Plasma Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Women With Pelvic Pain: A Potential Biomarker for Endometriosis?

Ana L Rocha, Ana Luiza Lunardi Rocha, Erica L Vieira, Érica Leandro Marciano Vieira, Márcia Cristina França Ferreira, Márcia C Ferreira, Laura M Maia, Antonio L Teixeira, Antônio Lúcio Teixeira, Fernando M Reis
Biomarkers in medicine · 2017 · vol. 11(4) , pp. 313–317 · doi:10.2217/bmm-2016-0327 · PMID:28290209 · W2601024278
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

Plasma BDNF levels were elevated in women with ovarian endometrioma but did not predict other forms of endometriosis, though it correlated with pain severity.

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Abstract

AIM: To test whether plasma BDNF levels are useful to predict the presence of endometriosis in women with pelvic pain. PATIENTS & METHODS: Prospective cross-sectional study including 67 consecutive women aged 24-49 years, scheduled for laparoscopy due to chronic pelvic pain. Preoperative plasma samples were assayed for BDNF using a commercial enzyme immunoassay. RESULTS: Women with ovarian endometrioma had higher preoperative plasma BDNF (1063 ± 157 pg/ml) compared with women with other benign ovarian tumors (537 ± 131 pg/ml, F = 2.53; p = 0.02). However, plasma BDNF levels were not helpful to indicate the presence of peritoneal or deep infiltrating endometriosis. Plasma BDNF levels were positively correlated with the severity of pelvic pain (r = 0.489; p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Plasma BDNF might be a biomarker of ovarian endometrioma but not a useful diagnostic marker to detect other forms of endometriosis in women with painful symptoms.

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Condition tags

mesh:D004715mesh:D017699endometriosisdie_deep_infiltratingendometriomachronic_pelvic_pain

MeSH descriptors

Biomarkers Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Endometriosis Pelvic Pain Adult Area Under Curve Biomarkers Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Chronic Disease Cross-Sectional Studies Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay Female Humans Laparoscopy Middle Aged Pelvic Pain Pelvic Pain

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Cited by (26)

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