In 2013, the Fecho sisters who initiated the breast cancer/DES link litigation agreed to an undisclosed settlement amount on the second day of trial. The remaining litigants have received various settlements.The advocacy group DES Action USA helped provide information and support for DES-exposed persons engaged in lawsuits. Society and culture
Alan Turing, the ground-breaking cryptographer, founder of computing science and programmable computers, who also proposed the actual theoretical model of biological morphogenesis, was forced onto this medication to induce chemical castration as a punitive and discredited "treatment" for homosexual behaviour, shortly before he died in ambiguous circumstances.James Herriot describes a case regarding treating a small dogs testicular Sertoli cell tumor in his 1974 book All Things Bright and Beautiful. Herriot decided to prescribe a high dose of the new drug Stilboestrol for the recurring tumor, with the amusing side effect that the male dog became "attractive to other male dogs", who followed the terrier around the village for a few weeks. Herriot comments in the story that he knew "The new drug was said to have a feminising effect, but surely not to that extent." Veterinary use
Canine incontinence
DES has been very successful in treating female canine incontinence stemming from poor sphincter control. It is still available from compounding pharmacies, and at the low (1 mg) dose, does not have the carcinogenic properties that were so problematic in humans. It is generally administered once a day for seven to ten days and then once every week as needed.
Diethylstilbestrol (DES), also known as stilbestrol or stilboestrol, is a nonsteroidal estrogen medication, which is presently rarely used. In the past, it was widely used for a variety of indications, including pregnancy support for women with a history of recurrent miscarriage, hormone therapy for menopausal symptoms and estrogen deficiency in women, treatment of prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women, and other uses. By 2007, it was only used in the treatment of prostate cancer and breast cancer. In 2011, Hoover and colleagues reported on adverse health outcomes linked to DES including infertility, miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, preeclampsia, preterm birth, stillbirth, infant death, menopause prior to age 45, breast cancer, cervical cancer, and vaginal cancer. While most commonly taken by mouth, DES was available for use by other routes as well, for instance, vaginal, topical, and by injection. DES is an estrogen, or an agonist of the estrogen receptors, the biological target of estrogens like estradiol. It is a synthetic and nonsteroidal estrogen of the stilbestrol group, and differs from the natural estrogen estradiol in various ways. Compared to estradiol, DES has greatly improved bioavailability when taken by mouth, is more resistant to metabolism, and shows relatively increased effects in certain parts of the body like the liver and uterus. These differences result in DES having an increased risk of blood clots, cardiovascular issues, and certain other adverse effects.DES was discovered in 1938 and introduced for medical use in 1939.