The
Food and Drug Administration approved RU-486, Mifepristone, which
will be sold by prescription under the trade name Mifeprex for ending
early pregnancies, the first 49 days, without undergoing surgery.
Because the pill does not involve surgery it can be given in a physician's
office.
RU-486 blocks the hormone progesterone that is needed for the egg
to adhere to the uterus and for early pregnancies to continue normally.
Mifepristone with another medicine called misoprostol, a prostaglandin
that causes uterine contractions and leads to expulsion of the fertilized
egg from the uterus.
Under
the approved treatment regimen, a woman first takes 600 milligrams
of mifepristone (three pills) by mouth. Two days later, she takes
400 micrograms, two pills of misoprostol. A woman must then return
for a follow-up visit 14 days later to determine whether the pregnancy
has ended. When used within the first seven weeks of pregnancy these
medicines are 92-95.5 percent effective in causing abortion.
Because it is so very important to follow this treatment, each woman
receiving RU-486 will be given a Medication Guide that clearly explains
how to take the drug, who should avoid taking it, and what side effects
can occur.
Most women using RU-486 will experience only slight side effects,
primarily cramping and bleeding. Bleeding and spotting typically last
for between 9 and 16 days. In about one of 100 women, bleeding can
be heavy requiring surgical to stop the bleeding.
RU-486 is prescribed only by doctors who can accurately determine
the date of a pregnancy and who can detect an ectopic (or tubal) pregnancy.
Physicians who prescribe mifepristone must also be able to provide
surgery in cases of severe bleeding or have some other plans made
in advance.
Mifepristone, which was developed by a French pharmaceutical firm,
was first approved for use in France in 1988. Since then, more than
620,000 European women have taken mifepristone in combination with
a prostaglandin to end pregnancy. The drug has also been approved
in the United Kingdom, Sweden, and other countries. RU-486, may one
day be also a treatment for other diseases like fibroid tumors, ovarian
cancer, endometriosis, and breast cancer.
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