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Biomedical subjects

P F Brenner

Publications and source records attributed to P F Brenner.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

A multicenter study of levonorgestrel-estradiol contraceptive vaginal rings. II-Subjective and objective measures of effects. An international comparative trial.

Comparative clinical trials of 2 sizes of contraceptive vaginal rings and of an oral contraceptive were undertaken at 8 investigational sites (9 clinics). More than 500 women enrolled on each of the 3 study regimens. Side effects of the rings and of Nordette, the oral contraceptive, were evaluated by noting spontaneous complaints, by recording medications taken and by physical examination. Inquiries about changes in the frequency of specific conditions were made at the end of the subjects participation in the first year of the study. The incidence of spontaneous complaints was similar among users of the 2 different-sized rings and of the pill.

Adolescent↗

A multicenter study of levonorgestrel-estradiol contraceptive vaginal rings. III-Menstrual patterns. An international comparative trial.

Menstrual events among users of contraceptive vaginal rings (CVRs), releasing levonorgestrel and estradiol, were studied in comparison with a combined oral contraceptive, Nordette, in multicentered trials. CVRs were made with outside diameters of 50 and 58 mm and released about 250 micrograms and 290 microgram of levonorgestrel and 150 microgram and 180 microgram of estradiol per day, respectively. The CVRs were used continuously for 3 weeks and then removed for 1 week. Both the CVRs and Nordette were perceived to reduce menstrual flow and days of menstrual bleeding. Twenty to 25% of CVR users perceived increased intermenstrual bleeding or spotting. Diaries indicate, however, that on average, CVR users experienced about 1 day per month of bleeding or spotting with the ring in place. CVRs and Nordette produced approximately the same total number of bleeding and spotting days during 6 cycles of use, 27-29, but the small (50-mm OD) ring was associated with somewhat more spotting. This ring was also associated with somewhat more prolonged bleeding and spotting runs and with more prolonged nonbleeding intervals than reported by users of the larger (58-mm OD) ring or of Nordette. Differences among regimens, however, tended to be small even when statistically significant. Evidence from menstrual diaries indicates that these CVRs, and in particular 58-mm ring, provide control over the menstrual cycle comparable to the Nordette.

Adolescent↗

Termination of early gestation with (15S)-15-methyl prostaglandin F2 alpha methyl ester vaginal suppositories.

Vaginal suppositories containing (15S)-15-methyl prostaglandin F2 alpha methyl ester were administered to 40 subjects, in an attempt to induce an early abortion. All subjects were 49 days or less from their last menstrual period. Ten subjects received a 3-mg suppository followed in 3 hours by a 1 mg suppository, ten subjects received the 1-mg suppository followed in 3 hours by a 3-mg suppository, and twenty subjects received the 3-mg suppository followed in 1 hour by the 1-mg suppository. Twenty-four subjects (60%) had a successful termination of their pregnancy using the two vaginal prostaglandin suppository regimen. All subjects who aborted had 10 percent or less of their pretreatment levels of beta-hCG 7 to 22 days after therapy. Sixteen subjects (40%) did not abort. One of the subjects who failed treatment refused the second suppository due to gastrointestinal side effects and uterine cramping following the insertion of the 1-mg suppository. A second subject had an incomplete abortion and developed mild endometritis. Sixteen subjects reported side effects which included nausea, emesis, diarrhea, uterine cramping requiring analgesia, restlessness, shakiness, and dizziness. The addition of the second vaginal suppository containing this particular prostaglandin analogue did not significantly increase the overall abortifacient activity of this method.

Abortion, Induced↗

Pharmacokinetics of ethynyloestradiol in women for different populations.

The pharmacokinetics of a dose of 50 microgram ethynyloestradiol administered orally was studied in fourteen centres. Absorption was rapid and the highest serum concentrations of total ethynyloestradiol were found in most subjects at 1 h and by 24 h concentrations were less than 250 pg/ml. Calculation of the half-lives for absorption, distribution and elimination showed wide variations between subjects, the half-life of elimination varying from 2.5 h to more than 30 h. Bioavailability as measured by the area under the serum ethynyloestradiol concentration-time curve also showed more than a ten-fold variation. Intra-centre differences in the various parameters measured were as large as the inter-centre differences.

Biological Availability↗

Comparison of metabolic and clinical effects of four oral contraceptive formulations and a contraceptive vaginal ring.

A group of 100 women desiring OC received one of the following four formulations on a randomized basis: (1) mestranol 50 micrograms and norethindrone 1 mg, , (2) ethinyl estradiol 50 micrograms and norethindrone 1 mg, (3) ethinyl estradiol 35 micrograms and norethindrone 1 mg, and (4) ethinyl estradiol 30 micrograms and levonorgestrel 150 mg. An additional 10 women received a CVR containing levonorgestrel and estradiol. Measurement of a large number of serum chemistries, lipids, proteins, clotting factors, and liver enzymes was obtained before and 3 and 6 months after starting medication. Clinical factors such as weight, blood pressure, bleeding or spotting, or any adverse side effects were also recorded. There was no significant difference in the metabolic parameters measured among the four oral contraceptives except the increase in angiotensinogen was slightly less in the groups receiving the compounds with 30 or 35 micrograms estrogen and the groups receiving the norgestrel compound had no increase in triglycerides and a slight decrease in cholesterol levels. When the CVR was compared with all oral contraceptives it was found to produce no change in angiotensinogen levels and a decrease in triglycerides. Some of each group of OC users had a lowering of antithrombin III to abnormal levels but none of the CVR users had his amount of decrease. As oral steroids with 30 or 35 micrograms of estrogen do not produce significantly less metabolic alteration than do compounds with 50 micrograms of estrogen, it is unlikely that their use will reduce the incidence of the uncommon serious adverse effects associated with OC use. However, since the CVR's did not increase angiotensinogen, their use as contraceptives will most likely not produce hypertension and possibly the other serious circulatory problems which are increased in some OC users.

Adolescent↗

Ectopic pregnancy. A study of 300 consecutive surgically treated cases.

Three hundred consecutive women with the surgical and histological diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy were studied to evaluate the etiological factors associated with this problem. Seventy-seven women had a history of surgical evidence of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID); 46 had a history of abdominal pelvic surgery; 32 had a history of both PID and surgery. Forty-three women had used an intrauterine device (IUD), and 32 had a device in utero at the time of the ectopic pregnancy. However, no definite relationship between use of the IUD and ectopic pregnancy could be established. A pregnancy test was positive in 207 of the 251 women on whom it was performed. Culdocentesis, performed on all patients, yielded nonclotting blood in 285 patients. Hematocrit value, measured on the culdocentesis specimen, was greater than 15% in 278 of the 285 women.

Adolescent↗

Termination of early gestation with a single vaginal suppository of (15S)-15-methyl-prostaglandin F2alpha methyl ester.

Abortion was induced in 20 women who were less than 49 days pregnant with a vaginal suppository containing 3.0 mg (15S)-15-methyl-prostaglandin F2alpha methyl ester. Peripheral serum levels of (15S)-15-methyl F2alpha free acid, beta hCG and progesterone were measured before, during the 10 hours after treatment and over the next 14 days. Eighteen of the subjects had a complete follow-up: ten were aborted (53%), three had incomplete abortions and five were failures. There was a correlation between serum levels of F2alpha (15S)-15-methyl-prostaglandin F2alpha free acid, and the incidence of success. Progesterone was significantly reduced in all three groups of subjects and, therefore, could not be utilized to judge the success of the procedure. A small but insignificant reduction of betahCG occurred in all subjects regardless of outcome during the ten-hour observation period. Since minor side effects of diarrhea and vomiting occurred in less than half of the aborted and only a few of the not aborted subjects, a larger amount of drug might improve the success rate.

Abortion, Induced↗

Serum levels of ethinylestradiol following its ingestion alone or in oral contraceptive formulations.

The pharmacodynamics of ethinylestradiol (EE2) were studied utilizing a specific radioimmunoassay to measure serum levels in subjects ingesting EE2 alone or in combination with various gestagens. Following the administration of a single oral dose of 20 micrograms of EE2 to three postmenopausal women, peak serum levels ranging from 29 to 58 pg/ml were reached within one hour. Levels fell below the sensitivity of the assay (20 pg/ml) 2, 5 and 8 hours after ingestion. In normal menstruating women, peak serum EE2 concentrations averaged 84 +/- 27 pg/ml after the ingestion of 35 micrograms EE2 and 0.5 mg norethindrone, 152 +/- 57 pg/ml after the ingestion of 50 micrograms mestranol and 1.0 norethindrone and 201 +/- 11 pg/ml after the ingestion of 50 micrograms EE2 and 0.5 mg norgestrel. After the ingestion of mestranol, peak serum levels of EE2 were less than and occurred later than peak levels obtained after the ingestion of the same dose of EE2.

Adult↗

Androgen and estrogen production in elderly men with gynecomastia and testicular atrophy after mumps orchitis.

Gynecomastia developed in three men 1-30 yr after the occurrence of testicular atrophy due to mumps orchitis. At the time of study, these men were 63-68 yr of age. In these men the mean plasma production rate of testosterone was 816 microgram/24 h, a value 20% of that found in normal elderly men without gynecomastia. The plasma production rate of androstenedione averaged 1317 microgram/24 h. The mean production rates of 17 beta-estradiol and estrone in these subjects were 33 and 48 microgram/24 h, values comparable to those of normal young men. Extraglandular formation of estrogen from plasma prehormones accounted for all of the 17 beta-estridiol and most of the estrone produced by these elderly men with gynecomastia. Serum gonadotropin concentrations were elevated in these men, probably because plasma testosterone production rates were decreased. These findings are consistent with the view that the capacity of Leydig cells to secrete testosterone was impaired after mumps orchitis in these subjects, but the capacity to form estrogen was not similarly impaired, since most estrogen is formed in extraglandular sites. Thus, the impairment in Leydig cell testosterone secretion after mumps orchitis together with the normal increase in extraglandular aromatization that accompanies aging bring about a striking reduction in the ratio of testosterone to estrogen production rates, and gynecomastia may result.

Aged↗

Rate of metabolism of norethisterone in women from different populations.

The rate of metabolism of orally administered norethisterone was compared in fourteen centres by measuring plasma levels of the steroid by radioimmunoassay at varying times after oral administration of a 1 mg dose. The inter-centre differences were of the same order as the intra-centre differences. Variations in metabolism appeared not to be due to variations in body size.

Adult↗

Origin of estrogen in normal men and in women with testicular feminization.

The purpose of this study was to quantify the various sources of estrone (E1) and 17 beta-estradiol (E2) production in normal men and in women with testicular feminization. The mean production rate of E1 in four young adult men was 58 micrograms/24 h, while that of E2 was 44 micrograms/24 h. In these men, E1 production could be accounted for totally by extraglandular formation through 1) aromatization of plasma androstenedione, 2) conversion of E2 which was formed from the aromatization of plasma testosterone, and 3) conversion of secreted E2. In these men, only 12 micrograms or less of E2 production could not be accounted for by extraglandular formation from plasma C19 precursors, and is presumed to have arisen by testicular secretion. In six women with testicular feminization, the mean production rate of E1 was 99 micrograms/24 h, while that of E2 was 77 micrograms/24 h. THe amount of E2 production that arose by glandular secretion could be computed in four of these women and was considerably greater than that found in the young adult men. In these women with testicular feminization, an average of 44 micrograms/24 h E2 could not be accounted for by extraglandular formation and is presumed to have arisen by testicular secretion. The mean plasma production rate of testosterone in the normal men was 5.7 mg/24 h, while that in the women with testicular feminization was 8.3 mg/24 h. However, the range of plasma production rates of testosterone in the women with testicular feminization was large (1.3--17.0 mg/24 h).

Adolescent↗

Factors affecting pituitary gonadotropin function in users of oral contraceptive steroids.

In order to determine whether certain factors influence the direct pituitary suppressive effect of contraceptive steroid, 50 subjects who had used various formulations of oral contraceptive steroids for periods of time ranging from one to nine years were stimulated with 50 microgram of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) during the last week of oral contraceptive ingestion. The response of lutinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) was compared to the results obtained in nine control subjects with regard to: (1) age of subject. (2) type of contraceptive formulation used, and (3) length of use. Prestimulation levels of LH and FSH, respectively, were significantly decreased in 37 (74 per cent) and 42 (84 per cent) of the subjects. Following GnRH stimulation, peak responses of serum LH and FSH, respectively, were also significantly lower than those in the control subjects in 40 (80 per cent) and 45 (90 per cent of the subjects. The degree of suppression of pituitary gonadotropins, both before and after GnRH administration was significantly correlated with the type of steroid formulation used, being greatest with a combination of d-norgestrel and ethinyl estradiol. No correlation was found with length of use of oral contraceptives or age of the subjects.

Adult↗

A radioimmunoassay for norethindrone (NET): measurement of serum NET concentrations following ingestion of NET-containing oral contraceptive steroids.

A sensitive and reliable radioimmunoassay (RIA) for the measurement of norethindrone (NET) in serum has been established employing anti-11 alpha-hydroxynorethindrone 11-hemisuccinyl-bovine serum albumin serum in conjunction with norethindrone-3-(0-carboxymethyl) oximino-[125I]-iodohistamine. Of a number of ring A reduced NET metabolites, only 17 beta-hydroxy-17 alpha-ethinyl-5 beta-estran-3-one (43%) and 17 alpha-ethinyl-5 alpha-estrane-3 beta, 17 beta-diol (15.7%) cross-reacted appreciably in this RIA. Ethinyl estradiol (EE2) and mestranol (MEE2) exhibited cross-reactions of only 1.1 and 0.4%, respectively. Serum NET levels were measured in four groups of 3 women, each ingesting either 1 mg NET plus 0.05 mg MEE2 (Norinyl 1 + 50 or Ortho Novum 1/50), 0.5 mg NET plus 0.035 mg EE2 (Brevicon) or only 0.35 mg NET (Micronor) daily for 5 consecutive days. Peak serum NET levels were observed within 1/2 to 4 hours after oral intake and fell precipitously thereafter. After reaching a maximum, serum NET concentrations declined in a manner consistent with at least two disposition phases. The average half-life for the first disposition phase was 2.3, 3.4, 3.9 and 4.4 hours in subjects ingesting Norinyl 1 + 50, Ortho Novum 1/50, Brevicon and Micronor, respectively. Peak and 3-hour post-ingestion serum NET concentrations were dose-related but showed considerable subject-to-subject variations. Following discontinuation of tablet intake, serum NET levels remained detectable (greater than 0.05 ng/ml) for at least 5 days in all 3 women who had taken Ortho Novum 1/50, but in none of the other 9 volunteers. These results suggest that different preparations of identical doses and combinations of oral contraceptive steroids may yield different serum NET profiles. However, due to considerable subject-to-subject variations, larger numbers of subjects are required for a conclusive investigation.

Adult↗

Comparison of the effects of contraceptive steroid formulations containing two doses of estrogen on pituitary function.

A pituitary stimulation test with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) was undertaken to determine (1) whether pituitary responses to GnRH vary in individual women taking oral contraceptive steroids over time, (2) whether a less suppressive pituitary gonadotropin effect is produced by formulations containing less than 50 microgram of estrogen, and (3) to obtain more information concerning prolactin secretion in users of oral contraceptive steroids. The same subjects who had had a suppressed luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) response 6 to 9 months previously also had a suppressed response, indicating that this effect persists over time. Contraceptive formulations containing less than 50 microgram of estrogen have a lesser suppressive effect on LH release than do formulations containing 50 microgram of estrogen or more. The basal prolactin (PRL) response as well as the maximal PRL response to TRH were found to be significantly greater in subjects using oral contraceptives than in the control subjects. However, no difference in PRL response was found between the subjects using low or high doses of estrogen fomulations.

Adult↗

A randomized comparison of the Ypsilon-Y and Lippes loop D intrauterine devices in parous women.

A randomized single-blind clinical study was performed to determine whether there was any difference in the termination event rates between parous women using the Ypsilon-Y intrauterine device (IUD) and those using the Lippes loop D. A total of 174 women received the Ypsilon-Y IUD and 173 women received the loop D. A significant higher incidence of expulsion occurred with use of the Ypsilon-Y IUD.

Adolescent↗

Serum levels of d-norgestrel, luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, estradiol, and progesterone in women during and following ingestion of combination oral contraceptives containing dl-norgestrel.

Three formulations of dl-norgestrel were administered daily to groups of three women for five consecutive days. The serum levels of d-norgestrel were related to the dosage of dl-norgestrel ingested. Peak concentrations in the circulation of synthetic gestagen were attained a half hour to three hours after oral administration, followed by a rapid and sharp decline in levels until the next dose. Three women received 500 micrograms of dl-norgestrel and 50 micrograms of ethinyl estradiol for 21 days followed by six to seven days of no medication for two consecutive cycles. The gonadotropins remained suppressed for four to six days when therapy was discontinued. The daily concentrations of estradiol varied from less than 5 to 81 pg. per milliliter, and there was no difference in estrogen values during the nontreatment and treatment days. Due to the long half life of norgestrel, the one-week pill-free interval is not long enough for the complete recovery of the reproductive axis from the inhibition of oral contraceptives.

Adult↗