OBJECTIVE To evaluate the contraceptive choices and usage of women in rural Aba, Southeastern Nigeria, and identify factors influencing their choice and usage of modern contraceptive methods. METHODS The records of new and old acceptors of family planning methods between 1 November 2005 and 31 October 2007 at the reproductive health clinic of a primary health care center in Osisioma Ngwa loca...

INTRODUCTION Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) refers to the cyclic occurrence of a set of disturbing physical, emotional or behavioral alterations that are of sufficient severity to interfere with interpersonal relations and routine life. Normal variations in gonadal estrogen and progesterone lead to biochemical reactions in the brain, resulting in PMS symptoms. This study aims to investigate the pr...

The cervicovaginal fluid (CVF) coating the vaginal epithelium is an important immunological mediator, providing a barrier to infection. Glycosylation of CVF proteins, such as mucins, IgG and S-IgA, plays a critical role in their immunological functions. Although multiple factors, such as hormones and microflora, may influence glycosylation of the CVF, few studies have examined their impact on t...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the association between hormonal contraceptives and risk of HIV-1 seroconversion and prevalence of other sexually transmitted infections. DESIGN Prospective cohort. METHODS The study population was 2,236 HIV-negative women who were screened in a biomedical intervention trial in Durban, South Africa. The association between the use of hormonal contraceptives and ris...

OBJECTIVE To determine the impact of hormonal contraceptive methods on risk of HIV acquisition among HIV-negative women cohabiting with HIV-positive male partners. STUDY DESIGN From 1994-2012, HIV discordant couples recruited from a couples' voluntary HIV counseling and testing center in Lusaka, Zambia were followed longitudinally. HIV-negative partners were tested quarterly. This analysis is...

AIM To determine antiandrogen effects on muscle strength gain and fat-free mass increase during exercise in women using hormonal contraception with antiandrogen content. METHODS The study included 50 women (age range, 18-30 years; mean-/+SD, 26-/+3) using hormonal contraception for at least 12 months before the beginning of the study. They were divided into two groups: "antiandrogen" group (n...

The rising rate of overweight and obesity is a public health crisis in the United States and increasingly around the globe. Rates of contraceptive use are similar among women of all weights, but because contraceptive development studies historically excluded women over 130% of ideal body weight, patients and providers have a gap in understanding of contraceptive efficacy for obese and overweigh...

The use of the transdermal contraceptive patch is associated with greater bioavailability of ethinyl estradiol (EE) compared with contraceptive vaginal ring or oral contraceptives (OC). We compared the influences of three contraceptive methods (OC, vaginal ring, and transdermal patch) on serum levels of coenzyme Q(10), alpha-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol and total antioxidant capacity in premeno...

The paper investigates the relevance of medicinal chemistry for family planning and birth control by means of contraception. It discusses hormonal and non-hormonal methods and draws attention to the two central aspects of contraception, namely efficacy and safety of contraceptive methods.

Hormonal contraception has recently drawn the attention of both national and international Health Organizations mainly because of new data on the risk of venous and arterial thrombosis. This has, fortunately, not led to a 'pill scare' as happened in 1996 when controversy arose with respect to the thrombotic risk of third versus second -generation pills. This time, evidence on the thrombotic ris...