Dienogest

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. Dienogest is a progestin, or a synthetic progestogen, and hence is an agonist of the progesterone receptor, the biological target of progestogens like progesterone. It is a unique progestogen, with strong effects in the uterus. The medication has some antiandrogenic activity, which may help to improve androgen-dependent symptoms like acne, and has no other important hormonal activity. Dienogest was discovered in 1979 and was introduced for medical use in 1995. Additional formulations of dienogest were approved between 2007 and 2010. It is sometimes referred to as a "fourth-generation" progestin. Dienogest is marketed widely throughout the world. It is available as a generic medication. Dienogest is used primarily in birth control pills in combination with ethinylestradiol under the brand name Valette. It is also available in a quadriphasic birth control pill combined with estradiol valerate, marketed as Natazia in the United States and Qlaira in some European countries and Russia. Dienogest is approved as a standalone medication under the brand names Visanne and Dinagest in various places such as Europe, Australia, Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia for the treatment of endometriosis. It has been found to be equally effective as gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRH agonists), such as leuprorelin, in the treatment of endometriosis. Birth control pills containing dienogest and estradiol valerate are approved in the United States for the treatment of menorrhagia (heavy menstrual bleeding).