Premarin, doctors and conjugated equine estrogens
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

Tuesday's Horse
October 2018

"Nothing has been, or ever will be, appealing or beneficial about the PMU [Pregnant Mare Urine] industry and the Premarin family of drugs; they are clearly harbingers of death from both sides of the equation.”

PMU pregnant mare urine
The Premarin family of HRT drugs is made from the urine of pregnant mares.

MORE and more doctors who prescribe Premarin® are arguing with us that the menopausal drug no longer contains conjugated equine estrogens derived from pregnant mare’s urine. Huh?

The idea doctors most often cite in support of this belief is what it says on the drugs’ packaging, that Premarin® is made from “conjugated estrogens” where it used to say “conjugated equine estrogens”. Removing the word equine is something Pfizer pressed the FDA to do shortly we believe after they merged with or acquired Wyeth pharamaceuticals, adding these drugs to their portfolio. The removal of the word equine is obviously having its desired effect.

PMU pregnant mare urine
Premarin sample package with words “conjugated estrogens”. [Google search result. Unattributed image.]

Well dear doctors. A quick check on the internet should assure you that the Premarin® family of drugs including Duavee (originally called Aprela) which we don’t hear much of, has and assuredly always will be made with CEE’s — conjugated equine estrogens.

Wikipedia

Conjugated estrogens (CEs), or conjugated equine estrogens (CEEs), sold under the brand name Premarin (a contraction of “pregnant mares’ urine”) among others, is an estrogen medication which is used in menopausal hormone therapy and for various other indications. Read more »

RxList

PREMARIN® (conjugated estrogens tablets, USP) for oral administration contains a mixture of conjugated estrogens purified from pregnant mares’ urine and consists of the sodium salts of water-soluble estrogen sulfates blended to represent the average composition of material derived from pregnant mares’ urine. Be sure to check out the side effects. They include endometrial cancer, cardiovascular disorders, breast cancer and probably dementia. Read more »

DrugBank

Conjugated Equine Estrogens (CEEs) are derived from the urine of pregnant mares and contain a blend of at least 10 estrogen derivatives. Marketed under the brand name Premarin, CEEs are the most frequently used form of conjugated estrogens.

All estrogen products mimic the effects of endogenous estrogens in the body which are responsible for the development and maintenance of the female reproductive system and secondary sexual characteristics.

Conjugated estrogens, or Conjugated Equine Estrogens (CEEs) are composed of a mixture of the water-soluble salts of sulfate esters from estrone, equilin, 17 α-dihydroequilin, and other related steroids that are purified from pregnant horse urine. Available as the product Premarin (FDA), this combination of equine-derived estrogenic compounds is indicated for the following conditions: treatment of moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms and vulvovaginal atrophy associated with menopause; hypoestrogenism due to hypogonadism, castration or primary ovarian failure; palliation of metastatic breast cancer; palliation of advanced androgen-dependent carcinoma of the prostate; and for prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Read more »

PubChem

Premarin is a pharmaceutical preparation containing a mixture of water-soluble, conjugated estrogens derived wholly or in part from URINE of pregnant mares or synthetically from ESTRONE and EQUILIN. It contains a sodium-salt mixture of estrone sulfate (52-62%) and equilin sulfate (22-30%) with a total of the two between 80-88%. Other concomitant conjugates include 17-alpha-dihydroequilin, 17-alpha-estradiol, and 17-beta-dihydroequilin. The potency of the preparation is expressed in terms of an equivalent quantity of sodium estrone sulfate.

China

The biggest challenge outside of the US is educating the Chinese who produce more pregnant mare’s urine and prescribe it more than anyone else in the world according to a recent source in China. And the Chinese love horse meat. So the two — Premarin® and horse slaughter — continues to go hand in hand.

In the meantime, doctors in the US are still prescribing and using the Premarin® family drugs at an alarming rate and seemingly unaware of the history and multiple dangers associated with this despicable drug. 


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