Özge Özkaya, PhD
Özge has a Phd in Molecular Biology and several years experience working as a bench scientists. She has been working in science communication since 2014.
Endometriosis Associated With Metabolic Syndrome
There seems to be a link between endometriosis and metabolic conditions, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Gynecological Endocrinology. This finding suggests that close attention should be paid to metabolic conditions in women with endometriosis and blood lipid levels should be monitored to decrease the risk of metabolic syndrome in these women. Even though the link between endometriosis and metabolic conditions such as high cholesterol and diabetes was known, no studies explored the association between the…
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Healthcare Seeking Behaviour May Be Sign of Endometriosis
Women with endometriosis had a higher utilization of primary and secondary healthcare in the 10 years before receiving a diagnosis, found a new study published in the scientific journal Human Reproduction. “With this knowledge, healthcare professionals could be better at relating certain healthcare-seeking behavior to endometriosis earlier and thereby reduce the time from onset of symptoms to diagnosis,” the researchers wrote. It was already known that most women experience delays of as long as 10 years before receiving a proper diagnosis of…
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Women With Endo Left Alone To Deal With Their Gut Symptoms
Women with endometriosis had patterns of restrictive behavior, according to a new study published in the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology. They also wanted more professional support to help them manage the gut symptoms associated with the disease. “This highlights the need for dietitians to be involved in endometriosis care to help alleviate gut symptoms, whilst ensuring nutritional adequacy and offering weight management support where required,” the authors of the study wrote. Endometriosis may be misdiagnosed as irritable bowel…
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Study May Explain How Tubal Endometriosis Causes Infertility
Tubal endometriosis damages the epithelial ultrastructure of the fallopian tubes or the tubes connecting the ovaries to the uterus along which an egg travels each month ready to be fertilized by a sperm cell. This could help explain why tubal endometriosis can cause infertility. In order to better understand the pathogenesis of tubal endometriosis, a team of researchers from China, led by Dr. Jian Zhang collected and analyzed samples from the fallopian tube epithelium as well as tubal fluid from…
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Women With Endometriosis More Likely to Also Have Non-Specific Symptoms
Women with endometriosis are more likely to report menstrual symptoms, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. However, they are also at an increased risk of mental health disorders, other pain symptoms, bowel, and urinary symptoms, as well as non-specific symptoms such as extreme tiredness and sleeping problems. These findings are important because even though endometriosis is known to be associated with a variety of symptoms, findings from longitudinal studies have not been…
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Does ZEB1 Gene Expression Govern Endometriosis Infiltration Pattern?
The expression of a gene called ZEB1 is different between different types of endometriosis, found a new study published in the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology. This could affect whether or not lesions become infiltrative. More importantly, even though women with or without deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) have the same histologic characteristics, the difference in ZEB1 gene expression suggests that the pathogenetic mechanisms at play may be different in women with and without DIE. ZEB1 is a crucial…
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Objective Assessment of Pain Sensitization in Women With Chronic Pelvic Pain
There are objective elements that can help assess the presence of central sensitization, independently of psychological factors, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. This is the first study that assessed whether central sensitization in the pelvic and perineal areas can be measured objectively with neurophysiological tests. Central sensitization is defined as a hypersensitivity to an external stimulus. The study led by Dr. Stéphane Ploteau from the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine…
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New SMS Program Available for Endometriosis Patients
Researchers from Australia developed a supportive short message service (SMS) program for endometriosis patients. The program aims to support women living with endometriosis to manage their condition. The program called 'EndoSMS" was designed based on the needs and preferences of a diverse consumer representative group. It was then evaluated by endometriosis patients and healthcare professionals. The evaluation suggested that the program was highly acceptable and suitable for endometriosis patients. “Future studies should further evaluate the acceptability and effectiveness of EndoSMS in…
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A Starch-Based Gel Barrier Reduces Pain and Improves Fertility After Endometriosis Surgery
The development of pain was reduced in women with endometriosis who underwent surgery for deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) resection and the "gel barrier 4DryField® PH" was used during the operation, according to results from a randomized controlled trial. Moreover, fertility was improved. "4DryField® PH" is a starch-based powder that forms a gel when it comes in contact with a saline solution, thereby separating surgical sites as a physical barrier. It can be used during surgery to prevent the formation of adhesions. The trial was…
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Ultrasound and #Enzian Classification for Endometriosis
The #Enzian classification can ensure endometriosis is systematically described and classified, which can “greatly facilitates communication between physicians and patients, sonographers and surgeons,” according to an editorial article by Drs. Jörg Keckstein and Markus Hoopmann published in the European Journal of Ultrasound. Endometriosis is a progressive disease the diagnosis of which is often delayed unnecessarily, leading to devastating consequences for affected women. The revised American Society of Reproductive Medicine (rASRM) classification system has been used to describe the stages of endometriosis.…
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Preoperative MRI Scoring System Could Ensure Women Are Fully Informed
The Deep Pelvic Endometriosis Index is able to predict the length of surgery and hospital stay as well as complications following surgery including voiding dysfunction, according to a new multicenter cohort study, the results of which were published in The Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open. The index could, therefore, help clinicians to better anticipate the extent of deep pelvic endometriosis and improve the clinical management and counseling of patients. Deep pelvic endometriosis surgery is complex. So mapping the…
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Questionnaire Can Assess Patient-Centerdness of Endometriosis Care
European patients with endometriosis think that “reaching a diagnosis quickly” and “physicians demarcating the endometriosis complexity level which they can treat” are important aspects of their care, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology. However, half of the patients experience both aspects negatively. Based on these findings, the authors of the study said that national and European policymakers and specialized clinics should monitor their patient-centredness and set up new projects…
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New Model Can Help Understand How Endometriosis-Associated Ovarian Cancer Develops
Researchers from Japan and the US developed a new mouse model in collaboration, that can be useful to better understand how endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer develops. This new model can help to assess new treatment options for both diseases. The team led by Dr. Tanri Shiozawa from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shinshu University School of Medicine, in Matsumoto, Japan created the model along with the collaboration of Molecular Genetics Laboratory of Female Reproductive Cancer of Johns Hopkins University, by…
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Headaches Appear Years Before a Diagnosis of Endometriosis
Headache is associated with different forms of migraine, is related to pain, and often appears before diagnosis in women with endometriosis, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Reproductive Biomedicine Online. This knowledge can help ensure women with the disease receive the best treatment that they need. In order to determine the proportion of women with endometriosis who experience headaches actually have migraine and whether the different forms of migraine may be associated with the different characteristics of…
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The oral progestin Visanne May Reduce the Rate of Recurrence After Endometriosis Surgery
The oral progestin Vissane (dienogest) is better than a placebo and similar to gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRHa) in reducing the rate of recurrence following endometriosis surgery, found a new study published in the scientific journal Reproductive Sciences. Visanne was also associated with a lower rate of hot flashes and showed a trend toward a lower incidence of vaginal dryness compared to GnRHa. The results show that the drug appears as a safe and effective method of prevention of postoperative disease…
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Autoantibodies Cannot Be Used to Detect Endometriosis Just Yet
There seems to be no significant difference in the expression of autoantibodies in the plasma or peritoneal fluid of women with endometriosis and those without the disease. This is according to a new study published in the journal Human Reproduction. This finding suggests that although endometriosis has been associated with several autoimmune diseases, it does not seem likely that autoimmune responses play an important role in its pathogenesis. In order to investigate whether there are specific autoantibodies in patients with…
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Pretreatment With Dienogest Does not Seem to Improve IVF Outcome in Endometriosis
Treatment with dienogest before in vitro fertilization does not increase the number of mature eggs or improve the rate of pregnancy or live births in women with endometriosis, found a new study published in the scientific journal Gynecologic and Obstetric Investigation. These findings do not support the use of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists like dienogest prior to in vitro fertilization in women with the disease to improve outcomes. In order to assess the effect of GnRH agonists on IVF outcomes, a team…
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Another New Approach Could Help Diagnose deep Infiltrating endometriosis
Elastography could help distinguish deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) nodules from non-endometriotic tissue at different locations, according to a new study published in Ultraschall in der Medizin - European Journal of Ultrasound. The potential of the technique in improving the diagnosis of DIE, distinguishing different DIE lesions, and monitoring the evolution of DIE, should be further tested according to the authors of the study. In order to assess the features of DIE elastography and test whether the technique could identify endometrial…
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Women With Endometriosis Are at a Higher Risk of Uterine Cancer
Women with endometriosis are at a greater risk of cancer of the uterus, compared to controls, according to a new study published in the journal Cancers. The study found that women who are younger and who have had endometriosis for three to five years are at the highest risk. These findings are of great importance because they identify the endometriosis population that should be screened and treated early to prevent cancer. “We especially recommend that the younger females, who had…
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Modeling the feto-maternal interface using pluripotent stem cells
Researchers from Columbia University led by Dr. Mijo Simunovic created a model using which they can study the relationship between the developing human embryo and the endometrium. The findings were presented at the Annual International Medical Conference of the Endometriosis Foundation of America held in New York on April 1-2, 2023. The new model can not only help answer some fundamental biological questions about embryonic development but could one day even be used to understand diseases such as endometriosis. Dr. Simunovic and…
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