New Hormone Treatment Shown to Safely Eliminate Menstrual Cycles

December 18th, 2006

An 18-month study of over 2,000 healthy women ages 18 through 49 who were given continuous-use oral contraceptives to prevent menstruation has been shown to be safe and effective.

Among the study participants, 79% percent had progressively decreasing bleeding days, with an absence of bleeding after one year. In 59%, a complete cessation of menstrual cycles occurred soon after the first month.

Lead investigator David Archer, M.D., a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Eastern Virginia Medical School, expressed excitement over this “significant improvement in the quality of life for women.” The study can be found in the December issue of Contraception.

Dr. Archer asserts that for the first time, continuous-use oral contraceptives have been shown to safely eliminate menstrual bleeding and the symptoms associated with it — cramping, headaches, bloating, and irritability.

The study was conducted at 92 sites in North America where researchers dispensed to participating women a birth-control pill produced by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals under the name Lybrel. The new birth control pill contains 20 micrograms of ethinyl estradiol and 90 micrograms of levonorgestrel.

Traditional birth control pills contain 21 days of active hormones and 7 days of placebos (no hormones) to provide contraception while the woman continues to have monthly periods. More recently, birth control pills that reduce menstruation to four times a year have been on the market.

Now, women can be free of the monthly “curse,” until they are ready to conceive. As the name Lybrel implies, women can choose to be “liberated” from the discomfort and inconvenience of unwanted menstrual cycles.

Source:  Medical News TODAY

Entry Filed under: BIRTH CONTROL,Birth Control,FERTILITY,PREGNANCY & BIRTH,WOMEN'S HEALTHCARE