Progesterone (medication)
Medication and naturally occurring steroid hormone / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Progesterone (medication)?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Progesterone (P4), sold under the brand name Prometrium among others, is a medication and naturally occurring steroid hormone.[20] It is a progestogen and is used in combination with estrogens mainly in hormone therapy for menopausal symptoms and low sex hormone levels in women.[20][21] It is also used in women to support pregnancy and fertility and to treat gynecological disorders.[22][23][24][25] Progesterone can be taken by mouth, vaginally, and by injection into muscle or fat, among other routes.[20] A progesterone vaginal ring and progesterone intrauterine device used for birth control also exist in some areas of the world.[26][27]
Clinical data | |
---|---|
Trade names | Prometrium, Utrogestan, Endometrin, others |
Other names | P4; Pregnenedione; Pregn-4-ene-3,20-dione[1] |
AHFS/Drugs.com | Monograph |
MedlinePlus | a604017 |
Routes of administration | By mouth, sublingual, topical, vaginal, rectal, intramuscular, subcutaneous, intrauterine |
Drug class | Progestogen; Antimineralocorticoid; Neurosteroid |
ATC code | |
Legal status | |
Legal status | |
Pharmacokinetic data | |
Bioavailability | Oral: <2.4%[5] Vaginal (micronized insert): 4–8%[6][7][8] |
Protein binding | 98–99%:[9][10] • Albumin: 80% • CBGTooltip Corticosteroid-binding globulin: 18% • SHBGTooltip Sex hormone-binding globulin: <1% • Free: 1–2% |
Metabolism | Mainly liver: • 5α- and 5β-reductase • 3α-Tooltip 3α-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and 3β-HSDTooltip 3β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase • 20α-Tooltip 20α-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and 20β-HSDTooltip 20β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase • Conjugation • 17α-Hydroxylase • 21-Hydroxylase • CYPsTooltip CYP (e.g., CYP3A4) |
Metabolites | • Dihydroprogesterones • Pregnanolones • Pregnanediols • 20α-Hydroxyprogesterone • 17α-Hydroxyprogesterone • Pregnanetriols • 11-Deoxycorticosterone (and glucuronide/sulfate conjugates) |
Elimination half-life | • Oral: 5 hours (with food)[11] * Sublingual: 6–7 hours[12] • Vaginal: 14–50 hours[13][12] • Topical: 30–40 hours[14] • IM: 20–28 hours[15][13][16] • SC: 13–18 hours[16] • IVTooltip Intravenous injection: 3–90 minutes[17] |
Excretion | Bile and urine[18][19] |
Identifiers | |
| |
CAS Number |
|
PubChem CID | |
IUPHAR/BPS | |
DrugBank |
|
ChemSpider |
|
UNII | |
KEGG |
|
ChEBI | |
ChEMBL | |
Chemical and physical data | |
Formula | C21H30O2 |
Molar mass | 314.469 g·mol−1 |
3D model (JSmol) | |
Specific rotation | [α]D25 = +172 to +182° (2% in dioxane, β-form) |
Melting point | 126 °C (259 °F) |
| |
| |
(verify) |
Progesterone is well tolerated and often produces few or no side effects.[28] However, a number of side effects are possible, for instance mood changes.[28] If progesterone is taken by mouth or at high doses, certain central side effects including sedation, sleepiness, and cognitive impairment can also occur.[28][20] The medication is a naturally occurring progestogen and hence is an agonist of the progesterone receptor (PR), the biological target of progestogens like endogenous progesterone.[20] It opposes the effects of estrogens in various parts of the body like the uterus and also blocks the effects of the hormone aldosterone.[20][29] In addition, progesterone has neurosteroid effects in the brain.[20]
Progesterone was first isolated in pure form in 1934.[30][31] It first became available as a medication later that year.[32][33] Oral micronized progesterone (OMP), which allowed progesterone to be taken by mouth, was introduced in 1980.[33][22][34] A large number of synthetic progestogens, or progestins, have been derived from progesterone and are used as medications as well.[20] Examples include medroxyprogesterone acetate and norethisterone.[20] In 2021, it was the 167th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 3 million prescriptions.[35][36]