Placental PDRN Suppositories Tested for Cervical Ectropion in 1989 Trial

A small clinical study from 1989 looked at whether a PDRN-based vaginal suppository could help women with cervical ectropion, a benign condition where glandular tissue from inside the cervical canal is visibly present on the outer cervix, often causing discharge. De Luca Brunori and colleagues, writing in Annali di ostetricia, ginecologia, medicina perinatale, treated 20 outpatients aged 18 to 45 with vaginal suppositories containing polydeoxyribonucleotide (PDRN) derived from placental tissue.

Patients were randomly given one of two suppository formulations, weighing 5 grams or 10 grams, though both delivered the same 5 mg dose of the active ingredient. The researchers reported what they describe as a tissue-supportive (eutrophic) and anti-inflammatory effect, along with a marked drop in leukorrhea, the abnormal vaginal discharge associated with the condition. Patients generally preferred the smaller 5 g suppository, finding it easier to handle and associated with less discharge afterward. The authors suggest that reducing the amount of inert excipient material improves comfort and keeps the drug in contact with the vaginal wall longer, which they propose may improve how much of the active substance is absorbed.

As an open-label abstract with no control group and only 20 participants, the study cannot establish how PDRN's effects compare with no treatment or a placebo, nor can it determine longer-term outcomes.