Absorption, excretion and tissue residue in feedlot heifers injected with the synthetic prostaglandin, fenprostalene.
(65/75)
Preliminary studies on use of the synthetic prostaglandin, fenprostalene, as an abortifacient had indicated that maximum effectiveness was dependent upon slow delivery. Because both route of administration and formulation control delivery rates, the influences of intramuscular (im) vs subcutaneous (sc) injections, and aqueous acetate buffer (AAB) vs polyethylene glycol-400 (PEG) vehicles on the plasma concentration and urinary excretion of fenprostalene were compared. Feedlot heifers were administered 1 mg injections of [13,14-3H]-fenprostalene. Blood samples and total urine excretion were collected during the following 96 h. The maximum concentration of tritium in plasma occurred at 2 h for AAB-im (.90 ng eq/ml), PEG-im (.75 ng eq/ml) and AAB-sc (.64 ng eq/ml), and then declined throughout 24 h with t 1/2 values of 6.1, 9.4 and 9.2 h, respectively. The peak concentration from PEG-sc was lower (.37 ng eq/ml, P less than .05), observed later (4h, P less than .05) and declined more slowly following peak concentration (t 1/2 = 15.1 h, P less than .05). Consistent with delayed absorption, a smaller fraction (P less than .05) of the total radioactivity excreted in urine was recovered during the first 24 h after injection for PEG-sc (85%) than for PEG-im (95%), AAB-sc (97%) or AAB-im (99%). In a tissue distribution study, plasma, urine and fecal samples were collected and heifers were slaughtered at various times following sc injection of 1 mg of [3H] fenprostalene in PEG. Peak concentrations of tritium in plasma occurred between 4 and 8 h and declined with a t 1/2 of 15.2 h.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) (+info)
Viability of alpha-momorcharin-treated mouse blastocysts in the pseudopregnant uterus.
(66/75)
Mouse morulae and early blastocysts developed normally to the late blastocyst stage in the presence of alpha-momorcharin in culture. When these embryos were transferred to a pseudopregnant uterus, they showed a poor ability to induce the decidual reaction and many failed to implant. Those that had implanted showed retarded embryonic development and many implantation sites contained only trophoblastic giant cells and extraembryonic membranes. Implantation of blastocysts was inhibited when the recipient animal was given alpha-momorcharin at the time of embryo transfer. We suggest that termination of early pregnancy by alpha-momorcharin is the result of the deleterious effect of the protein on the implanting embryos and the endometrium. (+info)
Differences in the pregnancy-terminating effectiveness of an LH-RH analogue by subcutaneous, vaginal, rectal, and nasal routes in rats.
(67/75)
A long-acting analogue of LH-RH, des-Gly10-[D-Leu6]-LH-RH-ethylamide (TAP-144), was administered once or twice on day 9 of pregnancy by subcutaneous, vaginal, rectal, and nasal routes to rats; the pregnancy-terminating effectiveness of these routes was determined on day 14. When rats were given a single dose of TAP-144, the ED50 value was 1.2 micrograms/100 g body weight by the vaginal route, the effectiveness being 752 and 1,221 times higher than those by the subcutaneous and rectal routes, respectively. Nasal administration was not effective in terminating pregnancy even at a high dose of 2,000 micrograms/100 g body weight. The addition of a surfactant (BL-9) did not increase the effectiveness by the rectal route. When TAP-144 was administered twice a day, the effectiveness was markedly increased by every route. The ED50 values were 0.32 microgram/100 g body weight/time by the subcutaneous route, which was comparable to that of the vaginal route, 14.2 micrograms of the rectal route, and 84.6 micrograms of the nasal route. The addition of the surfactant increased the effectiveness 26 times by the nasal route but not by the rectal route. The pregnancy-terminating effect of TAP-144 was reversed by treatment with progesterone. (+info)
Induction of abortion in mares with equimate: effect on secretion of progesterone, PMSG and reproductive performance.
(68/75)
Thirty-two light-horse mares were confirmed to be pregnant and assigned to one of four treatments: (1) injected with 250 micrograms of Equimate on day 70 and again on day 77 if abortion had not occurred; (2) injected with 250 micrograms of Equimate on day 70 and every 24 hr until abortion occurred (maximum four injections); (3) injected with 250 micrograms of Equimate on day 70 and every 12 hr until abortion (maximum eight injections); and (4) injected with 250 micrograms of Equimate once only on day 35 of gestation. Mares were observed four times daily for incidence of abortion or side effects. Estrual behavior was monitored daily and follicular activity either daily or every third or fourth day until estrus and ovulation. Samples of jugular blood were obtained at 0600 hr day -1 and every 6 hr until the first day of estrus after abortion, or for 2 weeks after abortion if estrus had not occurred, or for 1 week after treatment for mares that had not aborted. A single injection of Equimate terminated pregnancy in all but one mare injected on day 35, but none of the mares given an injection on day 70 and 77 aborted. Multiple injections of Equimate beginning on day 70 of gestation terminated pregnancy in all mares. Fewer (P less than .05) injections were required for abortion of mares injected daily. During the immediate week post-treatment, concentrations of progesterone decreased (P less than .05) in all mares injected with Equimate, but overall concentrations were greater (P less than .05) for mares injected once on day 70 than for those in the other three groups. Equimate did not affect secretion of PMSG in the day 70 group of mares. Estrus and ovulation after abortion were delayed (P less than 0.05) for mares injected daily or twice daily beginning on day 70 compared to those injected once on day 35. Thus, rebreeding of these mares during the same breeding season in which they were aborted would be difficult. (+info)
Drug combination adds fuel to US abortion debate.(69/75)
Acceptability of medical abortion in early pregnancy.
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A review of 12 published studies on patient attitudes and reactions to early first-trimester pregnancy termination by medical methods shows consistent patterns, despite important differences in study design, measurement and outcome. In most trials that offered participants a choice between surgical and medical abortion, 60-70% of patients chose the medical method. The most common reasons cited for choosing the medical method were greater privacy and autonomy, less invasiveness and greater naturalness than surgery. Frequently mentioned drawbacks included pain, the duration of bleeding, the number of visits, and the waiting time to know if the treatment has been successful. Most women who had a medical abortion said they were satisfied with the method, would recommend it to friends and would use it again if they needed another abortion. (+info)
Abortifacient response and plasma vasoconstrictive activity after feeding needles from ponderosa pine trees to cattle and sheep.
(71/75)
Consumption of needles from Pinus ponderosa (PN) during late pregnancy causes cattle, but not sheep, to abort. This differential response may be caused by differences in ruminal microflora or postabsorptive metabolism. Pine needles were fed (2 kg.cow-1.d-1 or .4 kg.ewe-1.d-1) mixed with corn silage. In Exp. 1, cows were assigned at 250 d of pregnancy to feed treatments (T): 1) silage, 2) PN+silage, or 3) pretreated with sheep ruminal fluid and fed PN+silage. Interval to parturition was 34.3, 11.3, and 8.3 d for the T1, T2, and T3, respectively (T1 vs T2 + T3, P < .01; T2 vs T3, P > .5). Inoculation with sheep ruminal fluid did not alter activity of the abortifacient agent of PN. In Exp. 2, pregnant and nonpregnant ewes and cows were fed silage or PN mixed with silage, and plasma was analyzed for uterine vasoconstrictive activity in an in vitro placentome perfusion bioassay. Consumption of PN decreased interval to parturition in cattle (P < .01) but not in sheep (P > .5) and increased vasoconstrictive activity (P < .05) in plasma from nonpregnant and pregnant cows and ewes. The PN-fed ewes had a greater incidence of dead lambs at parturition (0/8 vs 5/8 for control vs PN-fed, P < .01). We conclude that pregnancy is not required for increased vasoconstrictive activity induced by pine needles, that sheep and cattle do not differ in ruminal metabolism of the abortifacient compounds in PN, and that species differences are subtle and due to postdigestive differences in response to the abortifacient agent. (+info)
Abortifacient effects in the pregnant hamster of an antibody to progesterone are reversed by exogenous prolactin.
(72/75)
A single i.p. injection of 10 nmol of a monoclonal antibody to progesterone (mAb-P4) on Day 4 of pregnancy (day of nidation) interrupts pregnancy by Day 8 (Day 1 = sperm-positive smear) in 75% of treated hamsters (n = 8). This correlates with structural and functional luteolysis, significantly (p < 0.05) reduced serum prolactin (PRL), and a nonsignificant trend for reduced FSH (which constitute the minimal luteotropic complex of the hamster), but LH is unchanged. Embryos implant and develop normally for a while, but by Day 8 the uterus is distended with the resorbing products of conception. The abortifacient effects of passive immunization against progesterone are reversed 100% by s.c. injection of 100 micrograms PRL daily on Days 4-7; deferring PRL treatment until Days 6-7 maintained pregnancy in 75% of the animals, still significantly different from the untreated mAb-P4 group. Injection of 50 micrograms PRL on Days 4-7 maintains pregnancy in 50% of the mAb-P4-treated hamsters (not significantly different), whereas 10 micrograms PRL on Days 4-7 is wholly ineffective. No dose of FSH (0.1-10.0 micrograms) or LH (0.4-2.0 micrograms) on Days 4-7 reversed the effects of mAb-P4; neither did 10 micrograms PRL plus 0.4 or 2 micrograms of FSH. The maintenance of pregnancy after 100 micrograms PRL on Days 4-7 is associated with normal serum levels of PRL, FSH, and LH and no change in the serum concentration of the mAb-P4 antibody.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) (+info)