Homeopathic Treatment of Chronic Pelvic Pain in Women With Endometriosis

February 22, 2017 updated by: Marcus Zulian Teixeira, University of Sao Paulo General Hospital

Phase 4 Randomized Controlled Trial of Dynamized Estrogen in Individualized Homeopathic Treatment of Chronic Pelvic Pain of Endometriosis

Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease that causes pelvic pain difficult to treat. In view of this, many patients seek assistance in complementary and alternative medicine, including homeopathic treatment. The absence of evidence in the literature raises controversy about the effectiveness of homeopathic treatment in endometriosis. The aim of this randomized trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of dynamized estrogen compared to placebo in the treatment of chronic pelvic pain of endometriosis.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This is a randomized, double-blind and placebo controlled trial using individualised homeopathic medicine (dynamized estrogen) to treat chronic pelvic pain of endometriosis. Patients with endometriosis, chronic pelvic pain and a set of signs and symptoms similar to those of the estrogen adverse events will be recruited in the Sector of Endometriosis of the Clinical Division of Gynaecological of the Hospital das Clínicas of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Sao Paulo. The selection process was carried out through the analysis of medical charts and self-completing of structured questionnaires. Satisfied the inclusion criteria, fifty patients were randomly and distributed to receive dynamized estrogen or placebo. The primary clinical outcome is the severity of the chronic pelvic pain. Statistical analysis will be by intention-to-treat and per protocol comparing homeopathic drug with placebo after 24 weeks of intervention.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

50

Phase

  • Phase 4

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

14 years to 41 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

primary inclusion criteria:

  • aged between 18 and 45;
  • diagnosis of endometriosis (endometrial ectopia) confirmed by imaging test (MRI or TVUS) or laparoscopy (biopsy);
  • chronic pelvic pain refractory to conventional hormone treatments and with intensity ≥ 5 on the visual analog pain scale (VAS-Pain: 0-10 points);

secondary inclusion criteria:

  • symptomatic individualization of patients according to adverse events of estrogen (minimum syndrome of maximum value).

Exclusion Criteria:

  • absence of clinical and laboratory diagnosis of menopause or
  • premature ovarian failure

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: dynamized estrogen in alcohol solution
Dynamized estrogen (17-beta estradiol) in the 12cH, 24cH and 18cH potencies.
Drug: dynamized estrogen
The dosage of the homeopathic medicine or placebo will be of 3 drops, 2 times a day throughout the period of study, and can be reduced in case of finding of homeopathic aggravation of symptoms. 30 ml bottles will be sufficient for the proposed dosage every 8 weeks of treatment (bimensal period).
Other Names:
  • dynamized 17-beta estradiol
Placebo Comparator: placebo (alcohol solution)
This arm received alcohol solution during the 24-week study duration.
Drug: placebo
The dosage of the placebo (alcohol solution) will be of 3 drops, 2 times a day throughout the period of study.
Other Names:
  • alcohol solution

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
chronic pelvic pain (measured by visual analog scale (VAS-Pain)
Time Frame: 24 weeks (6 months)
chronic pelvic pain (dysmenorrhoea, dyspareunia, acyclic pelvic pain depth, cyclic intestinal change and cyclic urinary change) measured by visual analog scale (VAS-Pain)
24 weeks (6 months)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36)
Time Frame: 24 weeks (6 months)
24 weeks (6 months)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Sao Paulo General Hospital

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Marcus Z Teixeira, PhD, University of Sao Paulo General Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

May 1, 2014

Primary Completion (Actual)

February 1, 2016

Study Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 22, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 27, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

April 28, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 24, 2017

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 22, 2017

Last Verified

February 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • FMUSP

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

Undecided

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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