Week 4: Reproductive pharmacology: Estrogens and Progestins Flashcards
Antiestrogens: Receptor antagonists
- fulvestrant (full antagonist)
- Tamoxifen (SERMs)
Antiestrogens: aromatase inhibitors
Anastrozole
Antiestrogens: GnRH agonists
Danazol
Antiandrogens: receptor antagonists
Flutamide
Antiandrogens: 5α-reductase inhibitors
Finasteride
Antiandrogens: Synthesis inhibitors
Ketoconazole
Antiandrogens: GnRH agonists
Combined oral contraceptives
Hypogonadism in girls and women Drugs
Estrogen component:
- Conjugated estrogens
- Ethinyl estradiol
- Estrone
- Estriol
Progestin component:
- Progesterone
- Medroxyprogesterone acetate
Drugs for oral hormonal contraceptive
Combined
- Ethinyl estradiol or mestranol + a progestin
Progestin-only
- Norethindrone or Norgestrel
Drugs for parenteral contraceptive
- Medroxyprogesterone as a depot IM injection
- Ethinyl estradiol and norelgestromin as a weekly patch
- Ethinyl estradiol and etonogestrel as a monthly vaginal ring
- 1-Norgestrel as an intrauterine device (IUD)
- Etonogestrel as a subcutaneous implant
Drugs for Postcoital contraceptive
- 1-Norgestrel
- combined oral contraceptive
Drugs for Intractable dysmenorrhea or uterine bleeding
- Conjugated estrogens
- ethinyl estradiol
- oral contraceptive
- GnRH agonist
- Depot injection of medroxypreogesterone acetate
Drugs for infertility
- Clomiphene
- hMG and hCG
- GnRH analogs
- Progesterone
- Bromocriptine
Drugs for Abortifacient
- Mifepristone (RU 486) and misoprostol
Drugs for endometriosis
- Oral contraceptive
- depot injection of medroxyprogesterone acetate
- GnRH agonist
- Danazol
Drugs for breast cancer
- Tamoxifen
- aromatase inhibitors (eg anastrozole)
Drugs for osteoporosis in postmenopausal women
- Conjugated estrogens
- estradiol
- raloxifene
Drugs for hypogonadism in boys, men or used as replacement therapy
- Testosterone enanthate or cypionate
- methyltestosterone
- Fluoxymesterone
- Testosterone (patch)
Drugs for Anabolic Protein Synthesis
- Oxandrolene
- Stanozolol
Drugs for Prostate hyperplasia (benign)
Finasteride
Drugs for prostate carcinoma
- GnRH agonist
- GnRH receptor antagonist
- Androgen receptor antagonist (eg flutamide)
Drugs for Hirsutism
- Combined oral contraceptive
- Spironolactone
- Flutamide
- GnRH agonist
Clinical uses of estrogens
- Primary hypogonadism in young females
- Hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
- Premature ovarian failure
- Postmenopausal
- Post-surgical removal of ovaries
- Suppress ovulation in patients with intractable dysmenorrhea
- Suppression of ovarian function is used in the treatment of hirsutism and amenorrhea due to excesive secretion of androgens by the ovary
- Components of hormonal contraceptives
Specific estrogen toxicity in primary hypogonasim
in hypogonadal girls, dosage must be adjusted carefully to prevent premature closure of epiphyses of the long bones resulting in short stature
Specific estrogen toxicities when used as HRT
- Estrogen increases the risk of endometrial cancer
- this effect is prevented by combining estrogen with a progestin
How is the risk of endometrial cancer through estrogen HRT reduced?
By combining the estrogen with a progestin
What are the dose-dependent toxicities of estrogen?
- nausea
- breast tenderness
- increased risk of migraine headache
- thromboembolic events (eg deep vein thrombosis (DVT))
- Gallbladder disease
- Hypertriglyceridemia
- hypertension
Antiestrogens: Receptor antagonists
Full antagonists
- Fulvestrant
Selective-estrogen receptor antagonists
- Tamoxifen
Antiestrogens: Aromatase inhibitors
Anastrozole
Antiestrogens: others
- GnRH agonists
- Danazol
What is Fulvestrant?
A pure full estrogen receptor antagonist (in all tissues)
Fulvestrant clinical uses
used in the treatment of women with breast cancer that have developed resistance to tamoxifen
SERM AKA
Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators (SERMs)
What are SERMs?
- SERMs are mixed estrogen agonists that have estrogen agonist effects in some tissues and act as partial agonists or antagonists of estrogen in other tissues
- Interactions of the estrogen receptor with various coregulators appear to be responsible for some of the tissue-specific effects of SERMs
What is Tamoxifen?
a Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator (SERM)
has mixed agonist and antagnoist effects in various tissues
Tamoxifen clinical uses
- effective in the treatment of hormone-responsive breast cancer where it acts as an antagonist
- Prophylactic treatment of tamoxifen reduces the incidence of breast cancer in women who are at very high risk
- Has greater agonist effect in bone and thus prevents osteoporosis in postmenopausal women
Tamoxifen side effects
- Works as an agonist on endometrial receptors and thus promotes endometrial hyperplasia and increases the risk of endometrial cancer (agonist effect)
- Causes hot flushes (antagonist effect)
- increases the risk of venous thrombosis (agonist effect)
What is Clomiphene?
A Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator (SERM) + is a nonsteroidal compound with tissue-specific actions
has mixed agonist and antagonist effects on the estrogen receptors of various tissues (tissue-dependent)
Clomiphene clinical uses & mechanism
- used to induce ovulation in anovulatory women who wish to become pregnant
- By selectively blocking estrogen receptors in the pituitary, clomiphene reduces negative-feedback and increases FSH and LH output
- This increase in gonadotropins stimulates ovulation
Antiestrogens: Aromatase inhibitors
Anastrozole
What is anastrozole?
A non-steroidal competitive aromatase inhibitor
Anastrozole related compounds
Letrozole
What is Letrozole
related to anastrozole
A non-steroidal competitive aromatase inhibitor
Anastrozole clinical uses
used in the treatment of breast cancer
What is Exemestane?
an irreversible aromatase inhibitor unlike Anastrozole which is a competitive inhibitor
Anastrozole & related compounds MOA
- nonsteroidal competitive inhibitors of Aromatase
- Aromatase is the enzyme required for the last step in estrogen synthesis
- Exemestane is an irreversible aromatase inhibitor
What is Danazol?
Danazol inhibits several cytochrome P450 enzymes involved in gonadal steroid synthesis and is a weak partial agonist of progestin, androgen and glucocorticoid receptors
Danazol clinical uses
Sometimes used in the treatment of endometriosis and fibrocystic disease of the breast
What are GnRH analogs?
The cotinuous administration of GnRH agonists (eg Leuprolide) suppresses and thereby inhibits ovarian production of estrogens and progesterone
Examples of GnRH analogs
Leuprolide