Comparison of BDNF and NGF Levels in Adenomyotic Tissue, Adjacent Myometrium, and Normal Myometrium and Their Correlation with Pain Severity

Agus Heriyanto, Dian Tjahyadi, Hartanto Bayuaji, Ruswana Anwar, Hanom Husni Syam, Mulyanusa Amarullah Ritonga, Binarwan Halim, Luky Adlino
In: International Journal of Women's Health · 2026 · vol. Volume 18 , pp. 1–11 · doi:10.2147/ijwh.s612716 · W7164492003
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-13 ⓘ

BDNF and NGF levels were significantly higher in adenomyotic tissue than in normal or adjacent myometrium, but neither correlated with pain severity in adenomyosis patients.

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⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-13 ⓘ

This cross-sectional study compared tissue levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF) in 120 women with adenomyosis, analyzing adenomyotic tissue, adjacent myometrium, and normal myometrium, with BDNF/NGF measured by sandwich ELISA and pain severity assessed by Visual Analog Scale (VAS). BDNF and NGF levels both differed significantly across the three tissue groups, showing a decreasing pattern from adenomyotic tissue to adjacent myometrium and then to normal myometrium, with significant pairwise differences for both neurotrophins. Despite these differences, neither BDNF nor NGF significantly correlated with VAS pain scores (Spearman ρ values near zero with non-significant p-values). The paper’s limitation is that, although it examines local neurotrophin expression, it finds no tissue-to-pain association in this dataset, implying other mechanisms may account for pain severity. This paper is centrally about endometriosis and/or adenomyosis — specifically adenomyosis, focusing on BDNF/NGF levels in adenomyotic tissue and their relationship to pain severity.

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Abstract

Background: Adenomyosis is a major cause of chronic pelvic pain in women of reproductive age and significantly affects quality of life. Identifying biomarkers associated with pain mechanisms may improve understanding of disease pathophysiology and support the development of targeted therapeutic strategies. The mechanisms underlying adenomyosis-related pain are not fully understood but are thought to involve neurogenic factors such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF), which promote nerve fiber proliferation and sensitization. However, evidence regarding the relationship between BDNF, NGF, and pain severity in adenomyosis remains limited. Objective: To compare BDNF and NGF levels in adenomyotic tissue, adjacent myometrium from patients with adenomyosis, and normal myometrium, and to evaluate their association with pain severity measured using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed BDNF and NGF levels in adenomyotic tissue, adjacent myometrium, and normal myometrium from 120 tissue samples. Neurotrophin levels were compared among tissue groups and evaluated for their association with pain severity using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores. Results: BDNF levels differed significantly among the three tissue groups (H = 99.364; p < 0.001), showing a decreasing trend from adenomyotic tissue to adjacent myometrium and then to normal myometrium. Post-hoc analysis confirmed significant differences across all pairwise comparisons (p < 0.001). NGF levels also differed significantly among groups (H = 96.056; p < 0.001), with significant differences in all pairwise comparisons (p < 0.001). No significant correlations were found between BDNF and VAS scores ( ρ = − 0.038; p = 0.817) or NGF and VAS scores ( ρ = 0.125; p = 0.441). Conclusion: Although BDNF and NGF levels differed significantly among tissue types, neither neurotrophin was significantly associated with pain severity, suggesting that additional mechanisms (eg, central sensitization or other inflammatory mediators) may underlie adenomyosis-related pain. Keywords: adenomyosis, BDNF, NGF, neuroinflammation, pelvic pain, VAS

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