Combining traditional Chinese medicine Guizhi Fuling Wan with western hormonal therapies can potentially reduce their individual effectiveness in treating endometriosis.
In this study, endometriosis was induced in mice. This was achieved by suturing endometrial tissue onto the peritoneal wall of the subjects. The mice were then treated with varying combinations of Guizhi Fuling Wan (GFW), a traditional Chinese medicine, and current western hormonal therapies for a period of 28 days.
The results show that the traditional Chinese medicine Guizhi Fuling Wan (GFW), hormonal therapies, and combinations of these two were able to inhibit the development of endometriosis. They also observed that these treatments, either alone or in combination, could inhibit the expression of Intercellular Adhesion Molecule 1 (ICAM-1) and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF). These agents could also reduce the population of macrophages in the peritoneal fluid while enhancing the B-cell population. However, when GFW was combined with hormonal therapies, it was observed that the efficiency of each agent individually was potentially reduced.
