New trends in pharmacological treatments of endometriosis

Endometriosis is a chronic disease characterized by dysmenorrhoea, dyspareunia, pelvic pain, and infertility. Endometriosis is often treated surgically upon diagnosis but with a high rate of recurrence, suggesting that a combination of surgical and medical management might provide better outcomes. The goal of medical treatment is to interrupt the growth and activity of endometriotic lesions, due to the chronic nature of this disease, long-term or repeated courses of medication may be required to control symptoms. Medical treatments since now recognize the use of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists, oral contraceptives, danazol and progestins. Increasing knowledge about the pathogenesis of endometriosis is providing the opportunity to use new agents for treatment, including antinflammatory and antiangiogenesis compounds prevent or inhibit the development of endometriosis. The future perspective is to use a multiple approach for treating women with endometriosis with the goal of eradicate the disease and eliminate the symptoms.