( 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 .
Efficacy of medroxyprogesterone treatment in infertile women with endometriosis: a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled study.
OBJECTIVE To determine the efficacy of medroxyprogesterone acetate ( MPA ) , 50 mg/d for 3 months , in treating endometriosis , with a follow-up of 6 months . DESIGN Prospect i ve , r and omized , double-blind , placebo-controlled trial . SETTING Academic infertility unit in a teaching hospital . PATIENT(S ) One hundred infertile women found to have endometriosis at laparoscopy , with 50 recruited to each treatment arm . INTERVENTION(S ) Laparoscopy within 3 months of finishing therapy . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S ) Initial and second-look laparoscopy for revised American Fertility Society stages and scores , pregnancies achieved , effects on well-being via symptomatic improvement , and side effects . RESULT ( S ) Whether initially high or low , both MPA and placebo therapy achieved similar statistically significant reductions in stages and scores at second-look laparoscopy .  MPA was rated more effective in improving overall well-being . Side effects were minimal in both groups ( 10 % MPA ; 2 % placebo ) . Six pregnancies occurred without other endometriosis therapy being instituted in the placebo group ( 3 during therapy ) , and one with MPA ( 0 during therapy ) . CONCLUSION ( S ) Both MPA and placebo appear equally and significantly effective in treating endometriosis over a 3-month period , as judged by comparative laparoscopy . Therefore , not only must the use of MPA at 50 mg/d over 3 months be question ed , but the performance of placebo also suggests the need to review whether therapy should be instituted at all as well as the present concept that endometriosis is frequently a spontaneously progressive phenomenon
( 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 .