Will Drospirenone prevent Ovulation?

Figure 1. The Menstrual Cycle. 
Source. Muniz, J. The Menstrual Cycle. https://medcomic.com/medcomic/the-menstrual-cycle/ (accessed Feb. 2, 2018).

Drospirenone, C24H30O3 [1], is a progestin hormone that has the same effect as endogenous progesterone, which is naturally produced by the body [2]. It can only be sold with a combination of estradiol in the form of a solid contraceptive medication [1]. Some of its properties includes, water and ethanol soluble [1,3] which makes it easy to ingest and be processed by the body, a melting point of 201.3degrees Celsius [1] and a half-life of 30 hours [4]. Drospirenone is mainly used for oral contraceptive medications to prevent pregnancy [1]. Once it enters the body, it diffuses freely in the female reproductive tract and hypothalamus, which then binds to the progesterone receptors to slow down the release of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) from the hypothalamus [5]. Without GnRH, the luteinizing hormone (LH) surge, during a normal menstrual cycle, cannot occur. Consequently, ovulation will not happen due to the inhibition of LH surge thus preventing pregnancy.

Health Effects

There are some common side effects of drospirenone once absorbed by the body. These include headache, mood changes, vomiting, and tiredness or weakness [6,7]. It can also increase the risks of blood clots, stroke, and heart attack [6]. During early pregnancy, there is little to no harm of birth defects in women who use oral contraceptives [7]. Although, drospirenone is passed onto nursing babies during the process of breast-feeding [7].

Alternatives

            There are several oral contraceptives that do not use drospirenone, however, estrodial is contained in all of these, such as Climara Pro, Combipatch, Activella, Prefest [8]. Intra-Uterine Device (IUD) is also another substitute that can be used [9]. The ParaGard, a type of IUD, does not contain any hormones, but rather uses the copper surrounding the device to kill sperms in order to prevent fertilization so that pregnancy does not occur.

[1]Drospirenone. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Drospirenone#section=Top (accessed January 27, 2018).

[2] Genazzani, A.R.; Mannella, P.; Simoncini, T. Climacteric; Taylor & Francis Online: Wales, UK, 2009; p.1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17364593

[3] Drospirenone. ChemSpider search and share chemistry, 2015. http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.62105.html (accessed January 27, 2018). Royal Society of Chemistry.

[4] Drosperinone. https://www.drugbank.ca/drugs/DB01395 (accesses January 27, 2018).

[5] Actions of Drospirenone (Femelle Fol) in details. https://www.ndrugs.com/?s=femelle%20fol&t=actions (accessed 27, 2018).

[6] Drospirenone-Ethinyl Estradiol Side Effects by Likelihood and Severity. https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-21091-5115/drospirenone-ethinyl-estradiol-oral/ethinyl-estradiol-drospirenone-oral/details/list-sideeffects (accessed January 27, 2018).

[7] Cunha, J.P. Yaz Side Effects Center. https://www.rxlist.com/yaz-side-effects-drug-center.htm (accessed January 27, 2018).

[8] Angeliq (drospirenone/estradiol). https://www.iodine.com/drug/angeliq/alternatives (accessed January 27, 2018).

[9] IUD. https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/birth-control/iud (accessed January 27, 2018).

What is Butylene Glycol?

Source: Amy. 15 Toxic Ingredients To Avoid In Skincare Products https://www.beautybyearth.com/15-toxic-ingredients-
avoid-skincare-products/ (accessed Feb 2, 2018).

What is Butylene Glycol?

Butylene glycol is mainly referred to as 1,3-butanediol and 1,3-butylene glycol [1]. The name of the
compound depends on the two oxygen and hydrogen bonds attach to the compound, making it a
alcohol. Consequently, those who do not have knowledge of this chemical may believe it is toxic,
from the sound of its name. Conversely, according to the Hazard Score key, it is rated from 0-1 level
and is thus, low risk[1].  It is an odorless and colorless liquid with a sweet flavor and bitter aftertaste
[2]. It has been found that a drop of Butylene glycol can cause skin and eye irritation, accompanied
by a stinging sensation if not handled well [1]. If this occurs, washing the area affected or the rinsing
of the eyes with running cold water can cure the irritation.

Where is Butylene glycol used?

Butylene glycol is used in most cosmetic products sold in the market today.  Butylene glycol is
commonly used as it is great for absorbing water droplets from the air and retaining it. Thus, Butylene
glycol will preserve the product because it controls moisture and keeps it hydrated [3]. Overall, these
factors avoid the products from drying faster and can boost overall effectiveness of the product [4].
Moreover, Butylene glycol acts as a solvent [3], which allows for the other products to be easily mixed
together, providing a better texture to creams and moisturizers.

Some of the alternative compounds to use instead of Butylene glycol in many cosmetics products will
typically be plant based and contain low amounts of propylene glycol and ethylene glycol. Additionally,
another alternative to Butylene glycol is Hyaluronic acid [4], which is found naturally in the human
body, brain, connective tissues, and umbilical cord. It has the same properties as Butylene glycol and
works as a strong moisture absorbent [4].

References:

[1] BUTYLENE GLYCOL http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/700861/BUTYLENE_GLYCOL/
#.WmlBskxFxhF (accessed Jan 23, 2018).

[2]1,3-BUTANEDIOL https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/7896#section=Names-and-
Identifiers (accessed Jan 23, 2018).

[3] Today's Chemical - Butylene Glycol http://chemicaloftheday.squarespace.com/todays-chemical/
2013/2/7/butylene-glycol.html (accessed Jan 23, 2018).

[4] Butylene Glycol https://www.thedermreview.com/butylene-glycol/ (accessed Jan 23, 2018).

Does Thimerosal Cause Autism?

Thimerosal is a preservative commonly used to prevent bacterial and fungal growth in items such
as makeup, contact lens solutions, vaccines, and more [1]. Because of its antimicrobial abilities,
thimerosal is commonly used in multi-dose vials of vaccines, including flu vaccines, meaning that
the dose in the vial is enough to vaccinate more than one person [2]. When a new needle is
inserted into the multi-dose vial, it increases the chances of contamination of the vaccine contents
[2]. This is when thimerosal comes into play and prevents this contamination from happening
when each vaccine dose is drawn out.

Once thimerosal enters the body, it is quickly broken down to ethylmercury, which became the
root of the biggest controversy regarding vaccines; do they cause autism? [2]. Back in the late
1900’s, a researcher named Andrew Wakefield claimed to have found that exposure to
methylmercury, a highly toxic compound to humans and animals, from thimerosal in vaccines
was the underlying cause of autism in children [2]. This sparked debate, which led to the removal
of thimerosal as a preservative in vaccines [2]. Later on, it was found that Wakefield’s findings
and claims were false [2]. From this, it was clear that the terms methylmercury and
ethylmercury were being used interchangeably, when in reality, thimerosal only contains
ethylmercury, which is eliminated from the body much faster than methylmercury and is,
therefore, less likely to be harmful [2]. Further studies also showed that the amount of
thimerosal in vaccines was small enough to not have any major negative effects on children’s
health [2].

Despite the fact that the link between thimerosal and autism has been broken, this preservative
continues to get removed from vaccines as a precautionary action and more parents have
been encouraged to vaccinate their children against the flu virus in order to actually prevent a
disease [3].


[1]Thimerosal https://www.drugbank.ca/drugs/DB11590 (accessed Jan 20, 2018).
[2] Kleinfeld, S. Thimerosal and Childhood Vaccines. http://faculty.virginia.edu/metals/cases/kleinfeld2.html (accessed Jan 20, 2018).
[3] Alternative for Thimerosal as Preservatives for Vaccines. European Medicines Agency http://who.int/immunization/sage/meetings/2012/april/Alternatives_thiomersal_preservatives_vaccines.pdf (accessed Jan 20, 2018).

Is Aspartame Killing Us?

Image: Breaking News [Cartoon]. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://bayesianbodybuilding.com/is-aspartame-safe/. 

Aspartame or C₁₄H₁₈N₂O₅ as chemists would like to refer to it, is present in many more products than people are aware. It is best known for it's presence in diet sodas since it is a low calorie sweetener that is 180-200 times more sweeter than typical sucrose or sugar ^[1]. In fact, aspartame is present in over 6000 products world-wide^[2]. There are many myths that surround aspartame and whether or not it is healthy for you compared to regular "naturally" occurring sugars. Many anti-aspartame activists claim that there is a significant link between aspartame and cancer, seizures, depression, MS, birth defects^[3]...the list goes on. Naturally, this common misunderstanding began on the Internet in an email hoax conducted by the fictitious woman Nancy Markle^[4]. All these accusations have not been validated in the lab. People believe that since aspartame is synthetically created, either chemically or enzymatically^[2], it must be terrible for you, this is not actually true. There is no lethal limit to aspartame but instead a recommended dose to stay below, 4000 mg/kg*day^[2]. To quantify this number, each can of diet coke contains 180mg of aspartame, the average male weighs 83kg, this means that in order to reach the daily maximum a person would have to drink 1845 cans a day. If this was the maximum dose for sugar, a person would have to drink only 33 cans. Since aspartame is extremely sweet compared to sucrose, the amount needed to achieve the same level of sweetness is minimal. Natural alternative such as honey and agave syrup still contain more calories and require more of the substance to obtain the sweetness of aspartame. If someone is wanting to lower their sugar and caloric intake, yet still consume soda, then diet beverages containing aspartame is a good option. Since aspartame is present in a vast range of products and the health effects are negligible, I say if you can stand the taste of aspartame, go ahead and enjoy it!






[1] Kat Eschner. (2017). “Aspartame Causes Cancer” Was a Classic Internet Hoax | Smart News | Smithsonian. Retrieved January 29, 2018, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/aspartame-causes-cancer-was-classic-fake-news-180961880/
[2]Massachusetts Medical Society, R. J. (1983). The New England journal of medicine. New England Journal of Medicine (USA). Massachusetts Medical Society. Retrieved from http://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=US8466072
[3] Toxnet. (2011). HSDB: ASPARTAME. Retrieved January 29, 2018, from https://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search2/f?./temp/~F2XL69:1
[4] Marcin, J. (2017). The Truth About Aspartame Side Effects. Healthline. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/aspartame-side-effects