The use of the dopamine agonist cabergoline in the therapy of surgically induced endometriosis in rats

The use of the dopamine agonist cabergoline in the therapy of surgically induced endometriosis in rats M.I. Yarmolinskaya1,2, E.V. Suslova1, M.S. Florova1, A.S. Molotkov1 1 Research Institute Of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductology named after D. O. Ott, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation 2 North-western State Medical University named after I. I. Mechnikov, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation The existing therapy of genital endometriosis, which includes the use of progestins, gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists or oral contraceptives, is only partially effective and has plenty of side effects. This is the basis for the search for new pathogenetically justified drugs. Affecting the dopamine receptors in the foci of endometriosis, dopamine agonists reduce the production of vasculoendothelial growth factor, leading to a disruption of local neoangiogenesis, without which the growth of existing and the formation of new endometrioid heterotopies is impossible. In addition, cabergoline directly reduces the level of prolactin, which also has a pro-angiogenic effect. Thus, the use of dopamine agonists appears to be a promising area of anti-angiogenic therapy for endometriosis. Aim: to determine the effect of agonist dopamine cabergoline on the endometrioid heterotopia through a surgically induced model of endometriosis in rats. Patients and Methods: in this prospective, randomized, experimental study of surgical induction of endometriosis, autotransplantation was performed in 20 adult female Wistar rats. Development of endometriosis was confirmed 2 weeks later by laparoscopy. After randomization, two study groups were formed in accordance with their treatment regimens: the main group (cabergoline, n=9) and control group (n=11). The rats of the main group received cabergoline at a dosage of 0.1 mg/kg/day orally. After three weeks of treatment, the average surface area of the endometrioid implants was measured, the dynamics of the changes were measured by comparing them between groups. The formation of endometrioid heterotopies was confirmed by histological examination. Results: after three weeks of treatment, the average area of endometriotic implants in the main group was significantly lower in comparison with the control group. With the use of cabergoline, complete resorption of the implants was noted in 22% of cases, in the remaining cases, the average area of the endometrioid heterotopy significantly decreased by 64±11%. Conclusion: this study demonstrates high efficacy of using cabergoline for reducing the size of endometrioid implants in the experimental model. Key words: external genital endometriosis, endometriosis, neoangiogenesis, dopamine, dopamine agonist, prolactin, experimental model, rats. For citation: Yarmolinskaya M.I., Suslova E.V., Florova M.S., Molotkov A.S. The use of the dopamine agonist cabergoline in the therapy of surgically induced endometriosis in rats. Russian Journal of Woman and Child Health. 2018;1(00):132–136.