Clinical Evaluation of the Oral Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone-Antagonist Elagolix for the Management of Endometriosis-Associated Pain

Hugh S Taylor, Erica C Dun, Kristof Chwalisz, Kristof Chwalisż
Pain management · 2019 · vol. 9(5) , pp. 497–515 · doi:10.2217/pmt-2019-0010 · PMID:31434540 · W2969537575
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This review summarizes the pathophysiology of endometriosis and elagolix's clinical development for managing associated pain, detailing its dose-dependent estrogen suppression mechanism.

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Abstract

Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent chronic inflammatory disease associated with pelvic pain symptoms that are often severe, mainly dysmenorrhea, nonmenstrual pelvic pain and dyspareunia. This condition is also associated with peripheral and central sensitization. The current medical treatment options for endometriosis-associated pain are limited. Recently, the US FDA approved the novel, oral, nonpeptide gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist elagolix for the management of moderate to severe endometriosis-associated pain. Elagolix produces dose-dependent estrogen suppression, from partial suppression at lower doses to nearly full suppression at higher doses. This review article summarizes the current understanding of the pathophysiology of endometriosis, with a focus on the role of estrogen and the mechanisms of pain symptoms, and reviews the clinical development of elagolix in women with endometriosis-associated pain.

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Condition tags

endometriosisdysmenorrheadyspareunia

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Estrogen Antagonists Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Hydrocarbons, Fluorinated Pain Pain Pain Management Pyrimidines Administration, Oral Animals Clinical Trials as Topic Endometriosis Endometriosis Estrogen Antagonists Female Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Humans Hydrocarbons, Fluorinated Pain Pain

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 (99)

Cited by (26)

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License: CC0 · commercial use OK