Authors:
Maria Salomé Bezerra Espinola, Antonio Simone Laganà, Gabriele Bilotta, Giuseppe Gullo, Cesare Aragona, Vittorio Unfer
Anovulation consists in the lack of oocyte release during the menstrual cycle, leading to an irregular menstrual cycle. Untreated chronic anovulation is one of the major causes of female infertility and can induce hypoestrogenism. Different etiological factors can contribute to anovulation; therefore, the clinical approaches to manage this condition should take into account the specific patient characteristics. Oral ovulation-inducing agents are first-line treatments for most anovulatory patients. Drugs used include selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) such as clomiphene citrate and aromatase inhibitors (AIs) such as letrozole. The latter, in particular, halts the estrogen biosynthesis by blocking the activity of steroidogenic enzyme aromatase, which catalyzes the conversion of androgens to estrogens. Similarly, d-chiro-inositol (DCI) modulates the activity of aromatase by reducing the corresponding gene expression, and DCI supplementation was successfully used to induce ovulation in anovulatory PCOS patients. Here, we report the use of DCI to induce ovulation in non-PCOS anovulatory oligomenorrheic women.
