Anticorticotropin
An anticorticotropin, or anticorticotrophin, is a drug which opposes the actions of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and/or adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) in relation to their stimulatory effects on the adrenal glands, or which otherwise suppresses steroid hormone production in the adrenal glands. It can be said to have anticorticotropic (or anticorticotrophic) effects, and is used to treat Cushing's syndrome, prostate cancer, hyperandrogenism, and other conditions. Some examples of anticorticotropins include the following: * Corticosteroids, including glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids, which exert negative feedback on the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis to maintain homeostasis * High-dose estrogens and antiandrogens, which can partially suppress adrenal androgen production * Certain progestins such as megestrol acetate, medroxyprogesterone acetate, and cyproterone acetate, which likely work via their weak glucocorticoid activity Conversely, drugs that stimul ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Antiandrogen
Antiandrogens, also known as androgen antagonists or testosterone blockers, are a class of drugs that prevent androgens like testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) from mediating their biological effects in the body. They act by blocking the androgen receptor (AR) and/or inhibiting or suppressing androgen production. They can be thought of as the functional opposites of AR agonists, for instance androgens and anabolic steroids (AAS) like testosterone, DHT, and nandrolone and selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) like enobosarm. Antiandrogens are one of three types of sex hormone antagonists, the others being antiestrogens and antiprogestogens. Antiandrogens are used to treat an assortment of androgen-dependent conditions. In men, antiandrogens are used in the treatment of prostate cancer, enlarged prostate, scalp hair loss, overly high sex drive, unusual and problematic sexual urges, and early puberty. In women, antiandrogens are used to treat acne, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Drug
A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via insufflation (medicine), inhalation, drug injection, injection, smoking, ingestion, absorption (skin), absorption via a dermal patch, patch on the skin, suppository, or sublingual administration, dissolution under the tongue. In pharmacology, a drug is a chemical substance, typically of known structure, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. A pharmaceutical drug, also called a medication or medicine, is a chemical substance used to pharmacotherapy, treat, cure, preventive healthcare, prevent, or medical diagnosis, diagnose a disease or to promote well-being. Traditionally drugs were obtained through extraction from medicinal plants, but more recently also by organic synthesis. Pharmaceutical drugs may be used for a limited duration, or on a re ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Metyrapone
Metyrapone, sold under the brand name Metopirone, is a medication which is used in the diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency and occasionally in the treatment of Cushing's syndrome (hypercortisolism). It is part of the steroidogenesis inhibitor class of drugs. Medical uses Metyrapone can be used in the diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency. Metyrapone 30 mg/kg, maximum dose 3,000 mg, is administered at midnight usually with a snack. The plasma cortisol and 11-deoxycortisol are measured the next morning between 8:00 and 9:00 am. A plasma cortisol less than 220 nmol/L indicates adequate inhibition of 11β-hydroxylase. In patients with intact Hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis, CRH and ACTH levels rise as a response to the falling cortisol levels. This results in an increase of the steroid precursors in the pathway. Therefore, if 11-deoxycortisol levels do not rise and remain less than 7 μg/dL (202 nmol/L) and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) rises, then it i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ketoconazole
Ketoconazole, sold under the brand name Nizoral, among others, is an antiandrogen, antifungal drug, antifungal, and antiglucocorticoid medication used to treat a number of fungal infections. Applied to the skin it is used for fungal skin infections such as tinea, cutaneous candidiasis, pityriasis versicolor, dandruff, and seborrhoeic dermatitis, seborrheic dermatitis. Taken oral administration, by mouth it is a less preferred option and recommended for only severe infections when other agents cannot be used. Other uses include treatment of hirsutism, excessive male-patterned hair growth in women and Cushing's syndrome. Common side effects when transdermal administration, applied to the skin include redness. Common side effects when taken by mouth include nausea, headache, and liver problems. Liver problems may result in death or the need for a liver transplantation. Other severe side effects when taken orally include QT prolongation, adrenocortical insufficiency, and anaphyl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Adrenal Steroidogenesis Inhibitor
A steroidogenesis inhibitor, also known as a steroid biosynthesis inhibitor, is a type of drug which inhibits one or more of the enzymes that are involved in the process of steroidogenesis, the biosynthesis of endogenous steroids and steroid hormones. They may inhibit the production of cholesterol and other sterols, sex steroids such as androgens, estrogens, and progestogens, corticosteroids such as glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids, and neurosteroids. They are used in the treatment of a variety of medical conditions that depend on endogenous steroids. Steroidogenesis inhibitors are analogous in effect and use to antigonadotropins (which specifically inhibit gonadal sex steroid production), but work via a different mechanism of action; whereas antigonadotropins suppress gonadal production of sex steroids by effecting negative feedback on and thereby suppressing the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis, steroidogenesis inhibitors directly inhibit the enzymatic biosynthesis ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Spironolactone
Spironolactone, sold under the brand name Aldactone among others, is classed as a diuretic medication. It can be used to treat edema, fluid build-up due to hepatic cirrhosis, liver disease or kidney disease. It is also used to reduce risk of disease progression, hospitalization and death due to some types of heart failure. Other uses include acne and excessive hair growth in women, hypokalemia, low blood potassium that does not improve with Potassium#Supplementation, supplementation, high blood pressure that is difficult to treat and early puberty in boys. It can also be used to block the effects of testosterone in transgender women and Non-binary gender, nonbinary people undergoing Feminizing hormone therapy, feminizing hormone replacement therapy. Spironolactone is usually available in tablets, taken oral administration, by mouth, though topical forms are also available. Common side effects include electrolyte abnormalities, particularly hyperkalemia, high blood potassium ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Antimineralocorticoid
A mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist (MRA or MCRA) or aldosterone antagonist, is a diuretic drug which receptor antagonist, antagonizes the action of aldosterone at mineralocorticoid receptors. This group of drugs is often used as adjunctive therapy, in combination with other drugs, for the management of chronic heart failure. Spironolactone, the first member of the class, is also used in the management of hyperaldosteronism (including Conn's syndrome) and female hirsutism (due to additional antiandrogen actions). Most antimineralocorticoids, including spironolactone, are steroidal spirolactones. Finerenone is a nonsteroidal antimineralocorticoid. Medical uses Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists are diuretic drugs that work primarily on the kidneys. They decrease Renal sodium reabsorption, sodium reabsorption, which leads to increased water excretion by the kidneys. By regulating water excretion, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists lower blood pressure and reduce Pericar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mifepristone
Mifepristone, and also known by its developmental code name RU-486, is a drug typically used in combination with misoprostol to bring about a medical abortion during pregnancy. This combination is 97% effective during the first 63 days (9 weeks) of pregnancy, yet effective in the second trimester as well. It is also used on its own to treat Cushing's syndrome or for use as a low-dose Emergency contraception, emergency contraceptive. The most common adverse effects include abdominal pain, feeling tired, and vaginal bleeding. Serious side effects may include heavy vaginal bleeding, bacterial infection, and, if pregnant, birth defects. When used, appropriate follow-up care needs to be available. Mifepristone is primarily an antiprogestogen. It works by blocking the effects of progesterone, making both the cervix and uterine vessels dilate and causing uterine contraction. Mifepristone also works, to a less extent, as an antiglucocorticoid and diminishes the effects of hypercortis ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Antiglucocorticoid
Antiglucocorticoid drugs are a class of medications that act to reduce the effects of glucocorticoids, primarily cortisol, in the body. They include direct glucocorticoid receptor antagonists such as mifepristone and synthesis inhibitors such as metyrapone, ketoconazole, and aminoglutethimide. They are used to treat Cushing's syndrome. These drugs have also been investigated for their potential therapeutic benefits in various psychiatric disorders, particularly depression and psychosis. The rationale behind using antiglucocorticoids in psychiatry stems from the observed dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in many psychiatric conditions, which often manifests as elevated cortisol levels. Types There are several types of antiglucocorticoid drugs, including: # Cortisol synthesis inhibitors: These drugs, such as metyrapone, aminoglutethimide, and ketoconazole, work by blocking the production of cortisol in the adrenal glands. # Glucocorticoid recep ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Steroidogenesis
A steroid is an organic compound with four fused rings (designated A, B, C, and D) arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and as signaling molecules. Examples include the lipid cholesterol, sex hormones estradiol and testosterone, anabolic steroids, and the anti-inflammatory corticosteroid drug dexamethasone. Hundreds of steroids are found in fungi, plants, and animals. All steroids are manufactured in cells from a sterol: cholesterol (animals), lanosterol ( opisthokonts), or cycloartenol (plants). All three of these molecules are produced via cyclization of the triterpene squalene. Structure The steroid nucleus ( core structure) is called gonane (cyclopentanoperhydrophenanthrene). It is typically composed of seventeen carbon atoms, bonded in four fused rings: three six-member cyclohexane rings (rings A, B and C in the first illustrati ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cyproterone Acetate
Cyproterone acetate (CPA), sold alone under the brand name Androcur or Ethinylestradiol/cyproterone acetate, with ethinylestradiol under the brand names Diane or Diane-35 among others, is an antiandrogen and progestin medication used in the treatment of androgen-dependent conditions such as acne, hirsutism, excessive body hair growth, precocious puberty, early puberty, and prostate cancer, as a component of feminizing hormone therapy for Transgender, transgender individuals, and in oral contraceptive, birth control pills. It is formulated and used both alone and in combination with an estrogen (medication), estrogen. CPA is taken Oral administration, by mouth one to three times per day. Common side effects of high-dose CPA in men include gynecomastia (breast development) and feminization (biology), feminization. In both men and women, possible side effects of CPA include hypogonadism, low sex hormone levels, reversible infertility, sexual dysfunction, fatigue (medical), fatigue ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Medroxyprogesterone Acetate
Medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), also known as depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) in injectable form and sold under the brand name Depo-Provera among others, is a hormonal medication of the progestin type. It is used as a method of birth control and as a part of menopausal hormone therapy. It is also used to treat endometriosis, abnormal uterine bleeding, paraphilia, and certain types of cancer. The medication is available both alone and in combination with an estrogen. It is taken by mouth, used under the tongue, or by injection into a muscle or fat. Common side effects include menstrual disturbances such as absence of periods, abdominal pain, and headaches. More serious side effects include bone loss, blood clots, allergic reactions, and liver problems. Use is not recommended during pregnancy as it may harm the baby. MPA is an artificial progestogen, and as such activates the progesterone receptor, the biological target of progesterone. It also has androg ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |