Word: effective
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...have long been known to influence the metabolism of fats-to the point where they have been given to men in the hope of lowering their blood-cholesterol levels and protecting them against heart attacks. In fact, says the University of Miami's Dr. William N. Spellacy, their effect on cholesterol is still debatable; they seem to increase the proportion of big, "flabby" fat molecules circulating in the blood. The most consistent finding, said Spellacy, is that increased estrogen levels cause increased blood levels of triglycerides, the complex, fat-containing molecules involved in atherosclerosis and heart disease. But, Spellacy...
...components of the Pill appear to "rev up" the chain reaction of yet other hormones that regulate blood pressure. Columbia University's Dr. John H. Laragh has seen 20 women whose blood pressure skyrocketed while they were on the Pill; presumably they were unusually sensitive to the hormonal effect. Women with kidney disease are especially susceptible. A related mechanism, said Laragh, explains some complaints of "feeling bloated" and gaining weight, usually during the first three or four months that a woman is taking the Pill; some of the hormones involved cause retention of salt and water...
...Strokes are uncommon among women under 40, but several neurologists say they have seen as many as ten cases in a year among women on the Pill, where they used to see only one or two before the Pill. Both the increased blood pressure and the estrogen's effect on the clotting mechanism may be responsible. There are a few authenticated cases of severely impaired vision, even to the extent of blindness, as the result of clotting in the minute retinal arteries...
...Pill's effect on insulin and carbohydrate (sugar and starch) metabolism is somewhat clearer. In many women, the blood-sugar level goes up, and with it the level of circulating insulin. There is no reason to believe that the Pill causes diabetes, but it may, in some cases, accelerate the onset of the disease. Then again, so does pregnancy...
...CANCER. The claim was once made that while estrogens may cause cancer, as they do in many laboratory animals, the Pill seemed actually to afford some protection against breast cancer. More cautious now, the experts claim no protective effect, but assert unequivocally that they have seen no case of breast cancer that might have been caused by the Pill. Still, to stay on the safe side, they will not prescribe it for any woman who has cancer or any suspicious change in a breast...