A variety of immune-regulating
medications are being considered or investigated for
use in women with endometriosis. Few have yet reached
the stage of clinical trials in humans; however, this
will likely occur within the next few years.
One example of such a medication is pentoxifylline.
Pentoxifylline is a medication most commonly used to
treat patients who have problems with blood circulation.
Pentoxifylline is also known to alter immune cell function.
This medication has been shown to reduce the severity
of endometriosis in rats and to improve egg fertilization
rates in hamsters with endometriosis.
The use of pentoxifylline in women with endometriosis
has been addressed in only a single study. In this study,
30 women with endometriosis and infertility were treated
with pentoxifylline and another 30 were treated with
placebo. After 12 months of therapy, pregnancy rates
were compared between the two groups. Although there
did appear to be an improvement in pregnancy rates among
those women receiving pentoxifylline, the study could
not prove that this was a real effect of treatment.
There are a few possible reasons why these authors could
not show pentoxifylline to be effective in the treatment
of infertility associated with endometriosis. First,
the medication may truly be ineffective. Second, the
two groups of study subjects may have differed in some
undetected way which made comparison of the groups unknowingly
inappropriate. Third, the study may have required a
greater number of patients to demonstrate treatment
effectiveness.
The trend toward improved pregnancy rates among the
women in this study who were treated with pentoxifylline
suggests a larger study should be undertaken. The use
of immune therapies in the treatment of endometriosis
is intriguing and may offer a more specific and tolerable
alternative to the existing hormonal and surgical treatment
options.
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