diethylstilbestrol

(DES) [di-eth″il-stil-bes´trol]

a synthetic nonsteroidal estrogen used for palliative treatment of prostatic carcinoma and sometimes advanced breast carcinoma. It was formerly used to relieve vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause, and in primary ovarian failure, female hypogonadism, atrophic vaginitis, kraurosis vulvae, and female castration. Most significantly, however, it was formerly widely used to prevent threatened abortion and premature labor. The female children who were thus exposed to the drug as fetuses have tended to have a variety of cervical abnormalities and an increased risk of clear cell adenocarcinoma of the reproductive tract. Male offspring have sometimes had abnormal genitalia, epididymal cysts, and abnormal semen analyses. Regular examinations and follow-up are indicated for these individuals.

di·eth·yl·stil·bes·trol (DES),

(dī-eth'il-stil-bes'trol), Avoid the misspelling/mispronunciation diethylstilbesterol.

A synthetic nonsteroidal estrogenic compound. Sometimes used as a postcoital antipregnancy agent to prevent implantation of the fertilized ovum. The first demonstrated transplacental carcinogen responsible for a delayed clear cell vaginal carcinoma in female offspring of mothers who took the drug during pregnancy when the drug was erroneously thought to prevent threatened abortion.

Synonym(s): stilbestrol

Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

diethylstilbestrol

(dī-ĕth′əl-stĭl-bĕs′trôl′, -trōl′)

n. Abbr. DES

A nonsteroidal synthetic drug, C₁₈H₂₀O₂, having estrogenic properties and used in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. Before 1971 it was prescribed to prevent miscarriage and to treat menstrual disorders but was found to cause vaginal cancer and other reproductive abnormalities in the daughters of pregnant women so treated.

diethylstilbestrol

See DES.

di·eth·yl·stil·bes·trol

(DES) (dī-eth'il-stil-bes'trol)

A synthetic nonsteroidal estrogenic compound; sometimes previously used as a postcoital antipregnancy agent to prevent implantation of the fertilized oocyte. The first demonstrated transplacental carcinogen responsible for a delayed clear-cell vaginal carcinoma in girls born to mothers who took the drug during pregnancy when it was erroneously thought to prevent miscarriage.
Synonym(s): stilboestrol.

Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing © Farlex 2012

Diethylstilbestrol (DES)

This is a synthetic estrogen drug that is used to treat a number of hormonal conditions. However, it causes problems in developing fetuses and should not be taken during pregnancy. From about 1938 to 1971, DES was given to pregnant women because it was thought to prevent miscarriage. Children of women who took the drug during pregnancy are at risk for certain health problems.

Mentioned in: Incompetent Cervix, Miscarriage

di·eth·yl·stil·bes·trol

(DES) (dī-eth'il-stil-bes'trol)

A synthetic nonsteroidal estrogenic compound; formerly used as a postcoital antipregnancy agent to prevent implantation of the fertilized oocyte.
Synonym(s): stilboestrol.

Medical Dictionary for the Dental Professions © Farlex 2012

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

Reproductive tract lesions in male mice exposed prenatally to diethylstilbestrol. Science 190:991-992.

Estrogen Receptor-[alpha] mediates diethylstilbestrol-induced feminization of the seminal vesicle in male mice

Reduced fertility in female mice exposed transplacentally to diethylstilbestrol (DES).

Perinatal exposure to environmentally relevant levels of bisphenol a decreases fertility and fecundity in CD-1 mice

Prenatal diethylstilbestrol exposure in the mouse: effects on ovarian histology and steroidogenesis in vitro.

Secondary sex ratio among women exposed to Diethylstilbestrol in utero

This phenomenon, often referred to as endocrine disruption, was first realized with the appearance of uterine and vaginal/cervical cancers in young women whose mothers took the synthetic estrogen diethylstilbestrol (DES) during pregnancy (Hatch et al.

PCBs exert an estrogenic effect through repression of the Wnt7a signaling pathway in the female reproductive tract

Clear cell adenocarcinoma of the cervix in second generation young women who are without maternal exposure to diethylstilbestrol: A case report.

Primary Clear Cell Carcinoma with no Diethylstilbestrol Exposure; Case Series

We were administered DES (diethylstilbestrol, an oestrogen medication now no longer used), a known carcinogen.

Apology sought for forced adoptions

Diethylstilbestrol was obtained from Chengdu West Chemical Industry (China).

Establishment of a rat model for uterine leiomyomas based on Western and traditional Chinese medicine theories

The patient was initiated on a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogue after reviewing data on hormonal manipulation with diethylstilbestrol in the treatment of recurrent priapism.

Case--Temporary chemical castration in the management of recurrent priapism

Development in recent years of YY technology at the Universidad del Papaloapan has led to attempts to optimize the feminization rates, including the use in different trials of the three most important estrogens; estradiol-17p, 17[alpha]-ethynilestradiol and diethylstilbestrol with mixed results (Alcantar-Vazquez et al., 2015; Marin-Ramirez et al., 2016; Juarez-Juarez et al., 2017).

Sex proportion in Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus fed estrogen mixtures: a case of paradoxical masculinization

Additional risk factors examined included history of infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease, sexually transmitted disease, intrauterine device placement, and diethylstilbestrol exposure.

Ectopic pregnancies predicted by risk model

Risk factors for cervical cancer are the presence of the human papillomavirus (HPV) or human immunodeficiency virus, a compromised immune system, in utero exposure to diethylstilbestrol (synthetic nonsteroidal used to prevent miscarriage from 1938-71) and/or previous treatments of high-grade precancerous lesions.

Cervical cancer & SCI