Levonorgestrel News and Research

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Certain progestogens linked to higher brain tumor risk in women, study suggests

Study finds long-term use of specific progestogens increases the risk of benign brain tumors in women, while short-term use and other progestogens do not.

3 Apr 2024

Researchers identify increased brain tumor risk with specific contraceptive use

The intracranial meningioma risk associated with progestogen use.

28 Mar 2024

Long-term use of certain progestogen drugs may raise risk of intracranial meningioma

Prolonged use of certain progestogen hormone drugs is associated with an increased risk of developing a type of brain tumor known as an intracranial meningioma, finds a study from France published by The BMJ today.

27 Mar 2024

Sales of emergency contraception estimated to rise after the New Year holiday

Sales of emergency contraception are estimated to rise by around 10% in the US in the week after the New Year holiday, suggesting that this period is associated with increased risks of unprotected sex compared with other holidays, finds a study published in the Christmas issue of The BMJ.

22 Dec 2023

Hormonal contraceptives taken by adolescents may affect risk assessment behavior

Hormonal contraceptives taken by adolescents may influence development of the brain in a way that alters the recognition of risks, a new study in rats suggests.

13 Nov 2023

Managing menopause: The 2023 toolkit for healthcare practitioners

The authors of the revised 2023 Toolkit extracted key recommendations from professional guidelines and positions as well as consensus statements on menopause and related conditions that have emerged since 2014.

1 Nov 2023

How does taking a pause on the oral contraceptive pill impact mental health?

Users of combination oral contraceptive agents experience one time per month (pill break) was connected with mood changes.

28 Sep 2023

NSAID use linked to higher risk of blood clots in women of reproductive age, association stronger in women on high-risk hormonal contraception

A new paper published in The BMJ explores the effect of these drugs used concomitantly on the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE).

8 Sep 2023

Levonorgestrel-piroxicam co-treatment shows promise as more effective emergency contraception

Taking piroxicam, an anti-inflammatory medication commonly used for arthritis pain, at the same time as the levonorgestrel emergency contraceptive pill after unprotected sex prevents significantly more pregnancies compared to taking levonorgestrel alone, according to a randomised controlled trial published in The Lancet.

17 Aug 2023

Hormonal contraceptives and breast cancer: what's the risk?

The current study, reported in the PLOS Medicine journal, explored breast cancer risk linked to the current or past use of hormonal contraception during the reproductive period in women.

26 Mar 2023

IUDs work at least as well as tubal ligation at preventing pregnancies, study says

IUDs work at least as well as tubal ligation, while causing fewer side effects, according to a new study.

23 Feb 2022

WHO recommends the use of first long-acting option to protect women from HIV

The first long-acting option to protect women from HIV, proven to reduce women's HIV risk, has been recommended for use by the World Health Organization.

1 Dec 2021

IUDs appear to have systemic effects on the body, breast MRI study shows

Intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUDs) appear to have systemic effects on the body like those of hormone replacement therapy, according to a breast MRI study being presented next week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.

22 Nov 2021

Study shows that breast cancer can be prevented with better contraception choices

Hormonal contraceptives, e.g. the pill, the patch, and the vaginal ring, contain synthetic hormones that prevent pregnancy by either stopping ovulation, changing the cervical mucus to stop sperm from passing through the cervix and finding an egg, or changing the womb's lining to prevent a fertilized egg from being implanted in it.

29 May 2021

Access to emergency contraception can help reduce unintended pregnancy in teens

About 22 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 44 report having used emergency contraception. But even though the Food and Drug Administration approved levonorgestrel--more commonly known as Plan B--for over-the-counter use for women of all ages in 2013, it's not always easy to get--especially at local, mom-and-pop drug stores.

30 Sep 2020

Patients using copper IUDs have lower cervical cancer risk compared to LNG-IUS users

Patients who used copper intrauterine devices (Cu IUD) were found to have a lower risk of high-grade cervical neoplasms (cervical cancer) compared to users of the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS), according to a Columbia study recently published in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

10 Mar 2020

A 'once a month' birth control pill

Birth control pills in their present form need to be taken once a day each day for the whole menstrual cycle. Other options such as Intra-Uterine devices (IUDs) or implanted progesterone offer a longer coverage, but most women prefer the pills due to their reliability and cheaper, easier and safer usage profile.

5 Dec 2019