Treatment for ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome using an oral dopamine prodrug ,docarpamine

Abstract

Dopamine treatment constitutes a major advance towards the management of severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) by causing renal and mesenteric vasodilatation as well as diuretic and positive inotropic actions. Docarpamine, an oral dopamine prodrug, is converted into dopamine after enteral administration, and the generated dopamine causes renal vasodilatation and diuresis. The purpose of this study was to assess whether docarpamine had beneficial effects in patients with OHSS. Twenty-seven patients, hospitalized because of OHSS and refractory to the initial therapy with intravenous albumin, were treated by docarpamine, after informed consent had been obtained. A 750-mg tablet of docarpamine was taken every 8 h. In some cases, the plasma levels of free dopamine were measured. The daily urinary outputs before and 1, 2, 3 and 4 days after the docarpamine treatment were 839 +/- 424 ml, 1121 +/- 608 ml, 1168 +/- 504 ml, 1325 +/- 815 ml and 1133 +/- 509 ml, respectively. There were significant differences between the first and each of the others (p < 0.05). In 19 (86.4%) of 22 patients treated, clinical symptoms associated with ascites were gradually improved after administrating docarpamine. The plasma free dopamine concentration rose to as high as 55.9 +/- 33.2 mg/ml during the first hour, which corresponded to the usual intravenous drip infusion treatment with dopamine. Moreover, there were no major adverse effects of docarpamine in this study. This was the first demonstration of docarpamine treatment in patients with intravenous albumin-resistant OHSS. Although no effect was seen in pregnant women, diuresis was increased in some women, and ascites decreased. These findings indicate that oral docarpamine administration could be one of the options in the management of patients with OHSS using dopamine therapy.

Prediction of ovarian reserve based on day-3 serum follicle stimulating hormone concentrations during the pituitary suppression cycle using a gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist in patients undergoingin vitrofertilization–embryo transfer

“…Regarding the prevention of OHSS, the key is to identify women at risk of developing the syndrome 1 . In cases in which severe OHSS develops despite attempts to prevent it, we have reported the usefulness of an oral dopamine prodrug, docarpamine 26 , and reinfusion of ascites by means of peritoneal-venous shunting 27,28 . In the present study, a significant decrease of day-3 FSH was observed in patients with moderate or severe OHSS ( Table 3).…”

Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome: Aetiology, prevention and management

“…Dopamine and docarpamine have also been used in patients with OHSS with positive results [51,52]. The aim of treatment is to increase renal blood flow and glomerular filtration [53].…”

Targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor system to prevent ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome

“…Improvements in urinary output and overall symptoms were reported in seven critically ill patients after they received an intravenous dopamine infusion (Ferraretti et al, 1992). Moreover, the administration of docarpamine (an oral dopamine prodrug) in 27 hospitalized patients gradually improved urinary output and ascites (Tsunoda et al, 2003). Cb2 was administered to 20 patients at risk of hyperstimulation on the evening after oocyte retrieval, and to 10 severely hyperstimulated hospitalized pregnant women (Manno et al, 2005).…”