Prevention of bone loss and hypoestrogenic symptoms by estrogen and interrupted progestogen add-back in long-term GnRH-agonist down-regulated patients with endometriosis and premenstrual syndrome

Plain-language guide to PMID 12082359 (2002): pilot clinical trial study of Leuprolide in 15 patients, endometriosis.

Key Facts

PMID: 12082359
Journal: Menopause (New York, N.Y.)
Year: 2002
Study type: Clinical Trial
Authors: Mitwally MF et al. (3 authors)
DOI: 10.1097/00042192-200207000-00004

What This Study Did, in Plain Language

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Leuprolide in the context of endometriosis in this clinical trial publication.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 15 patients were involved.

PubMed indexes the participants as teenagers, adults and middle-aged adults, women only.

The study included 15 patients with endometriosis and 5 patients with severe premenstrual syndrome (PMS).

Patients with severe PMS received the same treatment with the addition of HRT after 1 month.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a pilot study.

It is described as a pilot, a small early test of whether a larger Leuprolide study would be practical.

The methods mention a period of 1 month.

A pilot clinical trial conducted at a tertiary referral, academic, reproductive sciences center.

The main outcome measure included bone density assessment in the lumbar spine and femoral neck by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry at 6- to 12-month intervals.

The mean follow-up duration +/- SD while on GnRH-agonist treatment was 31.2 +/- 17 months (for endometriosis patients) and 37.7 +/- 8.4 months (for patients with severe PMS).

What Was Measured

PubMed files the paper under topics including Bone Density, Densitometry, Endometriosis, Estradiol, Hormone Replacement Therapy, Leuprolide and Osteoporosis.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a pilot study of Leuprolide in 15 patients in people with endometriosis over 1 month.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

Results are reported in around 5 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2002 (Menopause (New York, N.Y.)), a journal based in United States.

More context: the Leuprolide compound page, Endometriosis research.

Our Notes on the Compound

Leuprolide: A 9-amino-acid GnRH analog (Lupron, Eligard) that lowers sex-hormone levels with ongoing use; used in prostate cancer, endometriosis and early puberty.

Source: PubMed record. This explanation is written by PeptideWhiz from the public record. For research and education only. Not medical advice; no dosing information is given.