Megestrol acetateMegestrol acetate (MGA), sold under the brand name Megace among others, is a progestin medication which is used mainly as an appetite stimulant to treat wasting syndromes such as cachexia. It is also used to treat breast cancer and endometrial cancer, and has been used in birth control. MGA is generally formulated alone, although it has been combined with estrogens in birth control formulations. It is usually taken by mouth.
Estradiol (medication)Estradiol (E2) is a medication and naturally occurring steroid hormone. It is an estrogen and is used mainly in menopausal hormone therapy and to treat low sex hormone levels in women. It is also used in hormonal birth control for women, in hormone therapy for transgender women, and in the treatment of hormone-sensitive cancers like prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women, among other uses.
Hydroxyprogesterone caproateHydroxyprogesterone caproate, sold under the brand names Proluton and Makena among others, is a medication used to reduce the risk of preterm birth in women pregnant with one baby who have a history of spontaneous preterm birth. In March 2023, the manufacturer, Covis Pharma, agreed to withdraw the drug from the US market. The approvals of Makena and its generics were withdrawn by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in April 2023.
17α-Hydroxyprogesterone17α-Hydroxyprogesterone (17α-OHP), also known as 17-OH progesterone (17-OHP), or hydroxyprogesterone (OHP), is an endogenous progestogen steroid hormone related to progesterone. It is also a chemical intermediate in the biosynthesis of many other endogenous steroids, including androgens, estrogens, glucocorticoids, and mineralocorticoids, as well as neurosteroids. 17α-OHP is an agonist of the progesterone receptor (PR) similarly to progesterone, albeit weakly in comparison.
AcetomepregenolAcetomepregenol (ACM), also known as mepregenol diacetate and sold under the brand name Diamol, is a progestin medication which is used in Russia for the treatment of gynecological conditions and as a method of birth control in combination with an estrogen. It has also been studied in the treatment of threatened abortion. It has been used in veterinary medicine as well. It has been marketed since at least 1981. Based on its chemical structure, namely the lack of a C3 ketone, it is probable that acetomepregenol is a prodrug of megestrol acetate (the 3-keto analogue).
List of progestogen estersThis is a list of progestogen esters, or esters of progestogens. Unlike the case of testosterone and estradiol, progesterone cannot be esterified as it lacks hydroxyl groups, so all progestogen esters, with the exception of esters of 17α-hydroxyprogesterone like hydroxyprogesterone caproate, are esters of progestins (synthetic progestogens) and are non-bioidentical. In addition, whereas all androgen and estrogen esters are prodrugs of the parent compound, only some and not all progestogen esters act as prodrugs.
Progesterone 3-acetyl enol etherProgesterone 3-acetyl enol ether, also known as progesterone acetate, as well as 3-acetoxypregna-3,5-dien-20-one, is a progestin which was never marketed. It was reported to possess similar potency to progesterone and hydroxyprogesterone caproate in the rabbit endometrial carbonic anhydrase test, a bioassay of progestogenic activity. In addition, it was able to maintain pregnancy in animals. Progesterone 3-acetyl enol ether is closely related to quingestrone, which is also known as progesterone 3-cyclopentyl enol ether and was formerly marketed as an oral contraceptive.
Combined injectable birth controlCombined injectable contraceptives (CICs) are a form of hormonal birth control for women. They consist of monthly injections of combined formulations containing an estrogen and a progestin to prevent pregnancy. CICs are different from progestogen-only injectable contraceptives (POICs), such as depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA; brand names Depo-Provera, Depo-SubQ Provera 104) and norethisterone enantate (NETE; brand name Noristerat), which are not combined with an estrogen and are given once every two to three months instead of once a month.
Methenmadinone acetateMethenmadinone acetate (MMA), also known as methylenedehydroacetoxyprogesterone (MDAP) and sold under the brand names Superlutin and Antigest, is a progestin medication which was developed in Czechoslovakia in the 1960s. It is the C17α acetate ester of methenmadinone. MMA given orally shows about 13-fold the progestogenic activity of parenteral progesterone in animal bioassays.
