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PubMed · 7360440

Changes in thyroid function tests during danazol therapy.

R L Graham·R D Gambrell
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Abstract

Danazol is a synthetic steroid with antigonadotropic properties useful in treating endometriosis, especially in young infertile women. Prior to its availability for clinical use in September 1976, thyroid function studies other than thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), which was normal, had not been reported. Soon after danazol began to be used in the infertility clinic to treat documented endometriosis, it was observed that changes occurred in thyroid function studies. While no patients manifested clinical evidence of hypothyroidism, all 8 patients receiving 800 mg of danazol daily for 1 to 5 months had laboratory evidence of decreased thyroid function. The triiodothyronine (T3) uptake was elevated and the total serum thyroxine (T4) was decreased. The finding that TSH and the free thyroid index (FTI) were normal confirmed that these patients were euthyroid during danazol therapy. The abnormality of thyroid function tests is believed to reflect an androgen-like reduction in thyroxine-binding protein rather than a true decrease in thyroid function or interference with the pituitary-thyroid axis.

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DanazolEndometriosisFemaleHumansPelvic NeoplasmsPregnadienesThyroglobulinThyroid Function TestsThyroxineTriiodothyronineJournal Article

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R L Graham, R D Gambrell. 1980. Changes in thyroid function tests during danazol therapy.. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006250-198003000-00028

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PubMed1995

Updating the clinical experience in endometriosis--the European perspective.

In a large, double-blind, multicentre study, 269 patients with confirmed endometriosis were randomly allocated to receive either danazol (200 mg twice daily; n = 137) or gestrinone (2.5 mg twice weekly; n = 132) for 6 months. The two groups were comparable in terms of the staging of endometriosis by the American Fertility Society (1979) score. After the sixth month of treatment, repeat laparoscopy was performed. Clinical assessment, haematological and biochemical investigations were carried out during the 6 months of treatment and for a further 12 months' follow-up and are compared between the two groups. A total of 15 patients from the gestrinone group, including four patients with hirsutism, and 17 patients from the danazol group, including six patients with headache, withdrew because of adverse symptoms. An additional 22 patients, including 10 from the gestrinone group and 12 from the danazol group withdrew because of lack of efficacy, pregnancy, elevated hepatic function tests or for reasons unrelated to the trial. Total American Fertility Society scoring showed an improvement of 73.3% in 101 patients receiving gestrinone and 72.7% in 99 patients receiving danazol. The results showed a significant reduction in the severity of dysmenorrhoea by the third month in the danazol group and at 6 months in both groups. There was a significant (P < 0.001) increase in weight observed in both groups during treatment. Overall, the tolerability of danazol and gestrinone was good; however, significantly more patients with gestrinone complained of hirsutism while significantly more with danazol complained of leg cramps. During the 12 months of follow-up, mild, moderate or severe degrees of lower abdominal pain, dysmenorrhoea and deep dyspareunia all fluctuated, with no statistically significant increase in frequency in either group.

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