Mifepristone – also known as: mifegyne 200 mg tablets, mifepristone 200 mcg, RU-486 tablet
Pharmacological form – ooval or hexagonal tablet, white or yellow in color.
Clinical data – mifepristone can be used to terminate a pregnancy performed up to 12 weeks
Indications for use
- If a pregnancy is terminated in the uterus, mifepristone should in this case be administered with the appropriate dose of misoprostol. A method that can be carried out by a woman herself at home.
- Cervical softening and dilatation prior to surgical abortion in during the first trimester of pregnancy. The method used by the doctor.
- Preparation for the action of prostaglandin analogues in the procedure of termination of pregnancy with for health reasons that occur after the end of the first trimester. The method used by the doctor.
- Artificial induction of labor after intrauterine fetal death. The method used by the doctor.
Scientific characteristics of mifepristone containing medicinal products
Mifepristone is an anti-progestogenic chemical which competes with progesterone * to attach to progesterone receptors. This means that the drug is effective to inhibit the production of progesterone. Also known as RU-486, it belongs to the new generation products.
Progesterone is a female sex hormone, produced mainly by the luteal cells during the luteal phase (one of the phases of a woman’s menstrual cycle) and in early pregnancy, and through the placenta during later pregnancy. It is one of the most important hormones secreted by the ovaries and is responsible for the maintenance of pregnancy.
When given to women in doses of 1 mg / kg or higher, mifepristone prevents the effects of progesterone responsible for the rebuilding of the lining of the womb (the endometrium). During pregnancy, progesterone also sensitizes the muscle of the uterus to the artificially induced contractions of prostaglandins. It is the prostaglandin that stimulates uterine contractions during labor. Progesterone is necessary for the proper development of the endometrium, which underlies the development of pregnancy and the developing embryo, and then the baby. For this reason, these hormones are often administered to induce or accelerate labor, both intravenously and locally, into the cervical canal.
After taking the RU-486 abortion pill progesterone is blocked, and the endometrium is no longer able to develop the fetus, which if not nourished, dies and is excreted from the reproductive organs. The action of mifeprostone causes this medicine to be considered one of the methods used to induce labor. In the event of premature termination of pregnancy, the combination of a prostaglandin analog (misoprostol) following mifepristone leads to successful termination of pregnancy in approximately 98% of cases.