Chinese medicinal plants for advanced endometriosis after conservative surgery: a prospective, multi-center and controlled trial.

The trial was to explore the effects of Chinese medicinal plants (CMP) treatment on the advanced endometriosis (stage III-IV) after conservative surgery. A prospective, multi-center and controlled trial was conducted from June 2012 to September 2013. Sixty-five post-operative women with advanced endometriosis (stage III-IV) after conservative surgery were included in the trial. They had undergone laparoscopic surgical excision of the endometriosis lesions and the diagnosis of endometriosis was confirmed by pathological examination. The patients received either CMP treatment or goserelin acetate sustained-release depot treatment (as comparison) according to the willingness of the patients. In the post-treatment follow-up visit at 6 and 12 months, the patients were respectively undergone ultrasonic and gynecological examinations. The serum levels of cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) and interleukin 18 (IL-18) were also detected in the post-treatment follow-up visit at 12 months. We found that in the post-treatment follow-up visit at 6 months, the recurrence rate of CMP group and comparison group was 1/31 (3.23%) and 1/34 (2.94%), respectively. In the post-treatment follow-up visit at 12 months, the recurrence rate of CMP group and comparison group was 5/31 (16.13%) and 6/34 (17.65%), respectively. There were no significant differences between the two groups (P>0.05). The serum levels of CA-125 and IL-18 significantly decreased in both of the two groups (P<0.05) and no marked differences existed between them on the serum levels of IL-18 (P>0.05). The serum CA-125 levels of CMP group were significantly lower than those of the comparison group (P<0.05). No adverse effect was reported in both of the two groups during the research and the follow-up period. It concluded that CMP showed promise in preventing the recurrence of stage III-IV endometriosis after conservative surgery, although the conclusion is somewhat limited due to the small size of the trial.

The extracts of Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) alleviate ovarian functional disorders of female rats with exposure to bisphenol a through decreasing FSHR expression in ovarian tissues.

BACKGROUND: Bisphenol-A (BPA) is one of the widespread industrial compounds, which has adverse effects on animal and human health. The study was aimed to explore the effects of Crassostrea gigas extracts (CGE) in alleviating ovarian functional disorders of female rats with exposure to BPA and the underlying possible mechanism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighteen four-week-old female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into BPA group (50mg/kg BPA), BPA+CGE group (50mg/kg BPA+50mg/kg CGE), and control group (equivalent dosage of vehicle) with 6 rats in each group. After a 6-week treatment ended, the serum levels of estradiol (E2), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH) were measured by using commercial standard assay kits. The expression levels of FSH receptor (FSHR) in the rat ovarian tissues were respectively detected by immunohistochemistry and Real-time PCR. RESULTS: CGE treatment markedly increased E2 levels and decreased FSH levels in the serum (P<0.05), however, the alterations of serum LH levels were not significant (P>0.05). The protein and mRNA expression levels of FSHR were the lowest in the ovaries of control rats and the highest in BPA rats (P<0.05). CGE treatment markedly decreased the expression levels of FSHR in the ovarian tissues (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Crassostrea gigas successfully alleviates ovarian functional disorders of female rats with exposure to BPA partly through decreasing FSHR expression levels in the ovarian tissues.

Effects of Yiweining Recipe on expressions of metalloproteinase-2 and cyclooxygenase-2 mRNAs in ectopic endometrium of rats with endometriosis.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of Yiweining Recipe (YWNR), a compound Chinese herbal medicine, on expressions of metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) mRNAs in rats with endometriosis (EM). METHODS: Operational self-transplantation was applied in establishing the rat models. Detection of MMP-2 and COX-2 mRNAs was conducted with hybridization in situ. RESULTS: There were significant differences in the expressions of MMP-2 and COX-2 mRNAs between the untreated group and the high-dose YWNR-treated group. YWNR could reduce the expressions of MMP-2 and COX-2 mRNAs. CONCLUSION: YWNR can treat EM through reducing the positive expressions of MMP-2 and COX-2 mRNAs.

Comparative study on the efficacy of Yiweining and Gestrinone for post-operational treatment of stage III endometriosis.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical efficacy and safety of Yiweining (YWN) and gestrinone (GT) in treating post-operational patients of stage III endometriosis (EM-III). METHODS: Fifty-two patients of EM-III after operation were randomly assigned into three groups, the YWN group (20 patients) was treated through oral intake of YWN 200 ml, twice a day; the GT group (19 patients) treated with gestrinone 2.5 mg, twice every week, with the medication starting from the 7th post-operational day and lasting for 6 months. The control group (13 patients) was untreated. Six months was one therapeutic course, and follow-up study was carried out in the 6 - 30 months after the end of the medication. RESULTS: The recurrence rate in the YWN group and the GT group were 5.0% and 5.3% respectively, showing insignificant difference between the two groups, but they were lower than that in the control group (30.7%, P < 0.05). Besides, the adverse reaction rate in the YWN group was lower than that in the GT group (10.0% vs 31.6%, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Application of YWN to prevent the post-operational recurrence of endometriosis is effective and safe, and its efficacy is similar to that of GT.