( S ) Few studies of medical therapies for endometriosis report outcomes that are relevant to patients , and many women gain only limited or intermittent benefit from treatment
OBJECTIVE To assess patient response rates to medical therapies used to treat endometriosis-associated pain .
Subcutaneous depot medroxyprogesterone acetate versus leuprolide acetate in the treatment of endometriosis-associated pain.
BACKGROUND A clinical study compared efficacy and safety of depot medroxyprogesterone acetate ( DMPA ) with leuprolide for  endometriosis-associated pain .  METHODS This multicentre , 18 month , evaluator-blinded , comparator-controlled trial r and omized 300 women with laparoscopically diagnosed endometriosis to 6 month treatment with subcutaneous injection of  104 mg/0.65 ml DMPA ( DMPA-SC 104 ) every 3 months or leuprolide ( 3.75 mg monthly or 11.25 mg every 3 months ) , with 12 months post-treatment follow-up . Endpoints included patient response to treatment in five signs/symptoms ( dysmenorrhoea , dyspareunia , pelvic pain , pelvic tenderness , in duration ) and changes in bone mineral density ( BMD ) and productivity at 6 and 18 months . RESULTS DMPA-SC 104 and leuprolide produced equivalent ( P < 0.02 ) reductions in at least four pain categories and significant ( P < 0.001 ) improvements in composite score at months 6 and 18 . At month 6 , reductions in total hip and lumbar spine BMD were significantly less ( P < 0.001 ) with DMPA-SC 104 versus leuprolide .  BMD returned to pre-treatment levels 12 months post-treatment in the DMPA-SC 104 but not the leuprolide group . Total productivity also significantly ( P < or = 0.05 ) improved in both groups at 6 and 18 months . CONCLUSIONS DMPA-SC 104 reduces endometriosis-associated pain as effectively as leuprolide and improves productivity with significantly less BMD decline
( S ) Few studies of medical therapies for endometriosis report outcomes that are relevant to patients , and many women gain only limited or intermittent benefit from treatment
OBJECTIVE To assess patient response rates to medical therapies used to treat endometriosis-associated pain .