Short-term effects of danazol on endometrial histology

Sten Jeppsson, S Jeppsson, Jeppsson S, Peter Mellquist, Mellquist P, P Mellquist, Rannevik G, G Rannevik, Gunnar Rannevik
Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica. Supplement · 1984 · vol. 63(S123) , pp. 41–44 · doi:10.3109/00016348409156980 · PMID:6594016 · W2082162974
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Danazol treatment at 600 mg/day induced atrophic histological changes in the uterine endometrium within 4 weeks, as observed in biopsies from patients with fibromyoma and menorrhagia.

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Abstract

The synthetic steroid danazol has rapidly become the drug most commonly used in the hormonal treatment of endometriosis and its clinical and endocrine properties in women have been investigated extensively. However, little is known about the early effects of danazol on the endometrium. This study was performed in order to discover how soon after institution of danazol therapy atrophic changes can be observed in the endometrium. Ten patients with fibromyoma of the uterus and menorrhagia were treated with danazol at a dosage of 600 mg a day. During treatment, plasma estradiol values corresponded to those of the early follicular phase of a normal menstrual cycle. In 5 of the patients, endometrial biopsies were obtained after 8 weeks of therapy. Four of them had a thin endometrium of atrophic histological appearance. In view of these findings, biopsies were taken from a further 5 patients after only 4 weeks' treatment. All of these biopsies revealed a reduced endometrium and 3 of the 5 endometria were histologically clearly atrophic. Even if total resorption of endometriotic tissue usually takes a considerable time, the finding of atrophy of the uterine endometrium induced by danazol after only 4 weeks of treatment is consistent with the rapid improvement in clinical symptoms in patients with endometriosis.

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Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Danazol Endometriosis Pregnadienes Adult Adult Danazol Danazol Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Female Humans Humans Middle Aged Middle Aged Pregnadienes Pregnadienes

Citation neighborhood (2-hop)

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. Outer rings show 2-hop neighbours — papers reached through the immediate citers/citees. [ collapse to 1-hop ]

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