Desogestrel is a progestin medication which is used in birth control pills for women. It is also used in the treatment of menopausal symptoms in women. The medication is available and used alone or in combination with an estrogen. It is taken by mouth.
Side effects of desogestrel include menstrual irregularities, headaches, nausea, breast tenderness, mood changes, acne, increased hair growth, and others. Desogestrel is a progestin, or a synthetic progestogen, and hence is an agonist of the progesterone receptor, the biological target of progestogens like progesterone. It has very weak androgenic and glucocorticoid activity and no other important hormonal activity. The medication is a prodrug of etonogestrel (3-ketodesogestrel) in the body.
Desogestrel was discovered in 1972 and was introduced for medical use in Europe in 1981. It became available in the United States in 1992. Desogestrel is sometimes referred to as a "third-generation" progestin. Along with norethisterone, it is one of the only progestins that is widely available as a progestogen-only "mini pill" for birth control. Desogestrel is marketed widely throughout the world. It is available as a generic medication. In 2020, the version with ethinylestradiol was the 120th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 5 million prescriptions.
Desogestrel is used in hormonal contraception in women, specifically in birth control pills. It is used alone in progestogen-only pills ("mini pills") and in combination with the estrogen ethinylestradiol in combined oral contraceptive pills. Desogestrel and norethisterone are the only progestins that are widely used as a progestogen-only "mini pill". It is also the only newer-generation progestin with reduced androgenic activity that is used in such formulations. In addition to hormonal contraception, desogestrel has been used in combination with estrogens such as estradiol as a component of menopausal hormone therapy. The medication has also been used in the treatment of endometriosis.
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
Norethisterone, also known as norethindrone and sold under many brand names, is a progestin medication used in birth control pills, menopausal hormone therapy, and for the treatment of gynecological disorders. The medication is available in both low-dose and high-dose formulations and both alone and in combination with an estrogen. It is used by mouth or, as norethisterone enanthate, by injection into muscle. Side effects of norethisterone include menstrual irregularities, headaches, nausea, breast tenderness, mood changes, acne, increased hair growth.
Dienogest, sold under the brand name Visanne among others, is a progestin medication which is used in birth control pills and in the treatment of endometriosis. It is also used in menopausal hormone therapy and to treat heavy periods. Dienogest is available both alone and in combination with estrogens. It is taken by mouth. Side effects of dienogest include menstrual irregularities, headaches, nausea, breast tenderness, depression, and acne, among others.
An estrogen (E) is a type of medication which is used most commonly in hormonal birth control and menopausal hormone therapy, and as part of feminizing hormone therapy for transgender women. They can also be used in the treatment of hormone-sensitive cancers like breast cancer and prostate cancer and for various other indications. Estrogens are used alone or in combination with progestogens. They are available in a wide variety of formulations and for use by many different routes of administration.
The contraceptive effect of breastfeeding remains essential to controlling fertility in many developing regions of the world. The extent to which this negative effect of breastfeeding on ovarian activity is sensitive to ecological conditions, notably mater ...
Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women worldwide and understanding the risk factors affecting it is key for prevention. The relative risk of developing breast cancer is related to exposure to both endogenous hormones and exogenous natural and ...
EPFL2022
,
Steroid hormones are key gene regulators in breast cancer cells. While estrogens stimulate cell proliferation, progestins activate a single cell cycle followed by proliferation arrest. Here, we use biochemical and genome-wide approaches to show that proges ...