Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25525393›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of women's health2014

The effect of pycnogenol on patients with dysmenorrhea using low-dose oral contraceptives.

Hugo Maia, Clarice Haddad, Julio Casoy

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of women's health, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 24% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Mediators of inflammation · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Hugo MaiaCentro de Pesquisa e Assistência em Reprodução Humana (CEPARH), Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
Clarice HaddadCentro de Pesquisa e Assistência em Reprodução Humana (CEPARH), Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
Julio CasoyCentro de Pesquisa e Assistência em Reprodução Humana (CEPARH), Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveMenstrual symptoms such as dysmenorrhea usually occur during the hormone-free interval in oral contraceptive users. Progestin withdrawal activates NF-κB transcription factor, which upregulates both vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and Cox-2 expression in the endometrium. The use of natural NF-κB inhibitors such as pycnogenol may block this response, improving dysmenorrhea. PATIENTS AND

methodsTwenty-four patients with severe dysmenorrhea were allocated to one of two treatment groups. In Group A (n=13), women were treated with an oral contraceptive containing 15 μg of ethinyl estradiol and 60 mg of gestodene (Adoless(®)) in a 24/4 regimen for three consecutive cycles. Women in Group B (n=11) used the same contraceptive regimen together with 100 mg of pycnogenol (Flebon(®)) continuously for 3 months. Pain scores were graded using a visual analog scale (VAS) before and during the hormone-free interval at the end of the third treatment cycle.

resultsBefore treatment, VAS pain scores for dysmenorrhea were 8 and 9 in Groups A and B, respectively. However, by the end of the third treatment cycle, pain scores had decreased significantly (P<0.05) both in groups A and B. The final pain scores were 6 in Group A and 2 in Group B, a difference that was statistically significant (P<0.0001). In Group B, 27% of the patients became pain-free, while in Group A, none of the women reported complete disappearance of this symptom. The number of bleeding days was also lower in Group B. DISCUSSION: Pycnogenol effectively decreased pain scores and the number of bleeding days when administered concomitantly with a low-dose 24/4 oral contraceptive containing gestodene.

Indexed as

gestodenehormone-free intervalpain

Identifiers

PMID25525393
PMCPMC4266261
OpenAlexW2081731561

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.