Leuprolide and Estrogen Versus Oral Contraceptive Pills for the Treatment of Hirsutism: A Prospective Randomized Study

This study compared the effectiveness of leuprolide plus estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) versus oral contraceptive pills (OCP) in treating hirsutism in 17 women over 6 months. The leuprolide+ERT group showed a significant decrease in circulating LH and FSH levels, and both groups experienced a reduction in testosterone and androstenedione levels, although the decrease in androstenedione was not significant in the OCP group. The Ferriman-Gallwey score, which measures hirsutism, significantly decreased in the leuprolide+ERT group but not in the OCP group. Self-evaluation indicated that 78% of leuprolide+ERT patients noted improvement in hair growth, compared to 25% in the OCP group. The study concluded that leuprolide plus cyclic estrogen/progestin provided a more rapid and possibly greater improvement in hirsutism than a standard OCP regimen.