Editing Endometriosis (section)

===Other medicines===
* [[Opioid]]s: [[Morphine]] sulphate tablets and other opioid painkillers work by mimicking the action of naturally occurring pain-reducing chemicals called "[[endorphins]]". Different long-acting and short-acting medications can be used alone or in combination to provide appropriate pain control.{{med cn|date=April 2025}}
* [[Chinese herbal medicine]] was reported to have comparable benefits to gestrinone and danazol in patients who had had laparoscopic surgery, though the review notes that the two trials were small and of "poor methodological quality" and results should be "interpreted cautiously" as better quality research is needed.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Flower A, Liu JP, Lewith G, Little P, Li Q | title = Chinese herbal medicine for endometriosis | journal = The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews | issue = 5 | pages = CD006568 | date = May 2012 | volume = 2012 | pmid = 22592712 | doi = 10.1002/14651858.CD006568.pub3 }}</ref>
* [[Serrapeptase]], a [[digestive enzyme]] found in the intestines of silkworms. Serrapeptase is widely used in Japan and Europe as an anti-inflammatory treatment.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Tiwari M | title = The role of serratiopeptidase in the resolution of inflammation | journal = Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences | volume = 12 | issue = 3 | pages = 209–215 | date = May 2017 | pmid = 32104332 | pmc = 7032259 | doi = 10.1016/j.ajps.2017.01.003 }}</ref> More research is needed but serrapeptase may be used by endometriosis patients to reduce inflammation.<ref>{{cite journal| vauthors = Ethiraj S, Gopinath S |title=Production, purification, characterization, immobilization, and application of Serrapeptase: a review| doi = 10.1007/s11515-017-1461-3 |journal=Frontiers in Biology|year=2017|volume=12|issue=5|pages=333–348|s2cid=89694879}}</ref>
* [[Angiogenesis inhibitor]]s lack clinical evidence of efficacy in endometriosis therapy.<ref name="Laschke2012">{{cite journal | vauthors = Laschke MW, Menger MD | title = Anti-angiogenic treatment strategies for the therapy of endometriosis | journal = Human Reproduction Update | volume = 18 | issue = 6 | pages = 682–702 | year = 2012 | pmid = 22718320 | doi = 10.1093/humupd/dms026 | doi-access = free | title-link = doi }}</ref> Under experimental ''[[in vitro]]'' and ''[[in vivo]]'' conditions, compounds that have been shown to exert inhibitory effects on endometriotic lesions include growth factor inhibitors, endogenous angiogenesis inhibitors, fumagillin analogues, [[statin]]s, [[cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibitor]]s, [[phytochemical]] compounds, [[immunomodulator]]s, [[dopamine agonist]]s, [[peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor agonist]]s, [[progestin]]s, [[danazol]] and [[gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist]]s.<ref name=Laschke2012/> However, many of these agents are associated with undesirable side effects, and more research is necessary. An ideal therapy would diminish inflammation and underlying symptoms without being contraceptive.<ref name="pmid23485944">{{cite journal | vauthors = Canny GO, Lessey BA | title = The role of lipoxin A4 in endometrial biology and endometriosis | journal = Mucosal Immunology | volume = 6 | issue = 3 | pages = 439–50 | date = May 2013 | pmid = 23485944 | pmc = 4062302 | doi = 10.1038/mi.2013.9 }}</ref><ref name="pmid23356536">{{cite journal | vauthors = Streuli I, de Ziegler D, Santulli P, Marcellin L, Borghese B, Batteux F, Chapron C | title = An update on the pharmacological management of endometriosis | journal = Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy | volume = 14 | issue = 3 | pages = 291–305 | date = February 2013 | pmid = 23356536 | doi = 10.1517/14656566.2013.767334 | s2cid = 10052884 }}</ref>
* [[Pentoxifylline]], an immunomodulating agent, has been theorized to improve pain as well as improve pregnancy rates in individuals with endometriosis. There is not enough evidence to support the effectiveness or safety of either of these uses.<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Grammatis AL, Georgiou EX, Becker CM|date=August 2021|title=Pentoxifylline for the treatment of endometriosis-associated pain and infertility|journal=The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews|volume=2021|issue=8|pages=CD007677|doi=10.1002/14651858.CD007677.pub4|pmid=34431079|pmc=8407096|s2cid=237294362}}</ref> Current [[American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists]] (ACOG) guidelines do not include immunomodulators, such as pentoxifylline, in standard treatment protocols.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Practice bulletin no. 114: management of endometriosis | journal = Obstetrics and Gynecology | volume = 116 | issue = 1 | pages = 223–36 | date = July 2010 | pmid = 20567196 | doi = 10.1097/AOG.0b013e3181e8b073 }}</ref>
* NSAIDs are anti-inflammatory medications commonly used for endometriosis patients despite unproven efficacy and unintended adverse effects.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Brown J, Crawford TJ, Allen C, Hopewell S, Prentice A | title = Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for pain in women with endometriosis | journal = The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews | volume = 1 | issue = 1 | pages = CD004753 | date = January 2017 | pmid = 28114727 | pmc = 6464974 | doi = 10.1002/14651858.CD004753.pub4 }}</ref>
* Neuromodulators like gabapentin did not prove to be superior to placebo in managing pain caused by endometriosis.<ref name="Saunders Horne 2021 pp. 2807–2824">{{cite journal | vauthors = Saunders PT, Horne AW | title = Endometriosis: Etiology, pathobiology, and therapeutic prospects | journal = Cell | volume = 184 | issue = 11 | pages = 2807–2824 | date = May 2021 | pmid = 34048704 | doi = 10.1016/j.cell.2021.04.041 | publisher = Elsevier BV | hdl = 20.500.11820/bb7ded31-cc3d-449e-a0dc-ce4b1a0531d2 | s2cid = 235226513 | doi-access = free | title-link = doi | hdl-access = free }}</ref>

Manual physical therapy's effectiveness in treating endometriosis is unclear.<ref name="pmid21589790">{{cite journal | vauthors = Valiani M, Ghasemi N, Bahadoran P, Heshmat R | title = The effects of massage therapy on dysmenorrhea caused by endometriosis | journal = Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research | volume = 15 | issue = 4 | pages = 167–71 | year = 2010 | pmid = 21589790 | pmc = 3093183 }}</ref>