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Query: UMLS:C0020538 (hypertension)
 170,190 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The use of oral contraceptives should at all times be under physician's control. Most contraindications and complications from oral contraceptives are now a thing of the past, when higher doses were prescribed. However oral contraceptives are still responsible for many side effects and complications. Some of these are gastrointestinal problems; menstruation disorders, such as spotting or amenorrhea; decreased libido; increase in body weight; mastodynia; blood coagulation effects; lipid and carbohydrate metabolic effects; ophthalmological and dermatological problems; and, possibly, an increase in susceptibility to some infectious diseases. Patients with hypertension; with heart or hepatic diseases; with a history of family thrombolic accidents; with diabetes; or hyperthyroidism should utilize another form of contraception. Oral contraceptives are totally contraindicated for obese or emotionally depressed people, for pregnant or nursing mothers, for women with uterine or breast cancer, and for adolescents.
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PMID:[Principle complications and contraindications of the use of oral contraceptives]. 15 84

The effect transcutaneous oestradiol for four months supplemented by medroxyprogesterone (Perlutex) from the 12th to 26th day of every month was assessed in an open uncontrolled prospective investigation in 34 women with menopausal symptoms and follicle stimulating hormone greater than 40 international units and luteinizing hormone greater than 25 international units. A marked effect was found on sweating and hot flushes and other menopausal complaints as expressed by Kupperman's menopausal index. Serum oestradiol increased during the first two months to follicular phase values and this was followed by an unexplained decrease after the fourth month which did not, however, result in aggravation of the symptoms. No alterations were found in steroid-hormone-binding globulin, lipids and body weight. Whether the patients placed the plasters in the hip or abdominal regions was found to be of no significance. Seventeen patients had no side effects of the treatment. Nine patients had transient skin symptoms which disappeared spontaneously. Five patients had mastalgia which disappeared after reduction of the Perlutex dose. One patient developed metrorrhagia. A total of three patients abandoned the treatment: one on account of skin symptoms, one on account of high blood pressure and a third on account of psychiatric symptoms which were unrelated to the treatment. A total of 28 patients wanted to continue treatment after the fourth month.
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PMID:[Transcutaneous estradiol treatment in the climacteric]. 240 44

Medroxyprogesterone acetate injections (Depo-Provera) were given to 625 women at 3 monthly intervals involving 693 episodes. Ages at entry to the study ranged from 15-51 years with the majority in their 20s and a mean age of 30. Length of exposure ranged from 3-168 cycles. 4 women have received more than 160 continuous cycles of DMPA. Of the medication-induced reasons for discontinuing DMPA, bleeding was the most common with an incidence of 10.5% followed by depression (1.4%), weight gain (1.4%), and loss of libido (1.6%). No patient ceased treatment because of headaches, recurrent vaginal infections, mastalgia, nausea, chloasma, hypertension, or other vascular illnesses. The 59 women who move away or were lost to follow-up accounted for 405 cycles of treatment. The solitary unplanned pregnancy occurred in a 28-year-old obese woman who had previously had other method failures, once with an IUD and once with oral contraceptives (OCs). No association was found with carcinoma of the cervix. Of 80 women ceasing treatment to become pregnant, only 1 women has required the assistance of chlomiphene and conceived 2 years after ceasing DMPA. Amenorrhea was the side effect most appreciated by the women using DMPA. Due to the problem of irregular bleeding, it is wise to warn prospective patients about the lack of bleeding control that they have 1 chance in 10 of having relative menorrhagia. Women using OC subject to frequent vaginal moniliasis had a marked reduction in episodes after switching to DMPA. Chloasma, 1 of the minor stigmas of OC, was not induced in any of the patients. DMPA is a safe and efficient reversible method of contraception for women who have various gynecological conditions or problems associated with using OCs.
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PMID:Medroxyprogesterone acetate as an injectable contraceptive. 296 70

Ginseng is the root of the perennial herbs of Panax quinquefolium and Panax ginseng which contain a series of tetracyclic triterpenoid saponins (ginsenosides) as active ingredients. It is considered a tonic or adaptogenic that enhances physical performance (including sexual), promotes vitality and increases resistance to stress and ageing. The adaptogenic properties of ginseng are believed to be due to its effects on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, resulting in elevated plasma corticotropin and corticosteroids levels. When used appropriately, ginseng appears to be safe. Nevertheless, documented side effects include hypertension, diarrhoea, restlessness, mastalgia and vaginal bleeding.
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PMID:The aphrodisiac and adaptogenic properties of ginseng. 1093 Jul 6

Estradiol valerate 2mg/dienogest 2mg is an oral estrogen/ progestogen formulation that has been approved throughout the European Union for the treatment of climacteric symptoms in postmenopausal women. Dienogest is a progestogen that combines the properties of both progesterone and 19-nortestosterone derivatives. It has moderate affinity for the progesterone receptor, significant antiproliferative and antiandrogenic activity, and produces secretory transformation of the endometrium. Estradiol valerate is an esterified form of natural 17beta-estradiol, the most potent endogenous human ovarian estrogen, and is hydrolysed to estradiol soon after oral administration. Results from a randomised, double-blind, multicentre trial showed that oral estradiol valerate 2mg/dienogest 2mg and estradiol valerate 2mg/dienogest 3mg once daily for 1 year were each as effective as estradiol 2mg/estriol 1mg/norethisterone acetate 1mg in the treatment of climacteric symptoms in 581 postmenopausal women; reductions from baseline in Kupperman Index scores were 78.5, 74.5 and 75.0%, respectively. The number of days without any type of bleeding was lowest in patients treated with estradiol valerate 2mg/dienogest 2mg (8.7 days), and highest in the estradiol valerate 2mg/ dienogest 3mg group (12.1 days). During the twelfth month of treatment with estradiol valerate 2mg/dienogest 2mg, the percentage of patients who reported bleeding was 14.5%. Endometrial biopsy results were similar in patients treated with estradiol valerate 2mg/dienogest 2mg, estradiol valerate 2mg/dienogest 3mg or estradiol 2mg/estriol 1mg/norethisterone acetate 1mg once daily for 1 year; 90.8, 87.4 and 87.5% of samples, respectively, contained atrophic material. Proliferative material was found in 4.2, 2.5 and 4.4% of the biopsies, respectively; there was no incidence of hyperplasia in any of the treatment groups. A noncomparative multicentre study in 1501 postmenopausal women demonstrated that adverse events associated with estradiol valerate 2mg/dienogest 2mg once daily for 48 weeks included breakthrough bleeding, mastalgia, headache, abdominal pain, hypertension, thrush, migraine, weight gain, increase in endometrial thickness and metrorrhagia.
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PMID:Estradiol valerate/dienogest. 1182 62

The article is primarily a general discussion of the pill's medical aspects, prefaced by a discussion of the normal human menstrual cycle. Aspects of oral contaceptives reviewed include mechanisms, effectiveness, product formulation, instructions for use, adverse reactions, contraindications, and current developments. Oral contraceptive mechanisms include 1) blockage of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) release, 2) alteration of motility in the fallopian tubes 3) modification of endometrial maturation, and 4) rendering the cervical mucus hostile to sperm migration. Mild side effects of various oral contraceptives include nausea, mastalgia, edema, psychological changes, headaches, and failure of withdrawal bleeding. Moderate side effects include breakthrough bleeding, androgenic side effects, patches of increased skin pigmentation, and prolonged amenorrhea and infertility. Severe side effects include impaired liver function and jaundice, hypertension, and thromboembolic disorders. Topics of current research in steroidal contraception include depot therapy, continuous low-dose progestogen therapy, and postcoital estrogen therapy.
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PMID:Pharmacology of contraceptive agents - new compounds with new problems? 1230 37

Eplerenone is a new aldosterone-receptor blocker that differs from spironolactone by virtue of higher selectivity for the aldosterone receptor. Therefore, eplerenone treatment is associated with comparative and absolute low incidences of gynecomastia, mastodynia, and abnormal vaginal bleeding. Similarly, a lower incidence of sexual impotence than that associated with spironolactone administration may be anticipated. Eplerenone and spironolactone increase natriuresis and cause renal retention of potassium when plasma aldosterone is high, i.e., both agents are facultative diuretics. Eplerenone reduces high blood pressure effectively. The results of a recent large study and an ensuing meta-analysis on antihypertensive treatment suggest that a diuretic should be the first-choice agent in most circumstances. Low-dose eplerenone combinations with a low-dose thiazide-type diuretic appear to be options worth investigating, since the overall cardiovascular benefit brought about by reducing blood pressure with the thiazide would be increased, inter alia, by the antikaliuretic action and by the blockade of extrarenal aldosterone receptors provoked by eplerenone. Eplerenone should replace spironolactone as a natriuretic and antikaliuretic in heart failure and as add-on treatment in severe systolic cardiac insufficiency, and it is indicated after an acute myocardial infarction complicated by left ventricular dysfunction and heart failure. The finding that hypertension control with diuretic-based pharmacotherapy results in better prevention of heart failure than pressure reduction with other drugs makes it pertinent to investigate whether diuretics in general, and eplerenone in particular, should constitute part of the initial pharmacotherapy for heart failure when there is no overt fluid retention and independent of the etiology. Eplerenone may cause hyperkalemia, and it might favor the development of metabolic acidosis or hyponatraemia in some circumstances.
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PMID:The aldosterone antagonist and facultative diuretic eplerenone: a critical review. 1573 14

The objective of this study was to evaluate the scientific evidence on flaxseed, including expert opinion, folkloric precedent, history, pharmacology, kinetics/dynamics, interactions, adverse effects, toxicology, and dosing. Electronic searches were conducted in 9 databases, 20 additional journals (not indexed in common databases), and bibliographies from 50 selected secondary references. No restrictions were placed on the language or quality of the publications. All literature collected pertained to efficacy in humans, dosing, precautions, adverse effects, use in pregnancy/lactation, interactions, alteration of laboratory assays, and mechanisms of action. Standardized inclusion/exclusion criteria are used for selection. Grades were assigned using an evidence-based grading rationale. A review of the literature on flaxseed yielded 13 categories for which flaxseed had been studied in humans, including constipation/laxative, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, hyperlipidemia, atherosclerosis/coronary artery disease, breast cancer, cyclic mastalgia (breast pain), menopausal symptoms, hyperglycemia/diabetes, hypertension, lupus nephritis, human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), and prostate cancer. Most of the available evidence investigates the efficacy of alpha-linoleic acid found in flaxseed compared with fish oil, and almost all of the available studies are poor quality. Although flaxseed and flaxseed oil have several promising future uses, the available literature does not support recommendation for any condition at this time.
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PMID:Flax and flaxseed oil (Linum usitatissimum): a review by the Natural Standard Research Collaboration. 1776 Nov 28

The contraceptive pill has been a revolution of the last 40 years. In Italy, however, it is much less widely used than in other countries. Explanations for this phenomenon range from religious implications and customs to misinformation and word-of-mouth communication of negative experiences. The oral contraceptive pill is often used to correct menstrual disorders, leading to poor results and side-effects. Recent advances in oral contraception have led to a substantial reduction in doses and side-effects. Low-dose pills contain minimal doses of progesterones and estrogens and ensure good control of the menstrual cycle. Although reduction of ethinyl estradiol (EE) concentrations has reduced the incidence of negative systemic side effects such as water retention, edema and swollen breasts, the low estrogen dose may be associated with spotting and hypomenorrhea or amenorrhea in the long term, as well as dyspareunia due to reduced vaginal trophism, which may induce women to suspend use of the drug. It is also true that only one type of estrogen is used in the pill, albeit at different doses, whereas the progesterone may differ and in many cases is the cause of common side-effects. The choice of progesterone therefore involves not only its effect on the endometrium in synergy with estrogen, but also possible residual androgenic activity which may have negative metabolic repercussions. Indeed, addition of a progesterone, especially androgen-derived, attenuates the positive metabolic effects of estrogen. Two new monophasic oral contraceptives were recently released. They contain 30 microg (Yasmin) or 20 muicrog (Yasminelle) EE and a new progesterone, drospirenone, derived from spirolactone, which has antiandrogenic and antimineralcorticoid activity similar to endogenous progesterone. Like progesterone, the drospirenone molecule is an aldosterone antagonist and has a natriuretic effect that opposes the sodium retention effect of EE. It may, therefore, help to prevent the water retention, weight gain and arterial hypertension often associated with oral contraceptive use. Recent comparative studies recorded weight loss that stabilized after 6 months of treatment with drospirenone/EE. Overweight women may therefore benefit from the formulation with 20 microg EE, whereas the formulation with at least 30 microg EE should be more appropriate for underweight women. Women with slight to moderate acne, the formulation with 30 microg EE has been found to be as effective as 2 mg cyproterone acetate combined with 35 micrig EE (Diane). Menstrual cycle characteristics, however, remain the main factor determining the choice of formulation. Randomised control studies comparing the new formulation with others containing second or third generation progesterones have found similar efficacy in cycle control and incidence of spotting. From this point of view, it is not advisable to prescribe more than 30 microg EE (Yasmin or Yasminelle) for women with normal menstrual cycles, whereas in cases of hypomenorrhea and/or amenorrhea at least this dose of EE plus drospirenone may be used. Women with hypermenorrhea run the risk of spotting if an inappropriate drug is chosen. A solution is to use 30 microg EE/drospirenone from day 5 of the cycle. To control so-called minor side-effects, the dose of EE must be appropriate. In women with premenstrual tension a dose of at least 30 microg EE associated with drospirenone reduces or even prevents symptoms. On the other hand, in cases of chronic headache or headache as a side-effect of oral contraceptive use, a lower dose of estrogen is beneficial, and doses below 20 microg may be used. Although the progesterone component is not considered to affect headache, good results have been obtained with drospirenone, the antimineralcorticoid effects of which reduce blood pressure and improve symptoms. Formulations with 20 microg EE and drospirenone are particularly indicated in women with pre-existing mastodynia, fibrocystic breast manifestations or who develop mastodynia as a side-effect of oral contraceptive use. Since high plasma concentrations of androgens have been recorded in these women, a progesterone with antiandrogen and antiedema activity can be beneficial. Finally, it is worth recalling that monophasic pills with low estrogen doses, such as the formulations mentioned above, ensure good mood control, reducing the depressive symptoms often associated with oral contraceptive use. In conclusion, formulations containing drospirenone are a valid alternative to conventional oral contraceptives for the personalisation of these drugs.
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PMID:[Individualization of low-dose oral contraceptives. Pharmacological principles and practical indications for oral contraceptives]. 1792 32

The case notes of 377 clients who accepted Norplant out of 11961 acceptors of family planning methods in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology University of Benin Teaching Hospital, between January 1985 and December 1996 were retrieved and analysed at the end of 2004, for socio-demographic characteristics of the clients, side effects and complications reported and reasons for discontinuation in relation to duration of use. The daily register of the acceptors were analysed for new acceptors of other methods during the same period and confirmed with their case notes. The acceptance incidence of Norplant was 3.2%. The mean age and parity of the acceptors were 32.2 +/- 4.5 years and 3.9 +/- 1.8 respectively. The duration of use ranged between 6 months and 13 years. 65% of the acceptors reported menstrual abnormalities. 48% of them reported reduced bleeding pattern, while 7.5% (25) discontinued method under 4 years of use because of increased bleeding episodes. Other side effects reported were headache 6%, weight gain 3%, mastalgia 1.8%, decreased libido 1.8%, abdominal pain 1.5% and hypertension 1.2%. 20.4% (68) discontinued the use under 4 years because of desire to have another baby. 38.6% (129) had implants removed at 5 years, while 20.1% (67) continued the use for 6-13 years before removal and replacement with another set. Husband's request for removal constituted 7.2% (24). The effectiveness was 100% as no pregnancy was reported during the study period. The continuation rate at 5 years was 58.7%. 43 clients were however lost to follow up. Norplant was found to be an effective and acceptable method of long-term reversible contraception with minimal side effects. The low incidence was attributed to the fact that the implants were donor driven and not included in the country contraceptive logistic system. Norplant acceptors who continued the use after 5 years did so, because they enjoyed it and did not want to part with them without replacement of new sets.
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PMID:Contraception with levonorgestrel subdermal implants (Norplant) in Benin-City, Nigeria: a 12-year review. 1798 51


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