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. 2019 Aug 12:11:443-449.
doi: 10.2147/IJWH.S204275. eCollection 2019.

Effect of ultramicronized-palmitoylethanolamide and co-micronized palmitoylethanolamide/polydatin on chronic pelvic pain and quality of life in endometriosis patients: An open-label pilot study

Emanuela Stochino Loi  1 , Alessandro Pontis  2 , Vito Cofelice  1 , Silvia Pirarba  1 , Maria Francesca Fais  1 , Angelos Daniilidis  3 , Irene Melis  1 , Anna Maria Paoletti  1 , Stefano Angioni  1
Affiliations

Effect of ultramicronized-palmitoylethanolamide and co-micronized palmitoylethanolamide/polydatin on chronic pelvic pain and quality of life in endometriosis patients: An open-label pilot study

Emanuela Stochino Loi et al. Int J Womens Health. .

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the ultramicronized-palmitoylethanolamide (um-PEA) and co-micronised palmitoylethanolamide/polydatin m(PEA/PLD) in the management of chronic pelvic pain related to endometriosis in patients desiring pregnancy.

Patients and methods: Thirty symptomatic women with laparoscopic diagnosis of endometriosis and pregnancy desire were enrolled. Patients were treated with um-PEA twice daily for 10 days followed by m(PEA/PLD) twice daily for 80 days. Intensity of chronic pelvic pain, dyspareunia, dysmenorrhea, dyschezia, and dysuria were evaluated at baseline, after 10, 30, 60, 90 days and after 30 days from the end of treatment, by VAS. Quality of life and women's psychological well-being were evaluated at baseline and at the end of the treatment after 90 days with 36-Item Short Form Health Survey questionnaire and Symptom Check list-90 questionnaire, respectively. All collected data were analyzed with the non-parametric Wilcoxon test.

Results: At the end of the treatment, all patients showed a significant improvement in chronic pelvic pain, deep dyspareunia, dysmenorrhea, dyschezia, as well as in quality of life and psychological well-being.

Conclusion: In spite of the study's limited sample size and the open-label design, this research suggests the efficacy of um-PEA and m(PEA/PLD) in reducing painful symptomatology and improving quality of life as well as psychological well-being in patients suffering from endometriosis. Additionally, this treatment did not show any serious side effect, proving particularly suitable for women with pregnancy desire and without other infertility factors.

Keywords: chronic pelvic pain; co-micronized palmitoylethanolamide and polydatin; endometriosis; psychological well-being; quality of life; ultramicronized-palmitoylethanolamide.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Pain symptom scores obtained for the VAS at baseline, after 10, 30, 60, 90 days and after 30 days from the end of the treatment with um-PEA followed by m(PEA/PLD) in patients affected from endometriosis. Intensity of chronic pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, and dyschezia showed a significant reduction at each time point compared to baseline. Thirty days after the end of the treatment, only chronic pelvic pain and dysmenorrhea mean score maintained a statistically significant difference compared to baseline. Data values are expressed as means±SD *A p-value of <0.05 was considered significant.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Consumption of rescue drugs at baseline, after 10, 30, 60, 90 days and after 30 days from the end of the treatment with um-PEA followed by m(PEA/PLD) in patients affected from endometriosis. Consumption of rescue drugs (tablets) showed a significant reduction at the end of treatment compared to baseline. Data values are expressed as means±SD *A p-value of <0.05 was considered significant.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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