Progesterone development

Hydroxyprogesterone caproate was given intramuscularly every other week at an average dose of 13 mg to 19 female rabbits, and testosterone ethan-ate was given intramuscularly every other week at an average dose of 15 mg to 21 animals both treatments were given for up to 763 days. Rabbits treated with progesterone developed numerous endometrial cysts, sometimes associated with atypical hyperplasia ... 

Wimpy, T. H.. An en me immunoassay for milk progesterone development of a flow-through technique. 119 pp. Avail. Univ. Microfilms Int., Order No. DA8902824 From Diss. Abstr. Int. B 1989,49 4618-19. 1988. 

Extracts of corpora lutea were known ia the early tweatieth ceatury to inhibit ovulatioa ia animals. Pure progesterone (3), the active component of the extracts, was isolated ia 1934 and its stmcture reported (15). Several problems limited its use and drove efforts to develop progesterone analogues, ie, it was available only ia small quantities from animal sources, was not orally active, and was discovered to cause androgenic side effects. 

Alza Corp. has also developed an iatrauteriae device, Progestasert, designed to release progesterone [57-83-0] by diffusion through a rate-controlling membrane for up to one year. The dmg reservoir is built into a T-shaped device that is inserted intravaginaHy (15). 

Progesterone is secreted by the corpus luteum, placenta, and in small amounts by the adrenal cortex. Progesterone and its derivatives (ie, the progestins) transform the proliferative endometrium into a secretory endometrium. Progestins are necessary for the development of the placenta and inhibit the secretion of pituitary gonadotropins, which in turn prevents maturation of the ovarian follicle and ovulation. The synthetic progestins are usually preferred for medical use because of the decreased effectiveness of progesterone when administered orally. 

Historically, the 1950s represented an important time in the control of human fertility. It was during that decade that the first combined oral contraceptives were developed. Shortly after the discovery that the exogenous administration of hormones such as progesterone successfully blocked ovulation, the use of hormonal steroids quickly became the most popular method of contraception worldwide. Specifically, combined oral contraceptives represent the most commonly used reversible form of contraception today and it is estimated that nearly 100 million women worldwide take oral contraceptives.1 Further, in the United States, it is estimated that at some time during their lives, more than 80% of women born since 1945 have used oral... 

Corpus luteum The small yellow endocrine structure that develops within a ruptured ovarian follicle and secretes progesterone and estrogen. 

Knowledge regarding biosyntheses has induced several biomimetic approaches towards steroids, the first examples being described by van Tamelen [10] and Corey [11]. A more efficient process was developed by Johnson [12] who, to synthesize progesterone 0-10 used an acid-catalyzed polycyclization of the tertiary allylic alcohol 0-7 in the presence of ethylene carbonate, which led to 0-9 via 0-8 (Scheme 0.3). The cyclopentene moiety in 0-9 is then transformed into the cyclohexanone moiety in progesterone (0-10). 

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