Research on central sensitization of endometriosis-associated pain: a systematic review of the literature

Ping Zheng, Wen Zhang, Zhang Wen, Leng Jinhua, Jinhua Leng, Jinghe Lang, Lang Jinghe
Journal of pain research · 2019 · vol. Volume 12 , pp. 1447–1456 · doi:10.2147/jpr.s197667 · PMID:31190954 · PMC6514255 · W2944396809
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This systematic review of 15 articles found that central sensitization plays a significant role in endometriosis-associated pain, highlighting the need for further research into its mechanisms for improved treatment strategies.

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⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This systematic review searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library for English-language studies (2008 onward) using terms for endometriosis-associated pain/hyperalgesia and central sensitization, and screened 74 publications down to 15 eligible articles (6 reviews, 6 human studies including one conference abstract, and 3 animal studies). Across included work, the authors synthesize evidence connecting endometriosis-associated pain to mechanisms involving innervation and neurovascular proliferation, local inflammation with peripheral sensitization, and central sensitization reflected in altered nociceptive network processing and responsiveness. They note that some studies observed pain relief after interventions followed by recurrence, which they attribute to central sensitization, and they highlight use of pain scales (e.g., VAS, IPT, MPQ) and biomarkers (e.g., BDNF, TNF-α) in the underlying literature. A major limitation explicitly stated is limited geographical representation of human evidence (Brazil, China, United States), reducing global generalizability and indicating a need for improved evidence quality. This paper is centrally about endometriosis — it systematically reviews the central sensitization mechanisms underlying endometriosis-associated pain.

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Abstract

Endometriosis-associated pain afflicts an enormous number of women who suffer from endometriosis. There is an urgent need to explore the pathogenesis of endometriosis-associated pain to identify targets for treatment of hyperalgesia. A search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library using the search terms "endometriosis" AND ("pain" OR "hyperalgesia" OR "nociception" OR "allodynia") AND "central sensitization". The search was limited to articles published in English from 01/01/2008 to the present. Among the search results, 15 articles were eligible for systematic review, including 6 reviews, 6 human studies (one in the form of a conference abstract only), and 3 animal studies. The articles were classified into 4 lists to describe the mechanism of endometriosis-associated pain and synthesize different aspects of research on it. In conclusion, there is a need to explore the mechanism of endometriosis-associated pain in terms of innervation, vascularization, local inflammation, cross-correlated visceral sensitization, and central sensitization to identify the target molecules and signaling pathways of key genes and relevant biomarkers through new techniques, all with the goal of developing a more comprehensive treatment strategy for endometriosis than is currently available.

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Condition tags

endometriosis

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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.

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