page_title: Dienogest
section_title: Antigonadotropic effects
hierarchical_section_title: Dienogest / Pharmacology / Pharmacodynamics / Antigonadotropic effects
caption_attribution_description: English: Levels of testosterone (ng/dL) with 2, 5, or 10 mg/day dienogest, 10 mg/day cyproterone acetate, or placebo in healthy young men. There were 5 men in each group. Levels of testosterone decreased by 66 ± 4%, from 600 ± 150 ng/dL to 185 ng/dL (SD not given). Testosterone levels were determined using Delfia fluoroimmunoassay. Source of the values: &#32;(May 2002).&#32;"Twenty-one day administration of dienogest reversibly suppresses gonadotropins and testosterone in normal men". J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab.&#32;87&#32;(5): 2107–13. DOI:10.1210/jcem.87.5.8514. PMID 11994349.
context_page_description: Dienogest, sold under the brand name Visanne among others, is a progestin medication which is used in birth control pills and in the treatment of endometriosis. It is also used in menopausal hormone therapy and to treat heavy periods. Dienogest is available both alone and in combination with estrogens. It is taken by mouth.
  Side effects of dienogest include menstrual irregularities, headaches, nausea, breast tenderness, depression, and acne, among others. Dienogest is a progestin, or a synthetic progestogen, and hence is an agonist of the progesterone receptor, the biological target of progestogens like progesterone. It is a unique progestogen, with strong effects in the uterus. The medication has some antiandrogenic activity, which may help to improve androgen-dependent symptoms like acne, and has no other important hormonal activity.
  Dienogest was discovered in 1979 and was introduced for medical use in 1995. Additional formulations of dienogest were approved between 2007 and 2010. It is sometimes referred to as a "fourth-generation" progestin. Dienogest is marketed widely throughout the world. It is available as a generic medication.
context_section_description: Dienogest has been found to suppress testosterone levels in men by 43% at 2 mg/day, 70% at 5 mg/day, and 81% at 10 mg/day. The suppression of testosterone levels with 10 mg/day dienogest was comparable to that with 10 mg/day cyproterone acetate. In general, progestogens are able to suppress testosterone levels in men by a maximum of about 70 to 80% at sufficiently high doses.
caption: Testosterone levels with 2, 5, or 10 mg/day dienogest, 10 mg/day oral cyproterone acetate, or placebo in healthy young men.[37]
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