Dear Good People,
The Bush administration has begun another attempt to tighten and change the
rules of this drug's availablity in the US, even for its other?lifesaving
medical uses, not just women's reproductive health care. . Please contact Mike
Leavitt in Washingtom DC to stop this ideological travesty further limiting
access to the drug for adult women's health care needs,? I am one of the
meningioma patients in the FDA approved program mentioned below, I have had no
noticeable side effects after long term use and it has actually improved my pain
tolerance and my irritable bowel symptoms.?? ?I want to make contact with people
taking it and doctors prescribing this safe, effective drug for people with
meningioma, Cushings Syndrome, endometriosis, fibroids and breast cancer and
in?the US to unite our advocacy efforts?.?Please pass my message on to others...
???.
I believe the brand name Mifeprex, 200mg Mifepristone daily has stalled the
progression my meningima tumor regrowth, prolonged?my survival and improved my
general mood and quality of life.? I want all meningioma patients to know about
this alternative medical option to treat meningiomas. I want?the brain tumor
medical research community to fund further testing of this drug for these
diseases. The incidence of benign meningioma is finally beginning to be more
accurately counted since it became a federal law in 2002 and the numbers?of
reported cases are rising dramatically.? According the?latest CBTRUS report they
now make up more than 30% of?all primary brain tumors.?Many meningiomas are now
being found on MRI while they are still small? and before they cause noticable
or serious side effects, I believe this safe, effective drug might be the
only?treatment they would ever need.? This drug therapy would be much cheaper
and safer than other standard treatments of brain surgery and brain radiation.
.??????


The Medical Uses of Mifepristone

In addition to its use in terminating unwanted pregnancies, MIFEPRISTONE
(formerly known as RU-486) also may be effective in treating a range of serious
diseases and medical conditions, many of which particularly affect women.?Yet
U.S. clinical trials for most of these uses have come to a standstill due to
anti-abortion politics.?

A B O R T I O N?? &?? F E R T I L I T Y? C O N T R O L



Available to women in many countries, mifepristone is the first in a new
generation of fertility control agents that can terminate an early
pregnancy.?Mifepristone works by blocking the action of progesterone, which is
necessary to sustain a pregnancy.

Mifepristone, taken along with a prostaglandin, has been used by millions of
women worldwide and has found to be safe and effective as an early abortion
method during the first nine weeks of a pregnancy.

A woman can take mifepristone as soon as she knows she is pregnant.?Mifepristone
is administered orally, is non-invasive, requires no anesthesia, and bears
little risk of infection.?Many women prefer mifepristone because the procedure
is more private and allows them greater psychological control in ending a
pregnancy.?Administered with a single dose of a misoprostol (a prostaglandin
given either orally or as a vaginal suppository), mifepristone has been proven
to be highly effective in successfully terminating pregnancy. [1]

Studies also show that mifepristone is a safe, effective form of emergency
contraception. [2] [3] ? Preliminary studies show, as well, that mifepristone
can act as both a male and female contraceptive.

M E N I N G I O M A



Meningiomas account for 15% of all primary brain tumors and 12% of all spinal
cord tumors.?Meningiomas occur two times more frequently in women than men. [4]

Meningiomas may enlarge or become symptomatic during the menstrual cycle or
pregnancy, and are also associated with breast cancer.?These indications suggest
that the hormones estrogen and progesterone influence tumor growth.?By binding
with progesterone receptors, mifepristone may inhibit the growth of, or actually
reduce meningiomas size.

In one study, mifepristone was found to have some efficacy in the treatment of
patients with inoperable meningioma. [5] Another study showed that mifepristone
interfered with the steroid action that influences the growth of meningiomas,
further demonstrating mifepristone's treatment potential with this type of
tumor. [6]
Meningioma patients have testified before Congress that mifepristone has helped
them battle their disease.?The Feminist Majority Foundation currently operates a
Compassionate Use Program in which 33 meningioma patients, with special FDA
approval, are being treated with mifepristone under their physician's care.?Many
of these patients report that mifepristone has eased their pain and suffering.
Some have said the drug is saving their lives.?
E N D O M E T R I O S I S?? &?? F I B R O I D?? T U M O R S



Ten to twenty percent of American women of childbearing age have endometriosis.
[7] Mifepristone shows promise as a treatment for endometriosis, which is a
chronic, painful, long-term disease that can affect women throughout their
entire reproductive years.

In addition to its anti-progestin and anti-glucocorticoid properties,
mifepristone is a non-competitive anti-estrogen.?As such, mifepristone blocks
the capacity of the endometrial tissue to grow in response to estrogen, making
mifepristone a possible hormonal treatment for endometriosis. [8]

Similarly, researchers believe mifepristone is a promising treatment option for
uterine fibroid tumors. [9] Fibroid tumors, which are present in approximately
70% of women and cause symptoms in 25% , are a leading cause of the more than
600,000 hysterectomies performed annually in the U.S. [10]
In one recent clinical study, researchers found that mifepristone reduced the
average size of uterine fibroid tumors by 50% within six months of low-dose
mifepristone therapy and that the drug was well tolerated by the women who
participated in the study. [11]
B R E A S T?? &?? O V A R I A N?? C A N C E R S



The American Cancer Society estimates 211,240 cases of breast cancer will be
diagnosed in 2005, with 40,410 deaths expected. Since 1990, the death rate has
declined steadily, the result of improved treatment and early detection .
However, since 1987, breast cancer incidence has increased by 0.3% per year.
Breast cancer continues to be the second leading cause of cancer death among
women of all ages, and 2.3 million women living in the US have been diagnosed
with breast cancer. [12]

Mifepristone is an anti-progestin, which blocks the action of progesterone, and
may be effective in treating progesterone-dependent forms of breast cancer. [13]
[14] ? Experts estimate that mifepristone may be an effective treatment in 60%
of breast cancer tumors, according to the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and
Bowel Project.

In animal studies in the Netherlands, mifepristone reduced breast cancer tumors
as effectively as Tamoxifen, one of the most common and effective breast cancer
treatments drugs.?In that research, the administration of both Tamoxifen and
mifepristone reduced tumors size more than each drug alone. [15]

A French clinical trial found that mifepristone might also be a treatment for
tumors that have become resistant to Tamoxifen.?In addition, this study reported
that mifepristone reduced the pain caused by the metastasis of cancer cells to
the bones.?Trials have also been conducted in Canada and California to assess
mifepristone as a treatment option for women who have breast cancer recurrences.

In 2000, ovarian cancer was diagnosed in approximately 23,000, and caused the
death of more than 14,000 women. Ovarian cancer causes the most deaths of all
gynecologic cancers and is responsible for five percent of all cancers in women.
[16] ? A U.S. study reported in 2000 that for women with persistent ovarian
cancer despite standard chemotherapy and radiation, treatment with mifepristone
showed benefits in halting the disease in 26% of patients studied. [17]



C U S H I N G ' S?? S Y N D R O M E,?? P S YC H O T I C?? D E P R E S S I O N, ?
&? T H E?? H I V?? V I R U S

Cushing's Syndrome results from an over-production of the cortisol hormone.?Too
much cortisol can be fatal.?The vast majority of Cushing's Syndrome victims are
women, primarily in their 20s to 40s. [18]

Some forms of the deadly Cushing's Syndrome can be treated with mifepristone.

The mifepristone compound is an anti-glucocorticoid: it binds to glucocorticoid
receptors in the body and prevents the cortisol from binding.?One important
National Institutes of Health (NIH) study has shown that when persons gravely
ill with inoperable Cushing's Syndrome tumors, more than 50% experienced
reversal and control of the disease as well as complete regression of the
Syndrome's physical features. [19]

Mifepristone has already helped patients suffering from advanced Cushing's
Syndrome.?Two of those survivors testified before Congress in 1990 that
mifepristone saved their lives. [20]

Some studies indicate that the cortisol hormone plays a key role in the
replication of the HIV virus. Elevated serum cortisol has been found at all
stages of HIV-infection, particularly in late-stage HIV (AIDS) patients.

The anti-glucocorticoid properties of mifepristone make it a possible treatment
for HIV and other cortisol related conditions and diseases.?One in vitro study
showed that by blocking cortisol, mifepristone lessened the infectivity of HIV
and reduced the production of HIV by the already infected cells by 70%. [21]

As an anti-glucocorticoid, mifepristone is proving to be effective in treating
several additional conditions and diseases that are caused by elevated levels of
cortisol.?These health problems include depression [22] , alcoholism, substance
abuse, anorexia nervosa, ulcers, diabetes, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, and
Alzheimer's. [23] Acute Psychotic Depression, which is manifest in 15% of
patients with severe generalized depression causes symptoms such as
hallucinations and paranoia. It is a disease for which no easy or readily
effective treatment presently exists or is FDA approved. Patients are typically
treated with either electric shock therapy (which carries considerable
stigmatization), or dual drug therapy with anti-psychotic and anti-depressant
medications. Unfortunately, both treatments can take weeks to months to have any
significant effect.
Because mifepristone can rapidly bring down the elevated cortisol levels
associated with this form of depression, researchers at Stanford have been
conducting clinical trials treating acute psychotic depression patients with
mifepristone and the results have been very successful. Alan Schatzberg, MD,
Chair of Stanford's psychiatry department likens mifepristone to "the equivalent
to shock therapy in a pill" because in more than two-thirds of patients who took
medium or high doses showed significant reductions in psychotic symptoms within
seven days. [24] Because of these results, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
has put mifepristone on fast-track approval as a treatment for psychotic
depression-it is the first drug for a psychiatric condition to be fast-tracked.
[25]







Click Here to View a Brief Chronology of the Fight to Get Mifepristone Approved
in the US.




[1] Spitz IM, et al.?Early pregnancy termination with mifepristone and
misoprostol in the United States.?New England J of Medicine, 4/30/98.



[2] Baird DT, Dewar M, Glasier A et al.?Mifepristone (RU486) compared with
high-dose estrogen and progestogen for emergency postcoital contraception.?New
England J of Medicine, 10/8/92.



[3] Bygdeman M, Danielsson KG, et al.?Contraceptive use of
antiprogestin.?European J of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care, 6/99.



[4] Association for Brain Tumor Research.



[5] Grunberg SM, et al.?Role of antiprogestational therapy for
meningiomas.?Human Reproduction, 1994.



[6] De-Motta LA, de-Motta LD.?Endocrine treatment of meningiomas: a
review.?Arq-Neuropsiquiatr.?6/95.



[7] Endometriosis Alliance.



[8] Kettel M, Murphy AA, et al.? Clinical efficacy of the antiprogesterone
RU-486 in the treatment of endometriosis and uterine fibroids.? Human
Reproduction, 1994.



[9] Eldar-Geva T; Healy DL .?Other medical management of uterine
fibroids.?Baillieres Clin Obstet Gynaecol, 6/12/98.? ????????????????????????



[10] American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.



[11] Eisinger, Meldrum, et al.?Low-Dose Mifepristone for Uterine Leiomyomata,
Journal of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, February
2003.



[12] American Cancer Society. Breast Cancer Facts and Figures 2005-2006,
9/22/05.



[13] Martin JH, et al.?Reduced expression of endothelial and inducible nitric
oxide synthase in a human breast cancer cell line which has acquired estrogen
independence.?Cancer Letters, 9/20/99.



[14] Norris JD, Paige LA et al.?Peptide antagonists of the human estrogen
receptor.?Science, 7/30/99.



[15] Klijn JGM, et al.?Pre-clinical and clinical treatment of breast cancer with
antiprogestins.?Human Reproduction, 1994.



[16] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.



[17] Rocereto, T. et al.?Phase II study of Mifepristone in Refractory Ovarian
Cancer.?Gynecologic Oncology, 2000.



[18] Cushing's Syndrome Association.



[19] Nieman LK et al.?Successful treatment of Cushing's Syndrome with the
glucocorticoid antagonist RU-486.?J of Endocrinology and Metabolism.?1985.



[20] U.S. House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Regulation, Business
Opportunities, and Energy, Committee on Small Business.?RU-486: The import ban
and its effects on medical research.?11/19/90.



[21] Weiner et al.?The glucocorticoid receptor type II complex is a target of
the HIV-1 vpr gene product.?Proc. Natl. Acad. Science, USA, 4/95.



[22] Wolkowitz OM, Reus VI.?Treatment of Depression with antiglucocorticoid
drugs.?Psychosomatic Medicine, 9/99.




GBYAY Anne McGinnis Breen
See my smiley face winking at you? &;>)
Keep your faith, cherish your reason, treasure your mind, hold to your own good
purposes...and be not afraid.
If you would like to visit my journal pages to read more about me and other grey
matters of great importance to me go to
http://journals.aol.com/anne91547/anne-mcginnis-breens-articles/


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