It is available as a generic medication.In Bangladesh and India, megestrol is marketed under the trade name Megestol by Ziska Pharmaceuticals, Mezest by Beacon Pharmaceuticals, and under the trade name Varigestrol by Laboratorio Varifarma, Argentina. Medical uses
MGA is used mainly as an appetite stimulant to promote weight gain in a variety of situations. When given at very high dosages, it can substantially increase appetite in most individuals, even those with advanced cancer, and is often used to boost appetite and induce weight gain in patients with cancer or HIV/AIDS-associated cachexia. In addition to its effects on appetite, MGA appears to have antiemetic effects. MGA is also used as an antineoplastic agent in the treatment of breast cancer and endometrial cancer. It is significantly inferior to aromatase inhibitors in both clinical effectiveness and tolerability as a second-line therapy for breast cancer after tamoxifen failure. MGA was formerly used in combined oral contraceptives in combination with ethinylestradiol or mestranol, and has been used in a combined injectable contraceptive in combination with estradiol as well.Although it has not been approved for these uses, MGA has been studied and/or used off-label for a variety of indications including menopausal hormone therapy and the treatment of hot flashes, gynecological/menstrual disorders, endometriosis, endometrial hyperplasia, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia, male breast cancer, and precocious puberty. MGA can also be used to treat pattern hair loss in men, but its side effects generally make it unacceptable for this purpose.Appetite stimulation is achieved with MGA with oral dosages of 400 to 800 mg/day.
While the child is hospitalized, medical professionals must monitor the caregivers visits to prevent an attempt to worsen the childs condition. In addition, in many jurisdictions, medical professionals have a duty to report such abuse to legal authorities. Diagnosis
Munchausen syndrome by proxy is a controversial term. In the World Health Organizations International Statistical Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10), the official diagnosis is factitious disorder (301.51 in ICD-9, F68.12 in ICD-10). Within the United States, factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA or FDIoA) was officially recognized as a disorder in 2013, while in the United Kingdom, it is known as fabricated or induced illness by carers (FII).In DSM-5, the diagnostic manual published by the American Psychiatric Association in 2013, this disorder is listed under 300.19 Factitious disorder. This, in turn, encompasses two types:
Factitious Disorder Imposed on Self
Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another (Previously Factitious Disorder by Proxy); the diagnosis is assigned to the perpetrator; the person affected may be assigned an abuse diagnosis (e.g. child abuse).Both types include an optional specifier to identify if the observed behavior was a single episode or part of recurrent episodes. Warning signs
Warning signs of the disorder include:
A child who has one or more medical problems that do not respond to treatment or that follow an unusual course that is persistent, puzzling, and unexplained. Physical or laboratory findings that are highly unusual, discrepant with patients presentation or history, or physically or clinically impossible.