Estropipate, also known as piperazine estrone sulfate and sold under the brand names Harmogen, Improvera, Ogen, Ortho-Est, and Sulestrex among others, is an estrogen medication which is used mainly in menopausal hormone therapy in the treatment of menopausal

symptom Signs and symptoms are the observed or detectable signs, and experienced symptoms of an illness, injury, or condition. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature than normal, raised or lowered blood pressure or an abnormality showin ...

s. It is a salt of estrone sulfate and piperazine, and is transformed into estrone and estradiol in the body. It is taken by mouth.

Medical uses

Estropipate is used to: * Alleviate symptoms of menopause as menopausal hormone therapy * Treat some types of

infertility Infertility is the inability of a person, animal or plant to reproduce by natural means. It is usually not the natural state of a healthy adult, except notably among certain eusocial species (mostly haplodiploid insects). It is the normal state ...

* Treat some conditions leading to underdevelopment of female sexual characteristics * Treat

vaginal atrophy Atrophic vaginitis is inflammation of the vagina as a result of tissue thinning due to not enough estrogen. Symptoms may include pain with sex, vaginal itchiness or dryness, and an urge to urinate or burning with urination. It generally does no ...

* Treat some types of breast cancer (particularly in men and postmenopausal women) * Treat

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

* Prevent

osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass, micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue leading to bone fragility, and consequent increase in fracture risk. It is the most common reason for a broken bone ...

Available forms

Estropipate is available in the form of 0.75, 1.5, 3, and 6 mg oral

tablet Tablet may refer to: Medicine * Tablet (pharmacy), a mixture of pharmacological substances pressed into a small cake or bar, colloquially called a "pill" Computing * Tablet computer, a mobile computer that is primarily operated by touching the s ...

Pharmacology

Pharmacodynamics

Estropipate is a

prodrug A prodrug is a medication or compound that, after intake, is metabolized (i.e., converted within the body) into a pharmacologically active drug. Instead of administering a drug directly, a corresponding prodrug can be used to improve how the drug ...

of estrone and estradiol. Hence, it is an estrogen, or an

agonist An agonist is a chemical that activates a receptor to produce a biological response. Receptors are cellular proteins whose activation causes the cell to modify what it is currently doing. In contrast, an antagonist blocks the action of the ago ...

of the estrogen receptors.

Pharmacokinetics

Estropipate is

hydrolyzed Hydrolysis (; ) is any chemical reaction in which a molecule of water breaks one or more chemical bonds. The term is used broadly for substitution, elimination, and solvation reactions in which water is the nucleophile. Biological hydrolysis ...

into estrone in the body. Estrone can then be transformed into estradiol by

17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase A hydroxysteroid is a molecule derived from a steroid with a hydrogen replaced with a hydroxy group. When the hydroxy group is specifically at the C3 position, hydroxysteroids are referred to as sterols, with an example being cholesterol. See ...

Chemistry

History

Estropipate was introduced for medical use by

Abbott Abbott may refer to: People *Abbott (surname) *Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), American painter and naturalist * Abbott and Costello, famous American vaudeville act Places Argentina * Abbott, Buenos Aires United States * Abbott, Arkansas ...

in 1968. It was approved by the in the United States in 1991.

Society and culture

Generic names

''Estropipate'' is the generic name of the drug and its , , and .

Brand names

Estropipate is or has been marketed under the brand names Genoral, Harmogen, Improvera, Ogen, Ortho-Est, and Sulestrex among others.

Availability

Estropipate appears to remain available only in the United States. In the past, estropipate has also been marketed in Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, South Africa, Mexico, and Indonesia.

References

{{Estrogen receptor modulators Estranes Estrone esters Ketones Piperazines Sulfate esters Salts Synthetic estrogens