Clinical and metabolic effects of gestodene and levonorgestrel

The new low-dose combination oral contraceptive (OC) containing 75 micrograms of the new progestogen gestodene (GTD) plus 30 micrograms ethinyl estradiol (EE) was clinically tested and compared with a levonorgestrel (LNG) combined pill (150 micrograms LNG plus 30 micrograms EE). In a randomized clinical comparative study (A), 176 women were treated with the GTD-containing pill and 185 with the LNG-containing pill for six cycles. This study was followed by a second multicenter study (B) covering 707 patients taking the GTD-containing pill for up to 24 cycles (total, 9,947 cycles). In a third study (C), metabolic effects were assessed using a randomly organized baseline control trial (pretreatment/treatment cycles); 30 patients received the GTD-containing pill and 30 received the LNG-containing pill. Carbohydrate metabolism, lipid metabolism, and blood clotting were investigated, and an interim analysis was performed after six OC cycles. No pregnancies and no severe side effects occurred in any of the studies. Intermenstrual bleeding decreased as usual during treatment. In the total number of gestodene cycles in studies A and B, there was a 6.9% incidence of spotting, a 0.8% incidence of breakthrough bleeding, and a 0.7% incidence of both spotting and breakthrough bleeding in studies A and B patients taking gestodene. Amenorrhea occurred in 0.6% of cycles. Body weight remained unchanged (+/- 2 kg) after 24 cycles in 80.5% of study B patients taking gestodene. Blood pressure remained normal in about 95% of all study B patients; a normalization was observed in greater than 60% of patients with previously elevated blood pressure. No clinically relevant changes in carbohydrate metabolism, lipid metabolism, or blood clotting were observed in study C. The new GTD-containing low-dose combination pill proved to be a safe and reliable contraceptive agent.