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norethisterone

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norethisterone

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Also known as Micronor®, Noriday®, 19-Nor-17alpha-ethynyl-17beta-hydroxy-4-androsten-3-one, 19-Norethisterone, 17alpha-ethynyl-19-nor-4-androsten-17beta-ol-3-one, 19-nor-17alpha-ethynyltestosterone, Primolut-N, Micronor

Norethisterone, also known as norethindrone and sold under the brand name Norlutin among others, is a progestin medication used in birth control pills, menopausal hormone therapy, and for the treatment of gynecological disorders. The medication is available in both low-dose and high-dose formulations and both alone and in combination with an estrogen. It is used by mouth or, as norethisterone enanthate, by injection into muscle.

Chemical data

Formula
C20H26O2
Molecular weight
298.4 g/mol
IUPAC name
(8R,9S,10R,13S,14S,17R)-17-ethynyl-17-hydroxy-13-methyl-1,2,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,14,15,16-dodecahydrocyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-one
SMILES
C[C@]12CC[C@H]3[C@H]([C@@H]1CC[C@]2(C#C)O)CCC4=CC(=O)CC[C@H]34
InChIKey
VIKNJXKGJWUCNN-XGXHKTLJSA-N
XLogP
3
Polar surface area
37.3 Ų
H-bond donors
1
H-bond acceptors
2
Formal charge
0

via PubChem

Research

5,716 papers

via PubMed

~32 min read

Encyclopedic overview

36 sections
Contents
  • Medical uses
  • Contraindications
  • Side effects
  • Androgenic
  • Estrogenic
  • Overdose
  • Interactions
  • Pharmacology
  • Pharmacodynamics
  • Progestogenic activity
  • Androgenic activity
  • Estrogenic activity
  • Neurosteroid activity
  • Steroidogenesis inhibition
  • Other activities
  • Antigonadotropic effects
  • Pharmacokinetics
  • Absorption
  • Distribution
  • Metabolism
  • Elimination
  • Chemistry
  • Derivatives
  • Non-17α-ethynylated
  • Synthesis
  • Synthesis 1
  • Synthesis 2
  • History
  • Society and culture
  • Generic names
  • Brand names
  • Availability
  • United States
  • Research
  • References
  • Further reading

Norethisterone, also known as norethindrone and sold under the brand name Norlutin among others, is a progestin medication used in birth control pills, menopausal hormone therapy, and for the treatment of gynecological disorders. The medication is available in both low-dose and high-dose formulations and both alone and in combination with an estrogen. It is used by mouth or, as norethisterone enanthate, by injection into muscle.

Side effects of norethisterone include menstrual irregularities, headaches, nausea, breast tenderness, mood changes, acne, increased hair growth. Norethisterone is a progestin, or a synthetic progestogen, and hence is an agonist of the progesterone receptor, the biological target of progestogens like progesterone. It has weak androgenic and estrogenic activity, mostly at high dosages, and no other important hormonal activity.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “norethisterone” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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