* Seasonale. The U bread and Drug ...

* Seasonale. The U bread and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Seasonale, a 91-day oral contraceptive regimen for women Seasonale contains a progestin (levonorgestrel) and an estrogen (ethinyl estradiol), which are active ingredients in already approved oral contraceptives. Tablets containing the active hormones are taken for 12 weeks (84 days), followed on one week (7 days) of placebo tablets.

subordinate to the dosing regimen, the number of rely uponed menstrual periods reduce from one time a month to about one time every three months. As with the conventional 28-day regimen, women will have a period while taking the placebo tablets. Although users have fewer menstrual periods data from clinical trials point out to that many women, especially in the first hardly any cycles of use, had more unplanned bleeding and spotting between the calculate uponed menstrual periods than women taking a conventional 28-day regimen.

Risks of Seasonale use are similar to other oral contraceptive use and include an increased risk of vital current clots, myocardial infarction, and blow Cigarette smoking increases the risk of serious cardiovascular side effects

COPYRIGHT 2003 American Academy of Family Physicians

COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group