Department of Korean Medicine Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pusan National University Korean Medicine Hospital, Yangsan 50612, Korea.
Division of Clinical Medicine, School of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University, Yangsan 50612, Korea.
Toxins (Basel). 2021 Feb 14;13(2):145. doi: 10.3390/toxins13020145.
Animal toxins and venoms have recently been developed as cancer treatments possessing tumor cell growth-inhibitory, antiangiogenesis, and proapoptotic effects. Endometriosis is a common benign gynecological disorder in reproductive-age women, and no definite treatment for this disorder is without severe side effects. As endometriosis and malignant tumors share similar characteristics (progressive, invasive, estrogen-dependent growth, and recurrence), animal toxins and venoms are thought to be effective against endometriosis. The objective of this study was to outline studies using toxic animal-based medicinal materials (TMM) as endometriosis treatment and to explore its clinical applicability. Preclinical and clinical studies using TMM were searched for in four databases from inception to October 2020. A total of 20 studies of TMM on endometriosis were included. In eight clinical studies, herbal medicines containing TMM were effective in relieving symptoms of endometriosis, with no side effects. In twelve experimental studies, the main therapeutic mechanisms of TMM against endometriosis were proapoptotic, antiangiogenesis, estrogen level-reducing, and possible anti-inflammatory effects. TMM are thus considered promising sources for the development of an effective treatment method for endometriosis. Further studies are needed to clarify the therapeutic mechanism of TMM against endometriosis and to provide sufficient grounds for clinical application.
动物毒素和毒液最近被开发为具有肿瘤细胞生长抑制、抗血管生成和促凋亡作用的癌症治疗方法。子宫内膜异位症是生育期妇女常见的良性妇科疾病，目前尚无无严重副作用的该病确定治疗方法。由于子宫内膜异位症和恶性肿瘤具有相似的特征（进展性、侵袭性、雌激素依赖性生长和复发），因此认为动物毒素和毒液对子宫内膜异位症有效。本研究旨在概述使用基于毒性动物的药用材料（TMM）治疗子宫内膜异位症的研究，并探讨其临床适用性。从开始到 2020 年 10 月，在四个数据库中搜索了 TMM 治疗子宫内膜异位症的临床前和临床研究。共纳入了 20 项关于 TMM 治疗子宫内膜异位症的研究。在 8 项临床研究中，含有 TMM 的草药在缓解子宫内膜异位症症状方面有效，且无副作用。在 12 项实验研究中，TMM 治疗子宫内膜异位症的主要治疗机制是促凋亡、抗血管生成、降低雌激素水平和可能的抗炎作用。因此，TMM 被认为是开发子宫内膜异位症有效治疗方法的有前途的来源。需要进一步的研究来阐明 TMM 治疗子宫内膜异位症的治疗机制，并为临床应用提供充分的依据。
