title: Successful ovulation induction, conception, and normal delivery after chronic therapy with etanercept: a recombinant fusion anti-cytokine treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: Etanercept (Enbrel; Wyeth-Ayerst/Immunex Inc, Seattle, WA, USA) is a subcutaneously administered novel fusion protein consisting of the extracellular ligand-binding domain of the 75 kD receptor for tumor necrosis factor-alpha (anti-TNFalpha) and the Fc portion of human IgG1. The agent is synthesized by plasmid transfection of a Chinese hamster ovary cell line, utilizing recombinant DNA technology. Etanercept was approved by the US FDA for treatment of multi-drug resistant rheumatoid arthritis in 1998, but no human data exist regarding the impact of anti-TNFalpha therapy on human reproductive function or its use before ovulation induction. As TNFalpha potentiates collagenolysis via matrix metalloproteinase gene expression (thereby facilitating ovulation), there exists a theoretical risk that TNFalpha-inhibition could exert an undesirable effect on ovulation and pregnancy. In this report, we describe the first case of ovulation induction, intrauterine insemination, normal pregnancy and singleton delivery of a healthy infant following chronic ( > 1 year) pre-ovulatory TNFalpha-inhibitor therapy for rheumatoid arthritis. Reproductive endocrinologists and obstetrician-gynecologists should be familiar with etanercept therapy in the context of severe rheumatic disease, and offer appropriate reassurance regarding its safe use for infertility patients planning ovulation induction.
authors.affiliation: Georgia Reproductive Specialists LLC Atlanta, USA. dr.sills@ivf.com
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Sills
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Perloe
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Tucker
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.forename: G D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Palermo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000068800:Etanercept; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D010062:Ovulation Induction; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*
chemical_list: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D000068800:Etanercept