Metformin Treatment Before in Vitro Fertilization (IVF) in Women With Ultrasound Evidence of Polycystic Ovaries

January 8, 2010 updated by: University of Oxford

Metformin Treatment Before IVF in Women With Ultrasound Evidence of Polycystic Ovaries; a Prospective, Randomised, Double Blind, Placebo Study

The aim of study was to investigate whether pre-treatment with metformin before and during IVF increases the live birth rate compared to placebo in women with sonographic evidence of polycystic ovaries (PCO), but without any clinical manifestations of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
134

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United Kingdom
      • London, United Kingdom
        • IVF Hammersmith
      • Nottingham, United Kingdom
        • Nuture IVF Unit
      • Oxford, United Kingdom, OX39DU
        • Oxford Fertility Unit

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

No older than 38 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Women attending with ovulatory PCO due to undergo IVF/ICSI treatment.
  • First or second cycle of IVF/ICSI.
  • If previously on metformin, a minimum one month washout period was required.
  • Polycystic ovaries diagnosed by ultrasound presence of ≥12 follicles measuring 2-9 mm in diameter in at least one ovary and/or increased ovarian volume (≥10 ml).
  • Written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Clinical manifestations of PCOS, including any of the following:

    1. Oligo- or amenorrhoea with cycles ≥42 days apart.
    2. Anovulation with mid-luteal progesterone <16 nmol/L.
    3. Biochemical hyperandrogenism with serum testosterone ≥3.5 nmol/L and/or free androgen index >5 (FAI = [total testosterone/SHBG] x 100).
    4. Clinical hyperandrogenism with hirsutism or acne requiring treatment at least weekly.
  • Age >38 years.
  • BMI >35 kg/m2.
  • Basal FSH >12 IU/L.
  • Liver disease or ALT >80 IU/L.
  • Renal disease, or creatinine >130 nmol/L.
  • Alcoholism or drug abuse.
  • Diabetes mellitus (evaluated by fasting glucose >6.7mmol/L).
  • Per oral steroid treatment in last month.
  • Cimetidine, anticoagulation, erythromycin, or other macrolides in last month.
  • Hyperprolactinemia (Prolactin >700 mIU/L).
  • Abnormal thyroid function tests (TSH outside of laboratory normal range).
  • Congenital adrenal hyperplasia.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Metformin
Drug (including placebo)
Drug: Metformin
Women were randomised to receive either metformin or placebo starting three weeks before initiation of a GnRH agonist during an IVF treatment cycle (seven weeks prior to oocyte collection and then stopped at oocyte collection). Seventy identical packs of metformin and 70 identical packs of placebo were supplied by DHP Ltd, Crickhowell, Powys (UK) a commercial clinical trial supplier. The randomisation service was provided by DHP Ltd.
Placebo Comparator: Sugar pill
Drug (including placebo)
Drug: Placebo
Women were randomised to receive either metformin or placebo starting three weeks before initiation of a GnRH agonist during an IVF treatment cycle (seven weeks prior to oocyte collection and then stopped at oocyte collection). Seventy identical packs of metformin and 70 identical packs of placebo were supplied by DHP Ltd, Crickhowell, Powys (UK) a commercial clinical trial supplier. The randomisation service was provided by DHP Ltd.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Live birth rate
Time Frame: End of pregnancy
End of pregnancy

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome
Time Frame: 2 months
2 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Oxford

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
University of Nottingham
Imperial College London

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Study Director: Tim J Child, MA MD MRCOG, University of Oxford
  • Principal Investigator: Alexander G Swanton, MBBS MRCOG, University of Oxford

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
December 1, 2005

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
May 1, 2009

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
May 1, 2009

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
January 3, 2010

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 8, 2010

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
January 11, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
January 11, 2010

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 8, 2010

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
January 1, 2010

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 05/Q1605/87

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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