https://doi.org/10.4081/mem.2011.170

Ulipristal acetate. An emergency contraceptive?

Vol. 60 No. 2 (2011)
Published: April 30, 2011
Contraccezione d’emergenza, ulipristal acetato / Emergency contraception, ulipristal acetate
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PDF (Italiano): 3
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Authors

Justo Aznar
justo.aznar@ucv.es
Medical Doctor, Director of the Institute of Life Science of the Catholic University of Valencia, Spain.
Julio Tudela
Member of the Institute of Life Sciences of the Catholic University of Valencia, Spain.
Il forte aumento delle gravidanze e degli aborti negli adolescenti sembra giustificare l'adozione di misure per prevenirli. Sebbene la giusta soluzione al problema è senza dubbio l'educazione dei giovani ad un uso corretto della sessualità, e soprattutto in una considerazione di quest'ultima come parte fondamentale di qualcosa di molto più ampio come l'amore umano, alcuni intendono risolvere il problema implementando l'uso della contraccezione d'emergenza come unica misura contraccetiva. Uno degli ultimi farmaci in commercio per questo scopo è Ulipristal acetato, che ha cominciato ad essere distribuito in alcuni paesi europei dal novembre del 2009. Questo articolo fa riferimento alla composizione chimica di Ulipristal acetato, la sua efficacia contraccetiva, gli effetti collaterali, che non sono molto significativi, e in particolare al meccanismo d'azione con cui questo farmaco impedisce le gravidanze indesiderate, giungendo alla conclusione che per almeno il 60% del tempo esso agisce secondo un meccanismo antiimpianto, anche se ciò dipende in larga misura dal giorno in cui la donna lo assume entro il suo ciclo riproduttivo, e dal tempo trascorso dal rapporto sessuale.
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The large increase in pregnancies and abortions in adolescents appears to justify taking measures to prevent them. Although the right solution to the problem is undoubtedly through educating young people in the proper use of sexuality, and especially in considering it as a fundamental part of something much wider like human love, certain classes advocate resolving it by implementing the use of emergency contraception as the only contraceptive measure. One of the latest drugs marketed for this purpose is Ulipristal acetate, which began to be distributed in some European countries in November 2009. This paper refers to the chemical composition of Ulipristal acetate, its contraceptive efficacy, the side effects, which are not very significant, and especially to the mechanism of action by which this drug prevents unwanted pregnancies, concluding that at least 60% of the time it acts by an anti-implantation mechanism, although this depends to a large extent on the day on which the woman takes it, within her reproductive cycle, and on the time from sexual intercourse until she takes the drug.

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How to Cite

Aznar, J., & Tudela, J. (2011). Ulipristal acetate. An emergency contraceptive?. Medicina E Morale, 60(2). https://doi.org/10.4081/mem.2011.170

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