Effects of levonorgestrel-releasing intra-uterine system on the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and adrenomedullin in the endometrium in adenomyosis

J B Laoag-Fernandez, Jovelle B. Laoag‐Fernandez, T Maruo, P Pakarinen, I M Spitz, E Johansson
Human Reproduction · 2003 · vol. 18(4) , pp. 694–699 · doi:10.1093/humrep/deg179 · PMID:12660258 · W2057765159
article OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 23 in-corpus citations
View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

Levonorgestrel-releasing intra-uterine system insertion decreased endometrial VEGF and increased endometrial AM expression after three months in women with adenomyosis.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The levonorgestrel-releasing intra-uterine system (LNg-IUS) has been used to control menorrhagia, but irregular bleeding during the first 3 months of use was the most notable side effect. Endometrial angiogenesis is believed to be regulated by angiogenic factors. The study aim was to evaluate the effects of LNg-IUS on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and adrenomedullin (AM) expression in the endometrium. METHODS: VEGF and AM expression were analysed using the avidin-biotin immunoperoxidase method on endometrial curettage specimens from menorrhagic women associated with adenomyosis before and 3 months after LNg-IUS insertion. RESULTS: VEGF expression was abundant both in the endometrial glands and stroma before LNg-IUS insertion, but became scanty 3 months after insertion. No immunostaining for AM was noted in the endometrial glands and stroma before LNg-IUS insertion, whereas AM immunostaining became prominent in the endometrial glands and stroma 3 months after LNg-IUS use. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to demonstrate that LNg-IUS insertion results in decreased expression of VEGF and increased expression of AM in the endometrial glands and stroma after 3 months of use. The results obtained suggest that the increase in AM expression in the endometrium may be responsible for the frequent occurrence of irregular bleeding during the initial 3 months of LNg-IUS use.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

mesh:D004715adenomyosis

MeSH descriptors

Contraceptive Agents, Female Endometriosis Endometrium Intrauterine Devices, Medicated Levonorgestrel Peptides Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A Adrenomedullin Adult Contraceptive Agents, Female Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometrium Endometrium Female Humans Levonorgestrel Menorrhagia Menorrhagia Menorrhagia

Citation neighborhood

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. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (47)

Cited by (23)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-06-04T01:30:01.192114+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-04T00:00:01.174412+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-05-13T22:12:55.732728+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK