Efficacy of melatonin in the treatment of endometriosis: a phase II, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

André Schwertner, Schwertner A, Conceição Dos Santos CC, Cláudia Carina Conceição dos Santos, Claudia C Conceição Dos Santos, Gislene Dalferth Costa, Costa GD, Deitos A, Alícia Deitos, Andressa de Souza, de Souza A, de Souza IC, Izabel Cristina Custodio de Souza, Izabel Cristina Custódio de Souza, Iraci L S Torres, Iraci Lucena da Silva Torres, da Cunha Filho JS, João Sabino Cunha‐Filho, João Sabino L da Cunha Filho, Wolnei Caumo
Pain · 2013 · vol. 154(6) , pp. 874–881 · doi:10.1016/j.pain.2013.02.025 · PMID:23602498 · W2004241496
RCT OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 72 in-corpus citations
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This phase II trial found that 10 mg of melatonin taken daily for 8 weeks significantly reduced pelvic pain scores and improved sleep quality in women with endometriosis compared to placebo.

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Abstract

Endometriosis-associated chronic pelvic pain (EACPP) presents with an intense inflammatory reaction. Melatonin has emerged as an important analgesic, antioxidant, and antiinflammatory agent. This trial investigates the effects of melatonin compared with a placebo on EACPP, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) level, and sleep quality. Forty females, aged 18 to 45 years, were randomized into the placebo (n = 20) or melatonin (10 mg) (n = 20) treatment groups for a period of 8 weeks. There was a significant interaction (time vs group) regarding the main outcomes of the pain scores as indexed by the visual analogue scale on daily pain, dysmenorrhea, dysuria, and dyschezia (analysis of variance, P < 0.01 for all analyses). Post hoc analysis showed that compared with placebo, the treatment reduced daily pain scores by 39.80% (95% confidence interval [CI] 12.88-43.01%) and dysmenorrhea by 38.01% (95% CI 15.96-49.15%). Melatonin improved sleep quality, reduced the risk of using an analgesic by 80%, and reduced BNDF levels independently of its effect on pain. This study provides additional evidence regarding the analgesic effects of melatonin on EACPP and melatonin's ability to improve sleep quality. Additionally, the study revealed that melatonin modulates the secretion of BDNF and pain through distinct mechanisms.

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Condition tags

dysmenorrheaendometriosischronic_pelvic_pain

MeSH descriptors

Dysmenorrhea Endometriosis Melatonin Ovarian Diseases Pelvic Pain Adolescent Adolescent Adult Adult Analgesics Analgesics Analgesics Analgesics Double-Blind Method Double-Blind Method Dysmenorrhea Dysmenorrhea Endometriosis Endometriosis Female

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 ]

References (74)

Cited by (50)

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