Effect of paramethasone acetate upon estrogen action

To test the antiestrogenic action of paramethasone acetate (PA), a group of five postmenopausal women were treated in two ways. For phase I, PA + mestranol, 6 mg + 80 micrograms per day for 10 days, was administered. Ten days were allowed for withdrawal of medication. For phase II, mestranol, 80 micrograms per day for 10 days, free of the glucocorticoid was administered. Daily samples of cervical mucus, vaginal cells, and peripheral blood were obtained to analyze fernlike crystallization (%), cornified pyknotic nuclei cells (%), and concentrations of ethynyl-estradiol (EE-2, pg/ml) during both phases. The fernlike crystallization pattern had a mean value of 8 +/- 0.9% for phase I, while for phase II it was 85 +/- 8% (P less than 0.05). The percentage mean value of cornified pyknotic nuclei cells of phase I was 28 +/- 5% in comparison with 53 +/- 7% observed in phase II (P less than 0.05). EE-2 mean value concentrations for phase I were 85 +/- 90 pg/ml, while for phase II they were 724 +/- 418 pg/ml (P less than 0.05). These results demonstrate that 6 mg of PA is able to compete against the estrogenic action in the parameters of the study selected.