title: Effects of progesterone administered by nasal spray on the human postmenopausal endometrium.
abstract: The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of progesterone (P) administered by nasal spray (NS) in inducing secretory changes within estrogen and non-estrogen primed postmenopausal endometrium. Ten healthy post-menopausal women before vaginal hysterectomy for prolapse were randomly treated by either oral estrogens for 3-4 weeks combined for the last 5-7 days with nasally administered P at the daily dose of 34 mg, or by only P for 6 days. Endometrial samples were taken before P administration and 8 h after the last dose. In the group not treated with estrogens, P did not induce significant secretory changes in any case except one which showed a proliferative endometrial pattern at the first evaluation. In the group treated with estrogens, in all the cases after P administration clear secretory changes (abundant vacuoles, endoluminal secretion) occurred. It is possible to conclude that P administered by NS exerts an end-organ effect within the endometrium of postmenopausal women pretreated with estrogens.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cicinelli
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Petruzzi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Scorcia
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Resta
mesh_terms: D000281:Administration, Intranasal; D000284:Administration, Oral; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004717:Endometrium / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause; D011374:Progesterone / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D011374:Progesterone