Revisiting the wandering womb: Oxytocin in endometriosis and bipolar disorder

Revisiting the wandering womb: Oxytocin in endometriosis and bipolar disorder By Dr. Youngran Park

Despite a Hysteria (from Greek hysterikos, meaning ‘of the womb’) was dismissed as causing mental illness, recent evidence links oxytocin with diverse and correlated psychological and physical symptoms and conditions that more frequently affect women than men. This article proposes…

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Biomarkers as a Diagnostic Tool

Biomarkers as a Diagnostic Tool By Kasthuri Nair

Ahn, Singh and Tayade discuss the difficulties and delay in diagnosing Endometriosis in their paper titled “Biomarkers in endometriosis: challenges and opportunities.” Thus far research has identified a multitude of potential biomarkers that are found in various parts of the…

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Role of immune cells in endometriosis

Role of immune cells in endometriosis By Demet Candaş Green

Immune cells have essential functions in the body such as detection and clearance of abnormal cells and debris. One of the possible mechanisms for the development of endometriosis is proposed to be the impaired function of immune system cells in…

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Estrogen Receptor-β in Women’s Health

Estrogen Receptor-β in Women’s Health By Yu Yu

Since the discovery of estrogen receptor (ER), there has been a vast number of studies regarding its functions in cellular and physiological processes. The identification of estrogen receptor-β (ERβ), a second receptor, resulted in a much more complex understanding of the…

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An update of estrogen receptors on human disease

An update of estrogen receptors on human disease By Yu Yu

Estrogens and its receptors influence numerous human physiological processes. Two estrogen receptors exist, including estrogen receptor α (ERα) and ERβ. Hence, it is essential to elucidate the functions of these receptors in healthy and diseased states. This is particularly important…

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Endometriosis May Be Causing Women to Become More Sensitive to Pain

Endometriosis May Be Causing Women to Become More Sensitive to Pain By Özge Özkaya

Inflammation caused by endometriosis may be changing the way a woman perceives pain, found a new study published in the journal Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine.   According to Dr. Neziri Alban at University Hospital of Bern, Switzerland and the co-authors…

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The Role of Natural Killer Cells in the Development of Endometriosis Unravelled

The Role of Natural Killer Cells in the Development of Endometriosis Unravelled By Özge Özkaya

Specialized immune cells called natural killer cells found in the peritoneal fluid of women with severe endometriosis may facilitate the development of the disease, according to a study published in the American Journal of Reproductive Immunology.   This finding could help…

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Roles of Progesterone in Endometrial Cancer, Endometriosis, Uterine Fibroids, and Breast Cancer

Roles of Progesterone in Endometrial Cancer, Endometriosis, Uterine Fibroids, and Breast Cancer By Yu Yu

Progesterone is an important hormone, which together with estrogen prepares the women endometrium and breast tissue for pregnancy. The roles of progesterone in human tissues and diseases can be difficult to decipher. While there is a strong evidence for the…

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Endometriosis Does Not Increase Overall Risk of Breast Cancer, Study Finds

Endometriosis Does Not Increase Overall Risk of Breast Cancer, Study Finds By Özge Özkaya

Endometriosis is not associated with the overall risk of breast cancer, according to a study published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.  The condition may, however, be significantly associated with an increased risk of breast tumors that express estrogen receptors (ER)…

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Is there a risk of developing breast cancer for women with endometriosis?

Is there a risk of developing breast cancer for women with endometriosis? By Murat Osman

Understanding the interplay between the development of breast cancer and the presence of endometriosis and vice versa is complex since many risk factors including hormone or genetic variations and medical treatments have a role in each disease process. Thus, parsing…

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Association between blood inflammatory markers and the risk of endometriosis

Association between blood inflammatory markers and the risk of endometriosis By Yu Yu

Previous studies have suggested that aberrant immunologic and inflammatory responses may play a role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. Peritoneal fluid collected from endometriosis contains elevated immune cells that may enhance the survival of endometriosis by secreting growth factors and…

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A Two-Wave Molecular Mechanism for Endometriosis Disease Progression

A Two-Wave Molecular Mechanism for Endometriosis Disease Progression By Kasthuri Nair

Kobayashi et al. recently published a review paper in Molecular Medicine Reports titled “Pathogenesis of endometriosis: The role of initial infection and subsequent sterile inflammation,” which discusses at length the role of non-specific bacterial infection and sterile inflammation in the…

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