Methotrexate Essay

Active recurrent lesions usually do not pose a threat to the fetus during pregnancy, the mother should be treated according to the indications summarized above, however especially during the early stages of pregnancy, keep in mind the teratogenic potential of the antimicrobial agents, Another treatment option for such cases is combined intravitreal injection of clindamycin and dexamethasone. Spiramycine has been used with no reported teratogenic effect in pregnant women with acquired ocular toxoplasmosis.

In the past, if a woman was unable to get pregnant, she had no choice but to concede to the fact. As technology has advanced women can now employ techniques such as in-vitro fertilization to achieve pregnancy. These procedures, while promising, do not come without their consequences. It is common practice for numerous embryos to be implanted into the woman’s uterus in the hopes that at least one will survive. However, it is not uncommon for multiple embryos to become viable, leading to a multifetal pregnancy. The instance of multifetal pregnancy can increase the risk for adverse fetal outcomes. To circumvent these risks, selective reduction has become accepted practice in managing

Methotrexate has been used in the US since 1953, when it was approved by the FDA to treat certain types of cancer. Since that time, “medical researchers have discovered other important uses for the drug” (Ankerberg and Weldon 4). One of these uses is to end unintended pregnancies. Although the “FDA did not consider methotrexate for this specific purpose, clinicians may prescribe and are now prescribing methotrexate for early abortion”(Ankerberg and Weldon 4). Methotrexate is usually given to a pregnant woman in the form of an injection or shot, although it can be taken orally. “Methotrexate stops the ongoing implantation process that occurs during the first several weeks after conception. Another medication that might be used is mifepristone”(Ankerberg and Weldon 4). Mifepristone is a newer medication that was developed and tested specifically as an abortion inducing agent. It works by blocking the hormone progesterone, which is necessary to sustain pregnancy. Without this hormone, “the lining of the uterus breaks down, the cervix opening of the uterus or womb softens, and bleeding begins”(Ankerberg and Weldon 5). A few days after taking either methotrexate or mifepristone, a second drug, misoprostol, is taken. “Misoprostol tablets cause the uterus to contract and empty”(Ankerberg and Weldon 5).

I choose this topic because couples who are infertile are now turning to other birthing methods such as IVF. IVF is one of the causes of ectopic pregnancy.

medicines to cause a miscarriage or by surgery, where the pregnancy is out of the uterus. The

First, there is the medical abortion. Medical abortion, sometimes called Mifeprex™, RU-486, is a non-surgical abortion done using medication. There are two different methods of medical abortion available: mifepristone followed by misoprostol and methotrexate followed by misoprostol. Mifepristone is a pill that is swallowed by the patient. It interferes with a woman’s ability to produce a hormone called progesterone, which is needed for the fetus to grow. MTX or methotrexate is a drug or injection that stops embryonic cell growth and stops from growing outside the uterus. Misoprostol is either swallowed by the patient or placed in the vagina by the doctor. The second type of abortion is surgical abortion, also known as vacuum aspiration. Surgical abortion is when a doctor removes a fetus from the uterus. Ectopic pregnancy is an abnormal pregnancy that grows outside the uterus and is often found in the fallopian tube, and it is very dangerous because it can harm a woman or threaten her future fertility (Abortion: Which Method is Right for Me?).

Nowadays, there are many possibilities.  New advances in science may cover almost any complication in pregnancy, without having to choose to kill the mother or the baby.

There are currently six medical abortion procedures in practice in the United States: MTX, Mifeprex, MVA, D&C, D&E, induction abortion, and D&X. MTX or Methotrexate and Misoprostol is used during the first seven weeks of pregnancy and is not as commonly used as other abortion procedures. It is a non-surgical method that prevents embryonic cells from dividing and multiplying. This abortion mimics an early miscarriage. Mifeprex, also known as the abortion pill, is used up to the ninth week of pregnancy. The pill blocks progesterone, a hormone necessary to support pregnancy, and also mimics an early miscarriage. MVA or Manual Vacuum Aspiration can be used up to the twelfth week of pregnancy and is considered to be less invasive than other procedures. D&C or dilation and curettage can be performed up to the sixteenth week of pregnancy. D&C is also known as vacuum aspiration. D&E or dilation and evacuation can also be performed up to the sixteenth week of pregnancy. It includes vacuum aspiration and the use of surgical instruments such as forceps to complete the procedure. D&X or dilation and extraction is used to terminate pregnancy after twenty-one weeks. D&X is also known as Intrauterine Cranial Decompression and Partial Birth Abortion (Abortion

Lamotrigine is categorized as class C drug according to the pregnancy safety category (42)With overall risk for major congenital malformation estimated to be 2-3% based on registry based studies of pregnant women with epilepsy (30,44,69). Data obtained from the international lamotrigine pregnancy registry have shown that combination of lamotrigine with valproate has much higher rates for congenital malformations (10.7%) compared with lamotrigine monotherapy

The FDA will require that each women who is considering mifepristone be given a medical brochure detailing what the drug does, who should not take it and what kind of side effects occur. Treatment involves three doctor visits. At the first the women swallows three tablets. The drug then interrupts pregnancy by blocking the action of a natural hormone that prepares the lining of the uterus for a fertilized egg and then maintains the pregnancy. At the second visit the women swallows two tablets of an oral prostaglandin, which induces uterine contraction to expel the fertilized egg. After two weeks the women return for a follow-up visit to confirm that the abortion is complete. " I think it will be a great benefit to women", said Dr. Stanley Henshew, a senior fellow at Guttmacher Institute. Nearly nine out of ten women who live outside of a major metropolitan area have no close access to abortion services, and the availability of mifepristone will change that, he said. "Some people assume that women will now be more promiscuous and not practice safe sex as much because of the availability of RU-486, but researchers has found that not be the case," said Dr. Yvonne, a gynecologist at St. Luke's Hospital in New York. " When women have an unplanned pregnancy, they are not happy about it. It is a very somber time."

Many women are blessed with being able to birth a baby, but for some women that is just not possible. In cases where a pregnancy is not developing correctly, doctors will advise a mother to have an abortion. There are many conditions where a pregnancy can put not only the fetus’s life at risk, but the mother’s as well. In some cases, a pregnancy can cause cardiovascular disease or renal disease in a mother. If a woman

Levonorgestrel is a female hormone that prevents the women from not ovulating and is used in many birth control pills for years (Plan B One Step, 2015). Plan B is a drug that contains a high dose of levonorgestrel (Plan B One Step, 2015). This is because Plan B is used as a type of emergency contraceptive (WebMD, 2016). Plan B is used to prevent pregnancy if a woman has had unprotected sex. It is also used if there is failure of another form of birth control, such condom breaking or missing more than two birth control pills (Drugs.com, 2016). “Plan B One-Step is not the same as RU-486, which is an abortion pill. It does not cause a miscarriage or abortion” (WebMD, 2016). Plan B will not work if a women is already pregnant when it is taken.

Everyday there are children receiving some kind of prescribed drug for psychological problems such as ADHD,anxiety disorder,autism,and many other disorders.However, children that are given prescribed drugs are usually given to them for convenience rather than necessity.Providing a child prescribed drugs at such a young age can lead to problems with their health in the future as well as other harming side effects,also nutrition is often overlooked and drugs prescribed may be doing more harm than good.Further more, children that are diagnosed with a psychological disorder and receive public assistance are more likely to receive off label medication which can be more dangerous. Therefore, children are not capable of sustaining the effects of prescribed medication because some children may be overdiagnosed and drugged for “parent convenience” ,there are dangerous long term side effects to some of

In the article “The Political Economy of FDA Drug Review: Processing, Politics and Lessons for Policy”, the author Daniel P.Carpenter discusses different aspects of the FDA’s drug processing system and the political effects that can alter the routes and outcomes of that process. The role of the FDA is often thought to be mainly focused on protecting the public from non-efficient drugs and that that is the reason behind its popularity. However, the article points out how this role is actually more focused on protecting the FDA’s own reputation; as a long-time FDA observer said, “The FDA is very responsive to what I would call ‘opinion leaders’ in the scientific and medical communities. It cares very much about what these people think as to how the agency is doing”. It is rather surprising and makes complete sense at the same time. I believe because the public often saw the FDA as a heroic agency that shielded them from harmful drugs with no concern of the outcomes. But this vision would certainly vanish if the

Methamphetamine is not really a new drug, although it has become very powerful in the recent years as techniques in manufacturing have evolved to intensify this drug. Amphetamine was 1st made in Germany in 1887, and methamphetamine being more potent and easy to make, was developed in 1919 in Japan. The crystalline powder was made water soluble, making this drug the perfect candidate for injecting. During World War II, methamphetamine went into substantial use when both side used it to keep the troops awake while in combat. Many times, Japanese Kamikaze pilots were given high doses before their suicide missions. Methamphetamine abuse soared after the war, with the abuse mainly being injection in epidemic proportions