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The
yasmin contraceptive
Treatments for hyperandrogenism range from mild to extremely potent.
A mild approach is to use standard oral contraceptives. These help
regulate natural hormones and the estrogen in the pills provides
some indirect antagonism to the effects of androgens. Somewhat more
potent are oral contraceptives that include hormones with direct
anti androgenic properties. At the moment the only pill in this
category publicly available is "Yasmin". Yasmin was developed
by the German company Schering. In the US Schering's subsidiary
Berlex handles marketing and distribution. Yasmin is increasingly
used by Ob/Gyns and dermatologists for many women in several countries,
including the USA, UK, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Yasmin includes estrogens (0.03mg ethinyl estradiol) as with most
oral contraceptives, but it also contains a synthetic progestin
(3mg drospirenone). This progestin is different from the progestins
currently available in other oral contraceptives as it is an analogue
of spironolactone which is an anti androgen drug. Drospirenone blocks
the action of androgens by acting as an antagonist at the androgen
receptors and it helps inhibit production of ovarian androgens.
However, drospirenone does not counteract sex hormone-binding globulin
(SHBG) synthesis. nor does it prevent SHBG-testosterone binding.
Allowing SHBG to remain active is a good thing as SHBG binds to
testosterone and renders it incapable of binding with androgen receptors.
With the inclusion of Drospirenone, Yasmin is somewhat more potent
than the average oral contraceptive. However, it is not as strong
as a true anti androgen pill containing the drug spironolactone.
Yasmin has not been tested to find out how effective it is in treating
hirsutism, but the general consensus estimate in the dermatology
clinic is that Yasmin has about 30% of the potency of spironolactone.
As a result, Yasmin may be an option for hirsutism where the androgen
activity is relatively mild, but it is probably not suitable for
more severe hirsutism where androgen activity is very strong.
The drospirenone in yasmin has antimineralocorticoid activity equivalent
to 25 mg of spironolactone. This activity influences the regulation
of water and electrolyte balance in the body. This activity may
increase potassium levels in some patients. Therefore, it is recommended
that women with kidney, liver or adrenal disease, or patients taking
drugs that could increase potassium should not take Yasmin, because
this activity could cause serious heart and health problems.
The
yasmin contraceptive references
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