Metformin’s therapeutic potential in adenomyosis: insights from interleukin 8 level

Damas Hendriansyah, Nusratuddin Abdullah, Rudy B. Leonardy, Mardiah Tahir, Samrichard Rambulangi, Firdaus Hamid
In: Italian Journal of Medicine · 2025 · vol. 19(2) · doi:10.4081/itjm.2025.1940 · W4409682530
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-06 ⓘ

This study found that metformin as an adjunctive therapy for adenomyosis did not significantly alter IL-8 levels but did significantly reduce pain scores compared to ibuprofen alone.

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⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-06 · read from full text ⓘ

This cohort-prospective study conducted in Makassar, Indonesia, enrolled 40 women diagnosed with adenomyosis by physical and ultrasound examination and compared 30 days of metformin 500 mg plus ibuprofen 400 mg every 8 hours (n=20) versus ibuprofen alone (n=20), assessing IL-8 levels and pain by Visual Analog Scale (VAS). IL-8 increased in both groups with no statistically significant difference within the metformin arm (p=0.45) and no significant difference in change between groups (p=0.13), while VAS significantly decreased in the metformin group (p<0.001) but did not reach significance in controls (p=0.06); between-group change in VAS was not statistically significant (p=0.09). The authors’ key caveat is that they report a statistically non-significant IL-8 outcome and a non-significant between-group VAS comparison, and they state further clinical trials are needed. This paper is centrally about adenomyosis — it evaluates metformin’s effects on IL-8 and pain in adenomyosis patients.

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Abstract

Adenomyosis is a gynecological disorder characterized by the invasion of endometrial tissue into the myometrium, leading to chronic inflammation and pelvic pain. Interleukin 8 (IL-8) plays a key role in inflammation and pain sensitization in adenomyosis. Metformin, an antidiabetic agent, exerts anti-inflammatory effects by activating adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, inhibiting IL-8 production, and reducing inflammatory cell infiltration. This cohort-prospective study evaluates the effects of metformin on IL-8 levels and pain in adenomyosis patients. This cohort-prospective study in Makassar, Indonesia, included 40 women diagnosed with adenomyosis via physical examination and ultrasound examination in a polyclinic at Hasanuddin University Teaching Hospital. Participants were divided into two groups: 20 received metformin 500 mg and ibuprofen 400 mg every 8 hours for 30 days, while 20 only received ibuprofen. All statistical analyses were conducted using the Statistical Program for Social Sciences (IBM, Chicago, IL, USA). IL-8 levels increased in both groups (p=0.45). Visual Analog Scale (VAS) significantly decreased in the metformin group (p<0.001) but was not significant in the control group (p=0.06). Comparison of changes in IL-8 (p=0.13) and VAS (p=0.09) levels between the metformin and control groups was not statistically significant. This study suggests that the anti-diabetic drug metformin can also be used as an anti-inflammatory drug in adenomyosis patients as an adjunctive therapy. Further clinical trials need to be done on metformin drugs.
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Metformin’s therapeutic potential in adenomyosis: insights from interleukin 8 level All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher. Accepted: 23 February 2025 Authors Adenomyosis is a gynecological disorder characterized by the invasion of endometrial tissue into the myometrium, leading to chronic inflammation and pelvic pain. Interleukin 8 (IL-8) plays a key role in inflammation and pain sensitization in adenomyosis. Metformin, an antidiabetic agent, exerts anti-inflammatory effects by activating adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, inhibiting IL-8 production, and reducing inflammatory cell infiltration. This cohort-prospective study evaluates the effects of metformin on IL-8 levels and pain in adenomyosis patients. This cohort-prospective study in Makassar, Indonesia, included 40 women diagnosed with adenomyosis via physical examination and ultrasound examination in a polyclinic at Hasanuddin University Teaching Hospital. Participants were divided into two groups: 20 received metformin 500 mg and ibuprofen 400 mg every 8 hours for 30 days, while 20 only received ibuprofen. All statistical analyses were conducted using the Statistical Program for Social Sciences (IBM, Chicago, IL, USA). IL-8 levels increased in both groups (p=0.45). Visual Analog Scale (VAS) significantly decreased in the metformin group (p<0.001) but was not significant in the control group (p=0.06). Comparison of changes in IL-8 (p=0.13) and VAS (p=0.09) levels between the metformin and control groups was not statistically significant. This study suggests that the anti-diabetic drug metformin can also be used as an anti-inflammatory drug in adenomyosis patients as an adjunctive therapy. Further clinical trials need to be done on metformin drugs. How to Cite This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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Outcome instruments

VAS-pain

Condition tags

adenomyosis

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.

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