Treatment of primary dysmenorrhea with prostaglandin synthetase inhibitors--a promising therapeutic alternative.

Three groups of patients with primary dysmenorrhea were treated with prostaglandin synthetase inhibitors. Thirty-one women received indomethacin at a dose of 25 mg x 3--4 per day usually starting one to two days before the onset of menstruation and 38 women received naproxen 250 mg x 3--4 per day usually starting on the first day of bleeding (open studies). Seventy-one per cent of the patients experienced moderate or good relief of pain following indomethacin and 67% following naproxen. In a third series a double-blind crossover study using the sodium salt of naproxen versus placebo in 26 patients showed that naproxen-sodium was significantly more effective than the placebo (p less than 0.05). At the doses employed, the prostaglandin synthetase inhibitors were not associated with any side effects of major concern. The study indicates that this form of therapy offers an effective alternative in patients who for some reason do not accept hormonal treatment.