New drugs in development for the treatment of endometriosis
August 2008, Vol. 17, No. 8
,
Pages 1187-1202
(doi:10.1517/13543784.17.8.1187)
Luigi Fedele†1,2 MD, Edgardo Somigliana1 MD PhD, Giada Frontino1,2 MD, Laura Benaglia1,2 MD & Paola Vigano2 PhD
†1Fondazione IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mangiagalli e Regina Elena, Via Commenda 12, 20122 Milano, Italy +39 02 55032318; +39 02 50320252; luigi.fedele@unimi.it
2Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Commenda 12, 20122 Milan, Italy
Endometriosis is a common and enigmatic disease causing pelvic pain and infertility. Current treatment is mainly based on the use of surgery and ovarian suppressive agents. There is in particular the need for new therapeutic options able to allow a normal menstrual cycle to occur and also consent pregnancy. In the present review, we aimed to give a concise and practical overview in order to allow the clinician to clearly understand the level of development of these drugs. We have presented only treatments supported by in vivo researches with a special attention to studies in humans. Results show appealing new possibilities are emerging from agents counteracting the endometriosis-associated inflammation. Recent data also suggests that there is still the opportunity to refine the use of already available agents.
