Which is it?

doi:10.1136/bmj.b5142

Published 31 December 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b5142
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b5142

Letters

Progest—erone, ogen, in?

Which is it?

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Loder’s editorial refers to combination oestrogen-progestincontraceptives but in the concluding sentences implies thatlevonorgestrel and norethisterone are types of progesterone.¹ Stephenson in her letter refers to the etonogestrel containingimplant as a progesterone implant.² Progesterone appears tohave been used as a synonym for progestin. The British Pharmacopeialists the action and use of progesterone and progestins suchas levonorgestrel and norethisterone as progestogen.³ Thereseems to be a lot of confusion around the group name for progestationalagents. In 1976, Dalton argued that progesterone should notbe confused with or considered the same as progestins (syntheticprogestogens).⁴ Yet in 2009 it seems they are still being confused.

The confusion possibly arises because of the use of oestrogenand progesterone to represent the female sex hormones. Oestrogenis a generic term for oestrogenic agent, and there are threeprimary oestrogens in the human body: oestrone (E1), oestradiol(E2), and . . . [Full text of this article]

M Joy Spark, pharmacy lecturer¹

¹ LaTrobe University, Bendigo Campus, VIC 3550, Australia

j.spark@latrobe.edu.au