The effect of physical training on bone mineral density in women with endometriosis treated with GnRH analogs: a pilot study

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial paper looks at Goserelin in the context of endometriosis.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 10 women were involved.

The age groups tagged for this paper are adults, women only.

Nineteen Caucasian premenopausal women aged 23-38 years were included in the study.

The patients were randomized to physical training n=8 or to a control group n=11.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized and pilot study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Goserelin and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

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

A time span of 6 months appears in the methods.

The total period of training was 12 months, whereas GnRH treatment was terminated after 6 months.

BMD was measured in the femoral neck area and the lumbar spine using dual X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA).

This was performed just before treatment, after 6 months and after 12 months.

Six women fulfilled the training during 12 months of observation.

In the control group 10 women were followed up for 12 months.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Absorptiometry, Photon, Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal, Bone Density, Endometriosis, Exercise, Femur Neck and Goserelin.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized and pilot study of Goserelin in 10 women in people with endometriosis over 6 months.

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.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 7 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2005 (Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica), a journal based in United States.

More context: the Goserelin compound page, Endometriosis research.