Title: Hormonal contraception. Current status and future perspectives.

POPLINE Document Number: 101834

Author(s):

Holinka CF

Source citation:

ANNALS OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, 1994 Sep 30;734:257-62.

Abstract:

Hormonal contraception was pioneered by Gregory Pincus in the 1950s. Today, hormonal contraception is accepted as having a highly favorable benefit/risk profile. There is, however, a need for the development of new contraceptive methods to broaden the range of choices and enhance motivation and compliance in users. With the staggering rate of increase in the world's population, the number of contraceptive users in developing countries is expected to increase from 381 million in 1990 to 567 million in the year 2000. This will require substantial supplies of inexpensive contraceptives and the development of new and improved methods. The use of contraceptives is an asset to women's health, which can be jeopardized by the risks of pregnancy, as well as to the psychological and social well-being of mother and child. Oral contraceptives also have noncontraceptive health benefits such as protecting against endometrial cancer, uterine fibroids, menorrhagia, benign breast disease, anemia, ovarian cancer, functional ovarian cysts, dysmenorrhea, ectopic pregnancy, salpingitis, and bone loss. The new low-dose formulations are considered to be very safe for most healthy, nonsmoking women of reproductive age. Therefore, current research efforts are focused on new delivery methods, such as vaginal rings, rather than on the development of new hormonally active steroids. Nonoral contraceptive methods which avoid first-pass effects on the liver are being developed or improved. These include implants, vaginal rings, vaginally applied pills, and progestogen-containing IUDs. Contraceptive research is also focusing on immunologic interference with the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in both men and women. This may spawn as yet unforseen methods of molecular modulation of sperm-ovum interactions which would result in the inhibition of implantation.

Keywords:

Contraception Research
Contraception
Hormones
Health
Oral Contraceptives
Women
Family Planning
Endocrine System
Physiology
Biology
Contraceptive Methods
Demographic Factors
Population