How dose Megestrol acetate works?
Megestrol acetate (CAS.NO:595-33-5), also known as 17α-acetoxy-6-dehydro-6-methylprogesterone, and sometimes abbreviated as MGA or MA, is a steroidal progestin and progesterone derivative (specifically, a 17-hydroxylated progesterone) with predominantly progestational and antigonadotropic effects. Megestrol is a type of hormone therapy. Hormones are chemical substances that are produced by glands in the body, which enter the bloodstream and cause effects in other tissues.(For example, the hormone testosterone made in the testicles is responsible for male characteristics such as deepening voice and increased body hair). The use of hormone therapy to treat cancer is based on the observation that receptors for specific hormones that are needed for cell growth are on the surface of some tumor cells.Hormone therapies work by; stopping the production of a certain hormone, blocking hormone receptors, or substituting chemically similar agents for the active hormone, which cannot be used by the tumor cell.The different types of hormone therapies are categorized by their function and/or the type of hormone that is effected.
Megestrol is a progestin (a man-made form of the hormone progesterone).It has properties that interfere with the normal estrogen cycle.This interferes with the stimulation of cell growth in estrogen dependent tumor cells. There is also thought to be some direct effect on the lining of the uterine wall (endometrium).
A side effect of megestrol has been weight gain.The exact mechanism of this effect is unclear, however the effects lead to an increase in body fat.Taking advantage of this side effect, megestrol has been studied and used to treat severe appetite loss (anorexia), muscle wasting (cachexia) and weight loss associated with cancer and AIDS.
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