Clomifene or clomiphene (USAN

United States Adopted Name

United States Adopted Names are unique nonproprietary names assigned to pharmaceuticals marketed in the United States. Each name is assigned by the USAN Council, which is co-sponsored by the American Medical Association , the United States Pharmacopeial Convention , and the American Pharmacists...

 and former BAN

British Approved Name

A British Approved Name is the official non-proprietary or generic name given to a pharmaceutical substance, as defined in the British Pharmacopoeia...

) or Clomid or Clomifert is a selective estrogen receptor modulator

Selective estrogen receptor modulator

Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators are a class of compounds that act on the estrogen receptor. A characteristic that distinguishes these substances from pure receptor agonists and antagonists is that their action is different in various tissues, thereby granting the possibility to selectively...

 (SERM) that increases production of gonadotropins by inhibiting negative feedback

Negative feedback

Negative feedback occurs when the output of a system acts to oppose changes to the input of the system, with the result that the changes are attenuated. If the overall feedback of the system is negative, then the system will tend to be stable.- Overview :...

 on the hypothalamus. It is used mainly in female infertility

Female infertility

-Causes and factors:Causes or factors of female infertility can basically be classified regarding whether they are acquired or genetic, or strictly by location.-Acquired versus genetic:...

, in turn mainly as ovarian stimulation

Ovarian stimulation

Ovarian hyperstimulation is where a regimen of fertility medications are used to stimulate the development of multiple follicles of the ovaries in one single cycle, resulting in superovulation . It may be used as a part of in vitro fertilization...

 to reverse oligoovulation or anovulation

Anovulation

An anovulatory cycle is a menstrual cycle during which the ovaries do not release an oocyte. Therefore, ovulation does not take place. However, a woman who does not ovulate at each menstrual cycle is not necessarily going through menopause...

 such as in infertility in polycystic ovary syndrome

Infertility in polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic ovary disease is thought to be one of the leading causes of female infertility. Polycystic ovary syndrome is the cause of more than 75% of cases of anovulatory infertility.-Pathophysiology:...

, as well as being used for ovarian hyperstimulation, such as part of an in vitro fertilization procedure. Clomifene citrate is marketed under various trade names including Clomid, Serophene, and Milophene.
Clomifene appears to inhibit estrogen receptor

Estrogen receptor

Estrogen receptor refers to a group of receptors that are activated by the hormone 17β-estradiol . Two types of estrogen receptor exist: ER, which is a member of the nuclear hormone family of intracellular receptors, and the estrogen G protein-coupled receptor GPR30 , which is a G protein-coupled...

s in hypothalamus

Hypothalamus

The Hypothalamus is a portion of the brain that contains a number of small nuclei with a variety of functions...

, thereby inhibiting negative feedback

Negative feedback

Negative feedback occurs when the output of a system acts to oppose changes to the input of the system, with the result that the changes are attenuated. If the overall feedback of the system is negative, then the system will tend to be stable.- Overview :...

 of estrogen on gonadotropin

Gonadotropin

Gonadotropins are protein hormones secreted by gonadotrope cells of the pituitary gland of vertebrates. This is a family of proteins, which include the mammalian hormones follitropin , lutropin , placental chorionic gonadotropins hCG and eCG and chorionic gonadotropin , as well as at least two...

 production.