Extended cycle combined hormonal contraceptive Extended cycle combined hormonal contraceptive Extended or continuous cycle combined oral contraceptive pills are a packaging of combined oral contraceptive pills (COCPs) that reduce or eliminate the withdrawal bleeding that would occur once every 28 days in traditionally packaged COCPs. Extended cycle use of COCPs may also be called menstrual suppression. Other combined hormonal contraceptives (those containing both an estrogen and a progestin) may also be used in an extended or continuous cycle. For example, the NuvaRing vaginal ring and the contraceptive patch have been studied for extended cycle use, and the monthly combined injectable contraceptive may similarly eliminate bleeding.
Immune cycle Immune cycle The immune cycle is a natural homeostatic oscillation of the immune system when chronic inflammation is occurring. Similar to the menstrual cycle, the exact wavelength and waveform of each particular individual patient is different. That is, different people have different immune cycles although each cycle is typically repeated every seven days. C-reactive protein levels in the blood need to be measured every few days in order to have enough time points to show a repeating fluctuation (a wave-like cycle). This is caused by the synchronous division of T cells over time, with T-effector cells boosting immune activity followed