Correlation between symptoms of pain and peritoneal fluid inflammatory cytokine concentrations in endometriosis

Bonny Scholl, Nick A Bersinger, Annette Kuhn, Annette Kühn, Michael D Mueller
Gynecological endocrinology : the official journal of the International Society of Gynecological Endocrinology · 2009 · vol. 25(11) , pp. 701–706 · doi:10.3109/09513590903159680 · PMID:19903048 · W2008937501
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This study correlated peritoneal fluid inflammatory cytokine concentrations with reported pain intensity in women undergoing laparoscopy, finding TNF-alpha and glycodelin positively associated with menstrual pain severity.

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Abstract

Endometriosis affects 10-20% of women during reproductive age and is a common cause of infertility and pain leading to work absenteeism and reduced quality of life.The objective of this study was to investigate the association between the presence and concentration of interleukin-8 (IL-8), RANTES, osteoprotegerin (OPG), pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A), tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), midkine and glycodelin in the peritoneal fluid (PF) and the intensity of pain reported by patients undergoing laparoscopy in our clinic. They rated their pain during menstruation, intercourse and lower abdominal using a visual analogue scale. During laparoscopy, PF was aspirated. Pain scores were correlated to the concentration of the above substances in the PF and to the stage of endometriosis. Endometriosis was histologically confirmed in 41 of 68 participating women; 27 without such evidence were considered as controls. TNF-alpha and glycodelin correlated positively with the level of menstrual pain. For IL-8, RANTES, OPG and PAPP-A no correlation between their PF concentration and the menstrual pain scores was observed. Patients with severe dysmenorrhoea had increased PF cytokine and marker levels; the difference was significant for TNF-alpha and glycodelin when compared with the other patients (no or moderate pain). TNF-alpha and glycodelin may thus play a role in endometriosis and the severity of menstrual pain.

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Condition tags

dysmenorrheaendometriosisinfertility

MeSH descriptors

Ascitic Fluid Endometriosis Endometriosis Glycoproteins Pain Pregnancy Proteins Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha Adult Ascitic Fluid Cytokines Cytokines Dysmenorrhea Dysmenorrhea Dysmenorrhea Endometriosis Female Glycodelin Glycoproteins Humans Inflammation Mediators

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