The use of the progestogen-only pill as a 'pre-coital contraceptive' was tested by in vitro studies of sperm-mucus interaction. The results suggest that a single tablet of levonorgestrel 30 microg, or norethisterone 350 microg, was effective in preventing sperm migration in the cervical mucus about 12 hours later. This suggests that the progestogen-only pill may be effective as a 'morning befor...

Cardiovascular disease is a major killer in postmenopausal women in the industrialized societies. To investigate the effect of progestogen and 17p-estradiol replacement therapy on atherogenesis, we studied 60 cholesterol-fed ovariectomized rabbits for 13 weeks. They were randomly assigned to four groups of 15 rabbits each and received oral treatment with norethisterone acetate, levonorgestrel, ...

Two experiments were conducted to study the role of estradiol and progesterone in regulating steroid binding sites in sheep uterine myometrium. Exogenous estradiol increased the concentration of estradiol binding sites in nuclei and subsequently increased the total cell content of estradiol binding sites. Estradiol increased the number of progestogen binding sites (promegestone binding) and may...

Contraceptive failure and the progestogen-only pill The case report by Chandler and Nash1 in this issue of the Journal is interesting and highlights the need for trials of hormonal contraceptive use to include obese women. The authors acknowledge that despite an apparent association between contraceptive failure and higher body weight in studies of a Norplant® prototype and a levonorgestrelrele...

Clinical effectiveness is defined as the extent to which specific clinical interventions, when used in the field for a particular patient or population, do what they are intended to do. The evidence base for achieving clinical effectiveness in family planning is improving mainly because fertility control is a high international public health priority. Evidence generated by methodologically so...

An experiment was conducted to determine whether short estrous cycles following abortion of heifers between 70 and 75 d of gestation are due to factors associated with the previous presence of a conceptus or long-term exposure of the uterus and(or) ovaries to a progestogen. Fifty crossbred heifers were randomly allotted at estrus (d 0) to five groups: control (n = 10), pregnant (Preg.; n = 14),...

Combined hormonal contraceptives consist of an estrogen and a progestogen, and act primarily by preventing ovulation through the inhibition of the follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone. The progestogen component also renders the cervical mucus relatively impenetrable to sperm, and reduces the receptivity of the endometrium to implantation (IARC, 2007). A variety of innovations ha...

OBJECTIVE Our objective was to review the involved mechanisms and propose actions for controlling/treating abnormal uterine bleeding during climacteric hormone therapy. METHODS A systemic search of the databases SciELO, MEDLINE, and Pubmed was performed for identifying relevant publications on normal endometrial bleeding, abnormal uterine bleeding, and hormone therapy bleeding. RESULTS Befo...

Some women take an estrogen preparation for as long as several years to ease symptoms of the menopause. Such women appear to have little or no alteration in their risk of endometrial cancer, especially if they are also taking a progestogen, and no alteration in their risk of breast cancer. Similarly, the incidence of fractures is unaffected by relatively short-term hormone use. The risk of isch...