RESULTS Reassurance plus bra-fitting advice provides relief for most women .
There is some benefit in reducing dietary coffee and fat intake .
Dopamine agonists are useful , but less effective than endocrine treatments such as Danazol or Tamoxifen .
Of the Selective Oestrogen Receptor Modulator drugs , Ormeloxifene appears most effective , but is not licenced in the United Kingdom .
Relaxation therapy , acupuncture and kinesiology may be useful but currently lack good evidence of effectiveness .
Subsequent drug therapy should be balanced against its side-effects ; topical NSAIDs and Ormeloxifene show greatest benefit with least side-effects .
INTRODUCTION Idiopathic mastalgia ( benign breast pain of unknown origin ) is often poorly managed because of its subjective nature and unclear aetiology .
Mastalgia is a reason for up to 50 % of breast outpatient referrals .
Existing systematic review s discuss date d treatment options that provide limited symptomatic relief .
Therapeutic effects of vitamin E on cyclic mastalgia.
Cyclic mastalgia is one of the most prevalent disorders among fertile women . To date , hormonal agents , despite their side effects , have been widely used for treatment of this ailment . This study was performed to clarify the therapeutic effects of Vitamin E ( Vit E ) as a safe treatment for cyclic mastalgia among fertile women . This study was conducted as a double blind clinical trial ; 150 women with cyclic mastalgia , referred by three public health centers in Qazvin City in Iran , were enrolled in the trial and r and omly divided into two distinct case and control groups ; each containing 75 patients . The severity and duration of breast pain were measured according to both the Cardiff Breast Pain Chart and the Visual Analog Scale . Simple , chewable tablets of either Vit E or a placebo were prescribed twice a day for 4 months for case and control participants , respectively . Follow-up was performed at the end of both the second and the fourth months and , at that time , the severity , duration and side effects of intervention were evaluated . The administration of Vit E had significant curative results as tested at both the 2- and 4-month benchmarks . Chi-square testing indicated that after both 2 and 4 months of therapy , the efficacy demonstrated by the Vit E recipient case group was superior to that of the group that received a placebo . Applying the Mc Nemar Test , it also was shown that there was no significant difference in the benefits received between treatment courses of 2 versus 4 months . A 2-month prescription of Vit E has positive therapeutic effects on cyclic mastalgia . Given its lack of significant side effects , Vit E , therefore , can be considered a safe alternative to hormonal therapies currently being used in the treatment of cyclic mastalgia
RESULTS Reassurance plus bra-fitting advice provides relief for most women .
There is some benefit in reducing dietary coffee and fat intake .
Dopamine agonists are useful , but less effective than endocrine treatments such as Danazol or Tamoxifen .
Of the Selective Oestrogen Receptor Modulator drugs , Ormeloxifene appears most effective , but is not licenced in the United Kingdom .
Relaxation therapy , acupuncture and kinesiology may be useful but currently lack good evidence of effectiveness .
Subsequent drug therapy should be balanced against its side-effects ; topical NSAIDs and Ormeloxifene show greatest benefit with least side-effects .
INTRODUCTION Idiopathic mastalgia ( benign breast pain of unknown origin ) is often poorly managed because of its subjective nature and unclear aetiology .
Mastalgia is a reason for up to 50 % of breast outpatient referrals .
Existing systematic review s discuss date d treatment options that provide limited symptomatic relief .