[Contraceptive activity of RU486 and oral active prostaglandin combination]

The most used medical method for early pregnancy interruption associates the antiprogestin RU486 (Mifepristone) and an intramuscularly injected prostaglandin (Sulprostone) (Silvestre et al., New Engl. J. Med., 322, 1990, pp. 645-648). Misoprostol, an orally active PGE1 synthetic derivative, showed the same efficacy as Sulprostone in a trial including 100 patients. The medical characteristics and potential of the new method are briefly discussed.