Abstract
Purpose
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the ultramicronized-palmitoylethanolamide (um-PEA) and co-micronised palmitoylethanolamide/polydatin m(PEA/PLD) in the management of chronic pelvic pain related to endometriosis in patients desiring pregnancy.
Patients and methods
Thirty symptomatic women with laparoscopic diagnosis of endometriosis and pregnancy desire were enrolled. Patients were treated with um-PEA twice daily for 10 days followed by m(PEA/PLD) twice daily for 80 days. Intensity of chronic pelvic pain, dyspareunia, dysmenorrhea, dyschezia, and dysuria were evaluated at baseline, after 10, 30, 60, 90 days and after 30 days from the end of treatment, by VAS. Quality of life and women’s psychological well-being were evaluated at baseline and at the end of the treatment after 90 days with 36-Item Short Form Health Survey questionnaire and Symptom Check list-90 questionnaire, respectively. All collected data were analyzed with the non-parametric Wilcoxon test.
Results
At the end of the treatment, all patients showed a significant improvement in chronic pelvic pain, deep dyspareunia, dysmenorrhea, dyschezia, as well as in quality of life and psychological well-being.
Conclusion
In spite of the study’s limited sample size and the open-label design, this research suggests the efficacy of um-PEA and m(PEA/PLD) in reducing painful symptomatology and improving quality of life as well as psychological well-being in patients suffering from endometriosis. Additionally, this treatment did not show any serious side effect, proving particularly suitable for women with pregnancy desire and without other infertility factors.
Availability of data and materials
The data supporting our findings are available upon request from the corresponding author.
Abbreviations
m(PEA/PLD), co-micronized palmitoylethanolamide/polydatin; OS, oxidative stress;
PEA, palmitoylethanolamide; PLD, polydatin; um-PEA, ultramicronized-palmitoylethanolamide;
SCL-90, Symptom Check list-90; SF-36, 36-Item Short Form Health Survey questionnaire.
Author contributions
All authors contributed to data analysis, drafting or revising the article, gave final approval of the version to be published, and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
Disclosure
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.