Micronized palmitoylethanolamide/trans-polydatin treatment of endometriosis-related pain: a meta-analysis

Aim. To demonstrate clinical effectiveness of micronized palmitoylethanolamide-transpolydatin combination in reducing endometriotic chronic pelvic pain. Other endometriotic- pains were also assessed. Methods. Systematic reviews of PubMed, SCIELO, Scopus, and AJOL. Randomized trials and observational studies reporting a visual analogue scale for pain or similar in endometriotic patients were reviewed. A mean improvement of visual analogue scale (or visual analogue scale-like) scores at enrollment and at a three-month follow-up was assessed and interpreted clinically. Results. Four studies of poor quality were available. In a heterogeneous sample of endometriotic patients with pain, the administration of micronized palmitoylethanolamide/ trans-polydatin (400 mg/40 mg) twice a day for three months provided a clinically relevant improvement of chronic pelvic pain and dysmenorrhea while improving deep dyspareunia to a limited degree. No clinically relevant improvement was found for dyschezia. Conclusion. More studies are warranted for assessing the drugs-related efficacy.