Gonadotrophins human menopausal

Menotrophin (human menopausal gonadotrophin) is the name given to FSH-enriched extracts from human urine. Such preparations contain variable levels of FH activity, as well as various other proteins normally present in urine. As much as 2.51 of urine may be required to produce one dose (75 IU, -7.5 mg) of human FSH (hFSH). 

Purified extract of human postmenopausal urine containing follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinising hormone (LH) is known as human menopausal gonadotrophin. The relative in vivo activity is designated as a ratio, the 1 1 ratio is also known as menotrophin. 

Luteinizing hormone (LH) is one of the gonadotrophin hormones (with FSH), secreted by the anterior pituitary and consists of double peptide chains. It causes the monthly ripening in one ovary of a follicle and stimulates ovulation. In men it facilitates the production of sperm in the testes (hence its alternative name, interstitial cell stimulating hormone, ICSH). It is used therapeutically with FSH in female infertility treatment. It is available, in combination with FSH, in human menopausal gonadotrophin. See OVULATION-INDUCING AGENTS,... 

H4. van Hell, H., Matthijsen, R., and Overbeek, G. A., Effects of human menopausal gonadotrophin preparations in different bioassay methods. Acta Endocrinol. (Copenhagen) 47, 409-418 (1964). 

In the last ten years increasing interest arose in the use of human FSH for therapeutic purposes and many attempts have been made to purify this hormone from human pituitaries and from postmenopausal urine. The results obtained by different experimental procedures in the purification of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) from human menopausal gonadotrophins (HMG) were reported by Donini et al. (1964 1966a,b 1967). 

Although the human pituitary is the obvious source of human gonadotrophins, it also constitutes an impractical source of medically useful quantities of these hormones. However, the urine of post-menopausal women does contain both FSH and LH activity. Up until relatively recently, this has served as the major source used medically, particularly of FSH. 

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