts.
Tests revealed that the woman had high titers of anti-GnRH antibodies, the number of myenteric neurons had declined, and the number of GnRH-containing neurons had been reduced. "Our findings suggest that the patient has developed chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction due to buserelin-induced formation of anti-GnRH antibodies destroying GnRH-producing neurons of the myenteric plexus," the authors conclude.
"Studies in larger groups of patients are needed to prove our hypothesis. Moreover, the physiologic and pathophysiologic role of GnRH on gastrointestinal functions deserve further study," they add.
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