Viganò P

BACKGROUND: Activin A is a growth factor, produced by the endometrium, whose actions are modulated by the binding protein follistatin. Both proteins are detectable in the peripheral serum and their concentrations may be increased in women w…

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis, which is characterized by the growth of endometrial tissue at ectopic locations as well as vascular development and inflammation, is still an unmet clinical need since an optimal drug that allows for both pain and…

OBJECTIVE: Endometriosis-associated infertility results in reduced ovarian response, fewer oocytes available for fertilization, compromised oocyte quality and higher miscarriage rates. A consistent proportion of women with endometriosis req…

Recent evidence suggested that periovulatory treatment with an immunomodulatory agent such as verapamil might be an effective alternative to conventional treatment for endometriosis-associated subfertility. In particular, it has been report…

BACKGROUND: There is limited but interesting evidence suggesting that endometriosis may be associated with specific pigmentary traits and sun habits. In this case-control study, we aimed to further clarify this point. MATERIALS AND METHODS…

Prevention of the recurrence of post-operative endometriosis is crucial for future fertility. The incidence of disease relapse can be influenced by major demographic changes and by the use of long-term adjuvant medical treatment. Decrease i…

Conservative surgical treatment for symptomatic endometriosis is frequently associated with only partial relief of pelvic pain or its recurrence. Therefore, medical therapy constitutes an important alternative or complement to surgery. Howe…

Estimates of endometriosis recurrence after primary surgery are around 10% per annum during the first postoperative quinquennium. The aim of this study was to define the effect of reoperation in women seeking conception. A MEDLINE and PubMe…

We performed a MEDLINE and EMBASE search to identify all studies published in the English language literature on the use of progestogens for the treatment of endometriosis. The aim of our review was to clarify the biological rationale for t…

UNLABELLED: Endometriosis is a multifactorial disease that can affect up to 10-15% of women in their reproductive age. Epidemiological studies indicate that it is a polygenic disorder with recurrence risks in first-degree relatives of about…

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The aim of this article is to evaluate the biological rationale for the use of an intrauterine device releasing 20 mug/day of levonorgestrel in women with endometriosis, and to assess its efficacy in relieving pelvic pain…

In all species studied, the basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) gene is transcribed into multiple mRNAs, one of which is an antisense RNA (1B FGF-AS) probably involved in regulating the stability of the sense transcript. In this study we …

Surgery is still the first line of therapy for endometriosis. At present, medical therapy is mostly indicated for treatment and prevention of recurrences. Current pharmacological regimens induce a hypoestrogenic state; this effect tends, on…

Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent disorder mostly occurring in reproductive-age women. Various therapies have been used in an attempt to treat endometriosis, including ovarian suppression therapy, surgical treatment or a combination of…

Follicular fluid from women with endometriosis has been shown to induce a higher endometrial cell proliferation than that derived from women without the disease. To elucidate this issue further, the aims of the present study were to compare…

PROBLEM: It has been suggested that specific mechanisms commonly used by different cellular systems to evade immunologic recognition are involved in the development of endometriosis. To gain insight into this aspect, we looked at the relati…

Immune dysfunctions in endometriosis are widely documented but the effectiveness of immunotherapies for the management of the disease is still debated. Progress in this field has also been limited by the lack of an appropriate animal model …

The relationship between the immune and the endometrial systems has been recently suggested to be critical to the development of endometriosis. We previously showed that one of the molecules involved in the complex events that allow this in…

Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is a 41-amino acid neurohormone involved in the neuroendocrine response to stress, also playing a role in cell-mediated immune functions and in inflammation. In the light of recent evidence showing an as…

Intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1-mediated cell-cell adhesion is essential for various immunological functions, including natural killer (NK) cell-mediated cytotoxicity against endometrium. The present study was designed to establish…

PROBLEM: Development and progression of endometriosis have been suggested to be related to a defect of NK cells in the ability to eliminate endometrial fragments regurgitated with menstrual debris in ectopic sites. However, it has not been …

Previous studies have localized basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and its mRNA in normal and neoplastic endometrium but the expression of bGFG mRNA in endometriosis cells is virtually unknown. Our purpose was to investigate the presence…

OBJECTIVE: To study the possible role of the immune system in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. DESIGN: A cytotoxicity assay by 51Cr release was performed to determine the lymphocyte cytotoxic response toward endometrial targets and an er…