By Dr. Youngran ParkPlausible biomarkers for noninvasive endometriosis diagnosis
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent benign gynecological disease characterizing ectopic deposition of endometrial tissue outside of the uterine cavity. It affects about 10% of reproductive-aged women and causes enormous negative impacts on the quality of lives. However, we do not have…
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By Murat OsmanNanotechnology as a tool for targeted therapy of endometriosis
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is a process whereby endometrial cells persistently grow and invade extra-uterine tissue through a primarily estrogen-dependent manner. These ectopic endometrial cells proliferate in sometimes an uncontrolled manner, similar to cancer or inflammatory tissues. To proliferate, cells need cholesterol to…
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By Selma OransayHow to Classify Endometriosis for a better and effective evaluation
By Selma Oransay
Endometriosis affects 10% of women in their reproductive period and causes infertility around 40% of women who have the disease. Peritoneal fluid may be one of the factors to facilitate the spread of endometriosis to ovaries, peritoneum and other deep…
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By Irem OnurMortality of 49956 midlife women with surgically verified endometriosis
By Irem Onur
Saavalainen L. et al., from Finland recently published a retrospective large cohort study in the journal Human Reproduction, where they retrospectively examined the data of surgically verified endometriosis patients to find out if all-cause and the cause-specific mortality rate is…
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By Özge ÖzkayaWhich Diagnosis Technique is Better?
By Özge Özkaya
Transvaginal ultrasound provides a more accurate localization of vaginal and recto-vaginal endometriosis compared to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) according to a study published in the International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics. However, MRI has better accuracy in detecting bladder endometriosis…
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By Demet Candaş GreenPregnancy with endometriosis
By Demet Candaş Green
Current literature suggests that complications of endometriosis during pregnancy are rare; however, a non-negligible increase in the likelihood of placenta accreta (placenta grows too deeply into the uterine wall), preterm birth, and cesarean delivery has been reported. With the increase…
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By Deniz KocasPrescription Opioid Use in Women With Endometriosis
By Deniz Kocas
In this study, researchers examined opioid use, opioid prescribing patterns, and timing of the first opioid prescription in endometriosis patients compared with matched women in the control group without endometriosis. A retrospective analysis of Optum Clinformatics Data Mart was conducted.…
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By Hale Goksever CelikInfertility in women with endometriosis
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent gynecological disease mostly encountered in reproductive-aged women. The most common presenting complaints are dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, chronic pelvic pain, and infertility. Despite extensive research, the etiopathogenic mechanism underlying the two has not been fully elucidated. Although human…
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The Effect of Imbalanced Progesterone Receptors-A/B on Gelatinase Expressions in Endometriosis
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is a benign disease which affects approximately 10% of reproductive-aged women and is one of the most common reasons for infertility. Though the underlying mechanisms of disease progression have not been clearly understood, it develops as a consequence of…
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Endometriosis that involves the nerves: how Radiologists can help
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is a disease with variable clinical symptoms. While rare, nerve involvement by endometriosis may cause neurologic symptoms such as pelvic pain, muscle weakness, bowel and bladder incontinence, and paraplegia depending on the specific nerve involved. Thus, abdominal radiologists should…
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A position statement of diagnosing and treating endometriosis for gynecologists.
By Selma Oransay
Endometriosis Treatment Italian Group recently declared 10 "valuable" conducts to evaluate endometriotic patients and published them in Hum. Reprod. Open. This society consists of 16 university departments and training center with expert clinicians on endometriosis from Italy. After arising the idea of…
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Botox as a promising treatment for chronic pelvic pain in endometriosis
By Irem Onur
Botulinum toxin (Botox) for treating chronic pelvic pain specifically addressing women with endometriosis has been studied for the first time by Tandon et al., from Bethesda, Maryland, USA. Their paper has recently been published in the journal Regional Anesthesia &…
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MRI or TVS for accurate diagnosis of rectosigmoid endometriosis?
By Demet Candaş Green
Rectosigmoid endometriosis (RE) is seen in about 90% of patients with bowel endometriosis. Rectosigmoid is the region between the rectum and the sigmoid colon, which is a region easily accessed and assessed by two most common noninvasive imaging modalities –…
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Health care resource utilization and cost in women with endometriosis
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting 6-10% of reproductive-aged women. The clinical picture of the disease range from asymptomatic findings to dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, chronic pelvic pain, and infertility. Endometriosis has also complex etiopathogenetic background. This broad clinical spectrum, the…
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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Endometriosis: Comorbid Conditions
By Irem Onur
In the study of Dr. Boneva et al., from Atlanta, GA, the United States which has recently been published in the journal Frontiers in Pediatrics evaluated the impact of endometriosis on the health of women with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The authors compared…
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Patients with Pelvic Pain Most Likely to Benefit from Endometriosis Surgery
By Özge Özkaya
Women who experience higher levels of pain are more likely to show improvement in their quality of life (QoL) following endometriosis surgery, according to a study published in The Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology. Chronic pelvic pain seems to be…
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Surgical treatment of deeply infiltrating endometriosis in tertiary treatment centers
By Demet Candaş Green
In the present study, data from patients who were surgically treated for deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) in a tertiary referral unit, the Avicenna Centre for Endometriosis and Minimally Invasive Gynecology (ACEMIG, Tehran, Iran), were examined for rates of intraoperative and…
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The predictors for the coexistence of uterine leiomyomas and endometriosis
By Hale Goksever Celik
Uterine leiomyomas are the most common gynecological benign tumors affecting 20-25% of reproductive-aged women. Abnormal bleeding, pelvic pain, pelvic pressure, and infertility are major symptoms of these tumors. Endometriosis is another gynecological disease encountered in 10-15% of reproductive-aged women. The…
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Control on endometriosis progression by a "tyrosine kinase inhibitor"
By Irem Onur
B cells, which are important players of the immune system, are increased in the blood and peritoneal cavity of endometriosis patients. Activation of B cells and the presence of anti-endometrial autoantibodies have been also been described in women with endometriosis,…
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Transvaginal Ultrasound and the Imaging of Endometriosis
By Murat Osman
Ultrasonography (US) is an imaging tool that uses sound waves to produce a two-dimensional picture inside of the body. The ultrasonography has become especially useful in the assessment of gynecologic pathologies such as endometriosis. Depending on the severity of endometriosis,…
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By Engin AydinImportance of monocytic myeloid derived supressor cells in endometriosis
By Engin Aydin
Myeloid-derived suppressor cells MDSCs are immature myeloid cells that play a major role in immunosuppression in various disease processes. Ya Sun and associates have investigated these cells in endometriosis utilizing various laboratory methods. published their results in the "American Journal of…
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"Endometriosis", "Fibromyalgia" and "Autoimmune diseases"
By Irem Onur
Greenbaum et al. from Israel, investigated the prevalence of and the association between endometriosis, fibromyalgia and autoimmune diseases in a large population database and described healthcare resource utilization in affected women. Their study has been published in the "American Journal…
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Seven Hormonal Biomarkers for Diagnosing Endometriosis
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is an inflammatory condition characterized by implantation and invasive growth of endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity. Although it is benign, endometriosis has cancer-like features, a mutation profile similar to that of ovarian cancer, and increased ovarian cancer risk.…
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Baby Years and the Risk of Endometriosis
By Özge Özkaya
Early-life factors such as whether a baby was breastfed, have had vaginal bleeding at birth, or whether or not their father was a smoker may be associated with her risk of developing endometriosis in later life. This is according to…
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Analogous pathways of peritoneal tumor wound healing and endometriosis.
By Selma Oransay
Endometriosis, diagnosed around 10-15% of women population in their reproductive period, is a chronically progressive inflammatory disease to cause peritoneal lesions while spreading into the abdominal cavity. The pathophysiology of the adhesions between the peritoneum and pelvic organs can be…
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Endocrine-disrupting chemicals – yet another environmental factor associated with endometriosis?
By Demet Candaş Green
This study by Wen et al., published in Gynecological Endocrinology, analyzed evidence connecting endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) to the incidence of endometriosis in a collection of 30 previously published studies. Results show that exposure to many EDC's are linked to the…
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Urocortin: A biomarker deserving investigation for endometriosis patients
By Irem Onur
Urocortin is a neuropeptide in the corticotropin-releasing hormone family and is expressed by eutopic and ectopic human endometria. Since it has paracrine and immunomodulatory effects, urocortin is thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of endometriosis. Its expression has been thoroughly…
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The coelomic metaplasia hypothesis of endometriosis in MRKH cases
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is defined as the localization of endometrial glandular and stromal tissue outside the uterine cavity and its incidence is approximately 10% in the general female population. Although the pathophysiological mechanism is not clearly understood, the implantation theory by Sampson…
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ENDORECT scoring system to identify patients at risk for rectosigmoid endometriosis
By Murat Osman
Patients who suffer from endometriosis may benefit from a preoperative score that predicts rectosigmoid involvement. A recent paper published by Huchon et al. at Poissy Saint-Germain en Laye, France, recruited 119 women who underwent laparoscopy for endometriosis between 2011 and…
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Endometriosis pathophysiology: research in genes updated
By Engin Aydin
Endometriosis has a broad spectrum of environmental influences and genetic factors. I In this recently published review article in Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, Vassilopoulou and associates present information about gene‑gene and gene‑environment interactions involved in endometriosis and discuss the effectiveness…
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Novel inhibitors of estrogen biosynthesis
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is a chronic benign disease which is estrogen-dependent. Estradiol creates a positive feedback loop with the synthesis of pro-inflammatory mediators, which sustains further disease establishment and causes the pain symptoms. However, hormone therapies do not cure definitively endometriosis, because…
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Searching new biomarkers for endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
This recent article published in Advances in Clinical Chemistry, is an overall summary of characteristics, physiopathological theories, diagnostic approaches and variety of biomarkers to diagnose endometriosis and penned by Coutinho et al. from Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Belo Horizonte,…
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The association of significant hemoperitoneum (blood in the abdominal cavity) and deep pelvic endometriosis
By Irem Onur
Although there are several theories to explain the etiology of deep endometriosis, the cause is unknown and there are currently no effective strategies to prevent its development. Bean E. et al., from University College London Hospital, UK, observed that some…
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The Wnt/b-catenin signaling in endometriosis
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is a very common gynecological disorder, which affects approximately 10% of reproductive-aged women, and is one of the most common reasons for infertility. The normal endometrium undergoes cyclical remodeling under control of sex hormones secreted by ovaries- estrogen and…
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Non‑invasive biomarkers for endometriosis diagnosis
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is a disease of women in reproductive age and its incidence varies between 5-10%. Since the diagnosis is based on the histological confirmation, there is an average of 7 to 11 years of delays in the diagnosis. Promising non-invasive…
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The reason for lower BMI and less body fat in women with endometriosis.
By Selma Oransay
Zolbin et al. from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, USA, recently published the results of their prospective controlled research on adipocyte alterations in endometriosis, in the journal "Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology". Endometriosis can…
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Fibrogenesis in endometriosis: The role of neuropeptides
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is a debilitating gynaecologic disease affecting 6–10% of women of reproductive age. Endometriotic lesions are known to be hyperinnervated due to neurogenesis resulting from neutrophins secreted by endometriotic lesions and possibly platelets. These neutrophins seem to preferentially favor the…
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By Serdar BalciPathophysiology of peritoneal endometriosis pain.
By Serdar Balci
This article is an invited editorial by Ferrero S et.al. from IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy, published in the Annals of Translational Medicine. The authors describe the pathophysiology and underlying mechanisms of pain in peritoneal endometriosis with reference to the…
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The genetic predisposition to endometriosis
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent gynecological disease mostly encountered in reproductive-aged women. Although endometrium is a non-malignant disease, its symptoms can range from mild to severe due to the inflammation that ectopic endometrial tissue forms around itself. The exact etiopathogenetic mechanism…
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A new hope for a "targeted" drug for endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
Lin et al. from National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, recently published in"Theranostics" the article entitled "Targeting Anthrax Toxin Receptor 2 Ameliorates Endometriosis Progression”, report that ANTRX2 may be a novel therapeutic target for endometriosis. Thinking that the adhesion should be the first and the…
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Anti-angiogenic treatment for endometriosis
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is a benign, estrogen-dependent gynecological disorder. The wide variety of surgical and medical treatment has been applied for treating endometriosis, but a definitive therapy has not been achieved so far. Thus, new therapeutic strategies need to be developed. Among…
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Proposed algorithm for a clinical diagnosis of endometriosis.
By Selma Oransay
This recently published article in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology is about the challenge of diagnosing endometriosis, its impact on women's daily life and authored by Agarwal et al. from The University of California, San Diego, CA, USA. Authors called attention…
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Adenomyosis (endometriosis interna): an enigmatic disease that has to be discovered yet
By Engin Aydin
Scientists, Drs. Vannuccini and Petraglia from Italy have published an open access comprehensive review of Adenomyosis in "F1000Research" in March 2019 issue. Adenomyosis is a uterine disorder in which endometrial glands and stroma are pathologically demonstrated within the myometrium, i.e.…
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Endometrial single cells to contribute preexisting endometriosis.
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent inflammatory disease. This disease affects approximately 10% of reproductive-aged women and 20% to 50% of infertile women. Multiple hypotheses have been proposed for the origin of endometriosis. Retrograde menstruation is believed to take part by the…
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Reducing the Risk of Recurrence After Endometriosis Surgery
By Özge Özkaya
The use of compounds called NF-κB inhibitors and β-blockers before and after endometriosis surgery may reduce the risk of the disease recurring, according to a study conducted in a mouse model. According to the study published in the journal Reproductive…
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By Yu YuAntibiotic therapy for endometriosis
By Yu Yu
Current treatments for endometriosis are surgery and hormone therapy; however, these approaches may have significant side effects and do not prevent a recurrence. Therefore, alternative treatment modalities for endometriosis is needed. Recently, the idea that endometriosis may be influenced by…
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The postoperative functional outcomes of deep infiltrating endometriosis
By Hale Goksever Celik
Rectosigmoid endometriosis is defined as the infiltration of the bowel wall with the endometrial-like glands and stroma, reaching at least the muscular layer. The most commonly involved sites are the rectum and sigmoid colon. For the management of deep infiltrating…
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A new trial to reduce the failure of IVF/ICS protocols in severe endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
Kong et al., from the first affiliated hospital of Zhengzhou University, China, recently published this single-blinded, a multicentered and randomized controlled study in the Journal of Reproductive Health, with the aim to find a safer and more effective ovulation induction regimen for patients with…
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Endometriosis and nuclear receptors
By Dr. Youngran Park
It is well recognized that endometriosis is a steroid-dependent disorder. In endometrial stromal cells, progesterone regulates retinoic acid production and action. Retinoids also act via a number of nuclear receptors (NRs) and are involved in normal endometrial function and endometriosis. Estrogen…
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Bladder Endometriosis
By Demet Candaş Green
Bladder endometriosis is rare – about 1-2% of women with endometriosis may have endometrial lesions in their urinary tract. Diagnosis of bladder endometriosis is difficult because of its nonspecific symptoms such as frequent urination, pelvic pain, and burning sensation when…
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The coexistence deep infiltrating endometriosis and fibromyalgia
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is defined as the localization of endometrial glandular and stromal cells outside the uterine cavity. The main symptoms of endometriosis which are dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, and chronic pelvic pain impair the quality of life of these women. This disease may…
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MRI-based "ENZIAN" scoring system and intra-operative endometriosis findings
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease whereby endometrial-like glands grow and invade the extra-uterine structures. Endometriosis may affect various parts of the body, including the peritoneum, ovaries, or retroperitoneum. Recently, non-invasive methods for detecting these lesions have included trans-vaginal ultrasound…
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Epithelial Mutations in Endometriosis
By Dr. Youngran Park
A substantial body of epidemiologic evidence suggests a link between endometriosis and epithelial ovarian cancer, but a plausible underlying mechanism has remained elusive. Here, Dr. Bulun group from Northwestern University provide a focused review of the literature and discuss the…
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A highly sensitive Immunohistochemical Marker for Stromal Cells in endometriosis
By Engin Aydin
Endometriosis is diagnosed histopathologically by the presence of endometrium-like tissues outside the uterus. Positive CD10 immunohistochemistry, highlighting stromal cells of the endometrium, is a useful adjunct for pathologists in the tissue diagnosis. However, CD10 expression is not specific to endometrial stromal…
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A guide on the Assessment of Pelvic Endometriosis Imaging
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is a disease whereby ectopic endometrial-like tissue invades and survives outside of the endometrial cavity. While biopsy-proven confirmation of endometriosis during laparoscopy has been considered the gold standard for diagnosis, non-invasive imaging modalities are increasingly being utilized for preoperative…
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Can early-life exposures affect endometriosis development later in life?
By Demet Candaş Green
Endometriosis is a complex disease with possible multifactor contributors. So far, inflammatory, immunogenic, genetic, and environmental factors have all been associated with endometriosis. In addition, it is possible that different types of endometriosis lesions – peritoneal, ovarian, and deep infiltrating…
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Choosing the Right Technique for Deep Colorectal Endometriosis
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is a benign gynecologic condition, histologically defined by the presence of ectopic endometrium outside the endometrial cavity. Three clinical presentations of endometriosis have been described and could coexist in the pelvis: peritoneal endometriosis, ovarian endometriosis, and deep infiltrating endometriosis.…
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Ovarian stimulation regimes: Concerns on progression or recurrence of endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
Somigliana et al., from the University of Milan, Italy, performed a literature review to predict the endometriosis-enhancing effect of ART regimes on infertile women and reported their results in Reproductive Biomedicine Online. Their points of interest were increasing dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, non-menstrual pain and…
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Preoperative factors to predict unresponsiveness in women undergoing endometriosis surgery
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is defined as the localization of endometrial glandular and stromal cells outside the uterine cavity. Despite extensive research, the optimal management of endometriosis still remains unclear. Several treatment options include analgesic medication, hormonal treatments, and surgical intervention. There is…
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Impact of Endometriosis-Related Adhesions on Quality of Life among Infertile Women
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is considered the most common cause of pelvic adhesions in women. It is considered one of the main underlying causes of the development of adhesions. Adhesions are bands of connective tissue, which connect two different tissues that are normally…
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Menstrual blood-derived stem cells
By Selma Oransay
Chen et al. from the Center of Diagnosis and Treatment of İnfectious Disease, Zhejiang University, China penned this recent review in the Journal of Stem Cell Research Therapy which is presenting the clinical potential of MenSCs (Menstrual blood-derived stem cells). …
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Endometriosis involving the superficial peritoneum in Adolescents: Surgical Management
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is a chronic disease whereby endometrial glands and stroma grow and survive outside of the uterus. In some cases, endometriosis may become symptomatic and cause debilitating, chronic pelvic pain. Among pelvic organ and other surfaces that endometriosis can involve…
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Polymorphisms of STAT4 gene in the pathogenesis of endometriosis
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is one of the most common gynecological diseases in reproductive-age women characterized by the occurrence of endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity. Researchers have put forward numerous hypotheses to explain ectopic endometrial tissue, and the bulk of the evidence…
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The appearance of postoperative endometriosis by imaging methods
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is a chronic gynecological disease mostly encountered in reproductive-aged women. Endometriosis can occur in three different entities: peritoneal, ovarian and deep endometriosis. Golden standard diagnosis is made by histopathological examination of surgical material after laparoscopic surgery in women with…
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Endometriosis and infertility: current concepts
By Engin Aydin
Hungarian and US scientists have published a comprehensive review on infertility related to endometriosis in Frontiers in Endocrinology, November 2018 issue. Endometriosis is a common entity in women of reproductive age which often leads to infertility. Compiled research data reveal…
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Gal-3 can be a pharmacological target in endometriosis treatment
By Demet Candaş Green
Galectins are known to play a significant role in angiogenesis, which is a key event contributing to the development of many disease conditions, one of which is endometriosis. Past studies, upon examining several human endometriotic lesions, showed that Galectin-3 (Gal-3)…
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Estrogen Receptor Signaling and Endometriosis-Associated Ovarian Cancer
By Selma Oransay
Andersen et al. published a prospective cohort study in the Journal of Hormones and Cancer to enlighten the estrogen signaling pathway during the transition from endometriosis to endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer. Given the shared pathway of endometriosis and ovarian cancer as…
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Immunologic Disorder in the Progression of Endometriosis
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis becomes increasingly a health-social problem. However, definite diagnostic biomarkers and more effective treatments for endometriosis are still missing to this day. Many researchers focus on the peritoneal microenvironment of patients with endometriosis, especially the immunological microenvironment. Recently, Jørgensen et…
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The miscarriage rate in women with endometriosis undergoing IVF fresh cycles
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is a chronic estrogen-dependent disease diagnosed in 25-40% of women with infertility. There are several mechanisms explaining the negative impacts of endometriosis on fertility through the entire reproductive process such as sperm-oocyte interaction, ovarian reserve, and implantation. Endometriosis is…
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Long non‐coding RNA, Epithelial mesenchymal transition, and Endometriosis
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is an estrogen‐dependent inflammatory gynecologic disease and requires attention. However, an in‐depth understanding of the latent pathogenesis of endometriosis development and its new innovative therapeutics are urgently needed. Epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) refers to the special biological process of epithelial…
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Which comes first in endometriosis management: In vitro fertilization or surgery?
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is defined as the localization of endometrial glandular and stromal tissue outside the uterine cavity. The prevalence is found to be 7%–10%, but among infertile women, it increases up to 50%. Early diagnosis and personalized management are important to…
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Self-management of endometriosis symptoms: from Australia
By Demet Candaş Green
Effective self-management techniques and lifestyle changes may play an important role in the management of endometriosis symptoms by many women. Due to various reasons such as limited effectiveness of some medications, potential side effects, availability of medical resources, self-desire to…
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Priorities and Unmet Needs of Endometriosis Management
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is a systemic, chronic disease that is a significant contributor to morbidity in young women. Although endometriosis has gained increasing attention in the medical field, scientific progress for an effective and definitive treatment modality is progressing slowly. The Society…
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Endometrioma, Fertility, and Assisted Reproduction
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis can negatively impact a woman’s health and quality of life. Surgery has been considered the primary treatment to overcome infertility in cases of ovarian endometrioma. Patients struggling with endometriosis often pursue assisted reproductive technologies (ART) due to fertility issues.…
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Building an ultrasonographic database for superficial endometriosis.
By Selma Oransay
Chowdary et al. from University of Auckland, Australia, recently published a retrospective, small group study in Australian New Zeland Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, to demonstrate ultrasonographic findings of mild endometriosis patients with pelvic pain are associated with their laparoscopic diagnosis.…
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PAX8 immunohistochemistry in the diagnosis of Extragenital Endometriosis
By Serdar Balci
This study is performed by Arakawa T et al., from the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan, and the results are published in Reproductive Sciences. Endometriosis is seen in many organs including peritoneum, ovaries, bowel, bladder, and even lung. Histopathologic diagnosis may…
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The association between the development of endometriosis and dietary habits
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is a chronic disease defined as the localization of endometrial glandular and stromal tissue outside the uterine cavity. The prevalence is found to be approximately 10% in the general population. Endometriosis is associated with infertility, pelvic pain, and increased…
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Bowel endometriosis: What you need to know
By Demet Candaş Green
When the endometrial tissue infiltrates the intestinal walls and reaches inside the intestines, this condition is called "bowel endometriosis". It is estimated that between 3.8% and 37% of women with endometriosis are affected by bowel endometriosis. The endometriosis lesions infiltrating…
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Signs and Symptoms on Transvaginal Ultrasound associated with the presence of endometriosis.
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is a disease whereby ectopic endometrial cells are present outside of the uterus. Transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS) is a highly specific test for endometriomas and deep endometriosis to assess the involvement of endometriosis in the posterior anatomic compartments. While the…
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Exosome: a new avenue for endometriosis research
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis affects 10% of reproductive-aged women. The pathophysiology of this disease remains mysterious, with a lack of effective biomarkers necessitating surgical intervention for diagnosis. This creates an urgent need for accurate noninvasive diagnostic tests and the identification of effective therapeutic…
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Additional research in understanding the causative link between Notch signaling and endometriosis
By Engin Aydin
Dustin M. Brown and associates from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences published their unique complex molecular research in the Journal of the Endocrine Society. This study group previously showed that decreased expression of the progesterone receptor (PGR) resulted from…
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Can we prevent the progression of endometriosis?
By Selma Oransay
Torres-Reveron et al. from the University of Texas, USA, planned this prospective laboratory research on female rats to assay the reduce on the progression of endometriosis and recently published the results in PloS One. At first, endometriosis was induced in female rats…
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Endometriosis and female pelvic pain in all aspects
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is defined as the localization of endometrial glandular and stromal tissue outside the uterine cavity. The prevalence of the disease ranges between 6-10% in reproductive-aged women. However, endometriosis is more frequently encountered in women with chronic pelvic pain and…
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The relationship between periodontal disease and endometriosis
By Irem Onur
Thomas et al. have recently studied the association between endometriosis and periodontal disease which may share a common pathogenesis, and have published it in the Journal of Human Reproductive Sciences. The authors screened a total of50 women; 25 with and 25…
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Clonal Proliferation and Cancer Associated Mutations in normal uterine endometrium and endometriosis
By Serdar Balci
Suda et. al., from Niigata University, Japan, has published the article entitled "Clonal Expansion and Diversification of Cancer-Associated Mutations in Endometriosis and Normal Endometrium" in Cell Reports. There are many theories for endometriosis development (retrograde menstruation, coelomic metaplasia, Müllerian remnants),…
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Vaginal Sexual Intercourse during Menstruation
By Irem Onur
Mazokopakis and Samonis from Greece examined and discussed the vaginal sexual intercourse during menstruation from a biblical as well as a modern medical point of view in their paper published in MAEDICA – a Journal of Clinical Medicine in September 2018.…
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Somatic mutations in iatrogenic endometriosis.
By Selma Oransay
Lac and al., from the Department of Molecular Oncology in BC Cancer Research Center, Vancouver, Canada, planned a retrospective and multinational research to investigate the prevalence of somatic cancer-driver mutations in incisional endometriosis and recently published in the "Journal of Human Reproduction". Their…
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Mistletoe as a Potential Candidate for Endometriosis Treatment
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis, one of the common benign gynecologic disorders, is defined as the ectopic presence of endometrial cells outside of the uterine cavity. Although the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood, the most accepted hypothesis is that endometrial cells pass through…
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Surgical techniques for rectosigmoid endometriosis, and functional outcomes
By Hale Goksever Celik
Rectosigmoid endometriosis is defined as the infiltration of bowel wall with the endometrial-like glands and stroma, reaching at least the muscular layer. Rectosigmoid endometriosis is encountered in approximately 8-12% of patients with a diagnosis of endometriosis. The most commonly involved…
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A new theory in the pathogenesis of endometriosis
By Serdar Balci
Koninckx et. al., from various countries, have conducted this review, which will be published in Fertility and Sterility. Endometriosis is known for a century. The disease has a variable course in a patient, which may include pain, infections, and infertility.…
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Development of Less Invasive Diagnostic Tests for Endometriosis Through Proteomics
By Murat Osman
Proteomics is a field which utilizes various methods to carry out large-scale studies of proteins. Due to the inherent nature of the field, proteomics focuses on the identification, localization, and functional analysis of the protein make-up of a given type…
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New scientific evidence supporting robotic surgical approach to ureteric endometriosis
By Engin Aydin
Surgical treatment of ureteral endometriosis aims to relieve urinary obstruction besides preserving renal functions. In accomplishing these, the best method of surgical approach is still unclear. Andrea Giannini and her colleagues from the University of Pisa, Italy conducted a retrospective…
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Conservative Surgery May Be Sufficient to Halt the Development of Deep Endometriosis
By Özge Özkaya
Deep endometriosis develops as a result of collective cell migration and nerve recruitment from surrounding organs, suggests a study published in the scientific journal Fertility and Sterility. Collective cell migration is the biological process whereby a group of cells moves…
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The association of endometriosis and peritoneal malignant mesothelioma
By Irem Onur
Endometriosis is well known to cause chronic inflammation of the serosa and incite mesothelial hyperplasia. Although multilocular peritoneal inclusion cysts and well-differentiated papillary mesothelioma were reported to be associated with endometriosis, the association of malignant mesothelioma has not been reported…
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Is the mystery for progression of endometriosis hiding out in abnormally located endometrial cells?
By Selma Oransay
This prospective study was conducted by Hapangama et al. in Research İnstute of the University of Liverpool, UK, and the results have recently published in the Journal of Human Reproduction. The authors hypothesized that abnormally located endometrial basalis-like (SSEA1/nSOX9+)cells could be contributing to…
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The role of circulating microRNA's in Endometriosis
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent disorder. This disease affects approximately 10% of reproductive-aged women and 20% to 50% of infertile women. Steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1) is an essential transcriptional regulator coordinately regulating multiple genes involved in estrogen biosynthesis. SF-1 is known…
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Endometriosis-associated pain control by contraceptive implant or intrauterine system
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is defined as the localization of endometrial glandular and stromal cells outside the uterine cavity. The most common symptoms are dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, and chronic pelvic pain, all of which affect the quality of women’s lives. Several studies investigating the…
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Factors related to delay in endometriosis diagnosis
By Engin Aydin
Dr. Moniek van der Zanden, a gynecologist from Netherlands has recently made a nationwide survey on the impact of key recommendations of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) guidelines on endometriosis and aimed to assess factors influencing diagnostic delay of…
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Does the presence of endometriosis increase the risk of gynecologic malignancies?
By Serdar Balci
Endometriosis shares common risk factors with endometrial carcinoma and ovarian carcinomas such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, hyperestrogenism, and reproductive characteristics. Endometriosis is also known to be a risk factor for gynecologic malignant tumors. In this study, Li et.al. have…
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Extragenital endometriosis and ultrasound
By Irem Onur
Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is a non-invasive imaging method with no exposure to radiation. There are a few reports on the use of CEUS in the assessment of endometriosis in the literature. Dong et al. reported 3 histopathologically proven cases of…
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Lipophilic Statins inhibit growth and invasiveness of human endometrial cells
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is a disease process whereby cells of the endometrium grow and invade structures outside of the uterus. Through recent research, it has been seen that endometriotic foci in women with endometriosis exhibit an altered phenotype that contributes to its…
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Can we Inhibit the Survival of Endometriosis?
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent gynecological inflammatory disease. The current anti-estrogen therapies can be prescribed only for a short time due to the undesirable side effects on menstruation, pregnancy, bone health, and recurrence. Therefore, the development of specific therapy which targets…
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Pelvic pain, congenital genital tract anomalies and endometriosis
By Hale Goksever Celik
Any failure during development and differentiation of female genital tract results in congenital tract anomalies. The origin of the hymen is the union of the caudal portion of the paramesonephric ducts and the urogenital sinus. It functions as a mechanical…
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Further Results From the FEELING Study Published
By Özge Özkaya
Some women are more likely to develop deep infiltrating endometriosis according to the further analysis of the results of the FEELING study. These are women who: are married, are older, have siblings, have had a prior pregnancy, or for whom…
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What clinicians know about adenomyosis? Any association with severe endometriosis?
By Selma Oransay
Dior et al. from the Royal Women's Hospital in Parkville, Australia, designed a prospective study to assess the association between severity of endometriosis and sonographic evidence of adenomyosis (SEOA) in their recently published article appearing in The Journal of Minimally…
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Immune dysregulation in endometriosis
By Yu Yu
The connection between endometriosis and the immune system has long been proposed. However, to date, there is no real consensus on whether immune adaptations actually facilitate endometriotric lesion progression or they are a consequence of endometriosis re-occurrence. Thus, this article…
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Targeted therapy biomarkers in endometriosis associated ovarian carcinomas
By Serdar Balci
Endometriosis in ovaries is a known precursor of endometrioid and clear cell carcinomas. They may be resistant to classical therapies. Researchers search for alternative and targeted therapy options. This study, from the University of Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil, will be…
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Endometriosis: A review on anatomic principles and the management
By Irem Onur
In the study of Alimi et al. which has been published in the journal Cureus, various aspects of endometriosis such as the pathophysiology, the anatomy, the pain mechanism, the perineural spread theory, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and imaging, infertility, unusual cases,…
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Laparoscopic mesenteric vascular and nerve sparing surgery as a tool for DIE resection
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis can be characterized by a wide range of clinical aggressiveness based upon the location, character, and growth of ectopic endometrial implants. As one of the most aggressive forms of endometriosis, deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) is known to involve the…
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Are women with histologically confirmed endometriosis satisfied with their medical support?
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is defined as the localization of endometrial glandular and stromal cells outside the uterine cavity. The most common symptoms are dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, chronic pelvic pain, dyschesia, dysuria, musculoskeletal pain, fatigue and infertility, all of which affect the quality of…
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Anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory effects of "Quercetin" on endometriosis
By Dr. Youngran Park
Quercetin is a major flavonol that is mainly derived from capers and involves a daily consumption of approximately 25–50 mg through various vegetables. In recent studies, Quercetin is reported as a functional compound in obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. This compound…
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The use of Elagolix in Women with Liver and Kidney Impairments
By Özge Özkaya
Elagolix may be used in women with moderate liver impairment, when necessary, for up to six months at a dose of 150 mg a day, according to a study published in the scientific journal Clinical Pharmacology in Drug Development. The…
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Progesterone Receptor Status in Endometriosis
By Serdar Balci
Some patients do not respond to progesterone hormone therapy. In this study recently published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, the authors led by Hugh S. Taylor from the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences from Yale…
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Programmed-cell death pathway and immune dysfunction in endometriosis
By Irem Onur
Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent, immune-associated disease. Women with endometriosis have different proportions of the activated forms of immunocompetent cells, such as T cells and macrophages compared to those from women without. Immune cell dysfunction in the uterine and abdominal cavity…
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Drugs targeting estrogen biosynthesis opening up new approaches to the treatment of endometriosis.
By Selma Oransay
Gibson et al., from the Univerity of Edinburgh, UK, take over a new interest about endometriosis occurrence and progress by endometrial tissue intracrinology in their recently online published article in International Journal of Molecular Sciences. The authors summarize the last…
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How to predict natural conception in women underwent endometriosis surgery?
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is defined as the localization of endometrial glandular and stromal cells outside the uterine cavity. The most common symptoms are dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, chronic pelvic pain, and infertility. The prevalence of endometriosis increases in the infertile population. Thus, the important…
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Preoperative Staging of Endometriosis: The Value of MRI After Dynamic Transvaginal Ultrasound
By Irem Onur
Since endometriosis is a chronic and progressive disease, early diagnosis and proper staging are important for the patient and for the clinician to discuss and plan the required surgical procedures for treatment. Common diagnostic tools for pre-operative staging of deep…
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The pain and its severity in deeply infiltrating endometriosis patients
By Selma Oransay
Liang et al. from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, China, recently published an interesting paper in the Journal of Pain Research, a prospective study to reveal the relationship between neurogenesis and other potential…
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Any adjustable risk factor for Endometriosis?
By Irem Onur
Endometriosis is believed to be estrogen and progesterone-dependent. Lifestyle factors such as alcohol/caffeine intake, smoking, and physical activity influence estrogen levels in the body and, therefore, may impact the development of endometriosis. In the study of Hemmert et al. which…
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Is Physical Exercise Effective in Endometriosis?
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is defined as the localization of endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity. Dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, chronic pelvic pain, and infertility are mostly encountered symptoms of endometriosis. Although there are several theories explaining the pathogenesis of endometriosis, the exact pathogenesis still has…
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Does ovarian endometrioma damage the ovarian reserve?
By Dr. Youngran Park
Ovarian endometriomas are commonly present in 17% to 44% of women with endometriosis and are often associated with infertility and pelvic pain. There are several treatment options including surgical treatment. Cyst excision is associated with better results in terms of…
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The diagnosis and management of endometriosis in Korea
By Selma Oransay
The Korean Society of Endometriosis has scrutinized the present published literature of endometriosis in the domestic and international platform to provide new guidelines and the clinical management of the disease. The study was recently published in the journal "Obstetrics and Gynecology…
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A novel neurotransmitter, Ninj1, has been found to be expressed in endometriosis
By Irem Onur
Chronic inflammation is involved in the pathogenesis of endometriosis and adenomyosis, and inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1b are highly expressed in them. Inflammation and subsequent hyperinnervation are involved in the pathophysiology of pain generation. High levels of expression of various…
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Can MRI be used to detect anterior pelvic endometriotic lesions?
By Hale Goksever Celik
Deep infiltrating endometriosis is the most severe manifestation of endometriosis. It is defined as the infiltration of ectopic endometrial tissue under the peritoneum, pelvic structures, and the organ walls such as the uterosacral ligaments, colon, vagina, bladder, ureter, rectovaginal septum,…
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Feasibility of MRI-Transvaginal Ultrasound Imaging for Deeply Infiltrating Endometriosis
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is a disease whereby endometrial tissue is present outside of endometrium. A specific form of endometriosis, Deeply Infiltrating Endometriosis (DIE), is characterized by endometriotic glands that invade through the endometrium and other structures in the pelvis and is associated…
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Does deep infiltrating endometriosis affect sexual activity?
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is one of the most common gynecological diseases in women of reproductive age, and pelvic pain and infertility are the most frequent complications. There are three different type of endometriosis lesions; superficial lesions, deep lesions, and ovarian cysts. In…
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By Kasthuri NairAutophagy, proteolysis and Endometriosis
By Kasthuri Nair
Sui et al., a group of researchers from the Qiqihar Medical University and Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, recently published in Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine. The piece titled “Expression and significance of autophagy genes LC3, Beclin1 and MMP-2 in endometriosis”…
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Best endometriosis articles of the past year.
By Selma Oransay
Dr.Stowall, from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Methodist Hospital, Dallas, Texas, USA penned this letter and recently published it in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology to show his remarks of importance on four best publications of the…
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Three dimensional sono-vaginography to diagnose rectovaginal endometriosis
By Hale Goksever Celik
Deep infiltrating endometriosis is defined as the localization of ectopic endometrial tissue penetrating more than 5 mm into the affected pelvic organs. Rectovaginal endometriosis is the most severe form of deep infiltrating endometriosis in which ectopic endometrial tissue infiltrating rectum…
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Programmed cell death 4 suppresses endometriosis by inhibiting autophagy and NF-κB/MMP2/MMP9 signal pathway
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is a kind of benign disease but shares many similar features with cancers, such as abnormal cell migration, invasion, and unrestrained growth. It has been known that some genes are expressed differentially in eutopic endometrium of EM patients compared…
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Anatomic distribution of endometriosis
By Irem Onur
In the study of Audebert et al. which has been published in the journal European Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the anatomic distribution of endometriosis, the rate of deep infiltrating endometriosis during the various study periods, laterality of endometriosis, pelvic…
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How Ovarian Endometriomas and DIE affect ART outcomes
By Murat Osman
Previous studies have evaluated the impact of an ovarian endometrioma on ovarian reserve and its impact on the success of assisted reproductive technology (ART) outcomes have controversial results. ART is a method by which a woman’s own hormones are used…
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Suffering in Silence
By Deniz Kocas
Although quantitative and qualitative studies have established that endometriosis has a negative impact on multiple domains of quality of life, the majority of qualitative studies to date have used focus groups and interviews. These data collection methods may limit disclosure…
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Maternal and fetal outcomes in women with endometriosis : A review and meta-analysis
By Selma Oransay
Lalani et al from Dept. of Obstet. and Gynecol. , University of Ottowa, Canada, recently published this systemic review and meta-analysis of observational studies in the Journal of Human Reproduction, aimed to present the difference in the maternal and fetal…
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Could Endometriosis-Related Infertility Be Genetic?
By Özge Özkaya
Researchers identified genetic polymorphisms or individual differences in two genes called AMA5 and KAZN among women with endometriosis who were infertile and control women who were fertile. The identification of these polymorphisms could help scientists better understand why some women…
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Non-assisted reproductive technology treatment: Is it effective in infertile patients with advanced endometriosis?
By Hale Goksever Celik
The marriage and childbearing ages delay due to the life-style changes in developed countries. As a result, advanced age becomes a major concern in infertility treatments which consist of non-ART and ART modalities. Non-ART treatments include mild ovarian stimulation together…
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IL-37 regulates ectopic endometrial stromal cells to prevent endometriosis
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis has been identified as a chronic inflammatory disease. It has been shown that in the plasma and peritoneal fluid, women with endometriosis exhibit aberrant numbers of immune cells and concentrations of cytokines and chemokines that promote a chronic inflammatory…
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PROPOFOL: a new combat for endometriosis?
By Selma Oransay
Feng et al, from the Department of Gynecology Weifang Medical University Hospital, Shandong, China, recently published their prospective experimental research in the journal Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine. Propofol, a rapid and short-term anesthetic substance, recently has been shown to prevent cancer through inhibiting…
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Parametrial endometriosis: A harder form of endometriosis
By Hale Goksever Celik
Deep infiltrating endometriosis is the most severe manifestation of endometriosis, affecting 20% of all patients with endometriosis. It is defined as the infiltration of ectopic endometrial tissue under the peritoneum, pelvic structures, and the organ walls such as the uterosacral…
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Quality of life for women with endometriosis
By Irem Onur
Endometriosis symptoms may cause difficulties in daily activities and social life, altering general health and personal relationships and severely decrease the quality of life. Yoldemir T. evaluates the factors affecting the quality of life in endometriosis patients and the management strategies in…
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Vitamin D and Endometriosis
By Engin Aydin
Scientists from Milan, Italy reviewed the effects of vitamin D on the reproductive health, and in particular "endometriosis" in their article which appeared in International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Vitamin D (VD), is a steroid hormone that is activated in…
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Endometriosis involvement of the pouch of Douglas: TVUS vs pelvic exam
By Murat Osman
Deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) can lead to a partial or complete obliteration of the pouch of Douglas (POD). POD involvement has been associated with dyschezia, deep dyspareunia, and increased infertility rates. Assessing the extent of endometriosis involvement of the cul-de-sac allows…
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Will I Have Complications After Endometriosis Surgery?
By Özge Özkaya
The rate of complications after surgery to treat deep infiltrating endometriosis is low, confirmed a study by researchers in Germany. It is important to know whether major or minor complications following surgery are likely to develop and what the outcome…
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Inhibition of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway for the treatment of endometriosis.
By Dr. Youngran Park
Dr. Matsuzaki et al. (2018) published a paper entitled ‘In vitro and in vivo effects of MK2206 and chloroquine combination therapy on endometriosis’ showing that the efficacy of MK2206, an Akt inhibitor, in combination with chloroquine for inducing autophagy in…
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Laparoscopic surgery of endometriosis through three compartments
By Selma Oransay
This case study which is published in the J. of Minimally İnvasive Gynecology is the video demonstration of Collin et al who performed the laparoscopic operation of their patient in Gynecologic Surgery Department of Strasburg Hospital University, France. 37 years old…
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How to preserve fertility in women with “ovarian endometriosis”?
By Hale Goksever Celik
Although there are many treatment modalities in endometriosis, optimal treatment has not been developed yet. The aim of the treatment is to reduce pain, to preserve and improve fertility and to delay recurrence. Ovarian ischemic and perfusion damage during endometriosis…
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Multimodality imaging and clinicopathologic assessment of abdominal wall endometriosis
By Irem Onur
Abdominal wall endometriosis is a rare clinical entity frequently diagnosed with a significant delay and easily misinterpreted despite multimodality imaging. In the study of Jaramillo-Cardoso et al. which has recently been published in the journal Abdominal Radiology, the clinical, multimodality…
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MTA1 as a predictor for the progression of endometriosis.
By Selma Oransay
Jing Zhang et al. from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Affiliated Haikou Hospital, Xiangya Medical College of Central South University, Hainan, China, published their article in the open access medical journal "Medicine". Their aim was to evaluate the relationship between…
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Shedding light on the fertility preservation debate in women with endometriosis: a swot analysis.
By Deniz Kocas
There is little known about fertility preservation in women with endometriosis. Researchers from France and Switzerland conducted a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis to better understand this topic. Applied to clinical problems, SWOT gives a thorough analysis of…
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Fighting with endometriosis
By Irem Onur
Maduro M.R. reviewed three separate studies on potential new targets to successfully manage endometriosis in her recent paper titled “Novel Strategies to Fight Endometriosis” published in the journal Reproductive Sciences. In the autotransplantation rat model of Torres-Reveron et al., the…
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Cosmetics and some household products could be responsible for worsening endometriosis.
By Selma Oransay
A controlled clinical study recently published in the Journal of Human Reproductive Sciences, composed by Nazir et al. from the University of Health Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan. The study compared the blood diethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP) levels of fifty infertile women laparoscopically diagnosed…
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Transvaginal ultrasound for "rectosigmoid endometriosis" diagnosis: Is bowel preparation necessary?
By Hale Goksever Celik
Rectosigmoid endometriosis is a severe form of deep endometriosis. Women having rectosigmoid endometriosis present with pain and several intestinal complains such as constipation, diarrhea, intestinal cramping, abdominal bloating, feeling of incomplete evacuation, the passage of mucus and rectal bleeding during…
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Toxic Pelvic Cavity and Infertility
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is a disease defined by the presence of endometrial tissue outside of the uterine cavity and has an incidence of approximately 10% in women of reproductive age. Thus, it is an important consideration in chronic pelvic pain and infertility…
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Reduced pain and increased fertiliy rates after surgery for colorectal endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
This prospective cohort study which recently published in AOGS by Hudelist et al. from Oslo University, Norway is about their one hundred thirty-four laparoscopic operations of DIE cases performed between 2011 and 2016, in a tertiary center in Oslo. The…
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IVF Is the Best Option to Become Pregnant for Women with Severe Endometriosis, or Is It Not?
By Özge Özkaya
Treating rectal endometriosis with surgery seems to increase the chance of a woman conceiving, with most pregnancies occurring naturally. This is according to a study published in the medical journal Human Reproduction. The optimal treatment for women with severe endometriosis…
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Endometrioma and endometriosis
By Irem Onur
Exacoustos C. et al. published an article titled “The isolated ovarian endometrioma: a history between myth and reality” in the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology in 2018. They aimed to examine the association between ovarian endometriomas detectable at the transvaginal ultrasound…
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How to evaluate ureteral endometriosis : A review of the literature
By Selma Oransay
In this recently published review of the literature, Barra et al. from Genova, Italy intend to provide a useful tool to guide physicians in the management of deep infiltrating endometriosis. Authors elected 67 abstracts from Pubmed and Medline in accordance with PRISMA…
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Comorbidity Risks Among Women with Endometriosis
By Deniz Kocas
Evidence demonstrates that endometriosis is associated with higher rates of conditions such as ovarian and other gynecological cancers, thyroid cancer, autoimmune diseases, asthma/atopic diseases, and cardiovascular diseases. However, as findings remain fragmented, there is a need to assess these associations…
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Endometriosis in adolescents
By Irem Onur
Dr. Mama S. T. from Cooper University Hospital, Camden, New Jersey, USA, recently has published his review on advances in the management of endometriosis in the adolescent in the journal “Current Opinion Obstetrics and Gynecology”. In adolescence, there is a…
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A Better Way to Diagnose Endometriosis?
By Özge Özkaya
Three proteins found in the blood and endometrial tissues could be used to determine the stage of endometriosis and the severity of painful periods according to a study published in the journal Current Medical Science. Evaluating the levels of these…
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Pain and emotion regulation predict health-related quality of life
By Deniz Kocas
Studies have established that pain in endometriosis is negatively correlated with HRQL and that endometriosis is associated with psychological problems, anxiety, depression, distress and poor coping ability. It has been observed that some mental conditions associated with endometriosis are modulated…
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Endometriosis as a chronic disease: The benefits for the patients
By Selma Oransay
Rebecca O'Hara et al. from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, recently published their qualitative case study in the Journal "Australian Health Review", to build a National Policy about endometriosis considering as a chronic disease. In Australia, long-term complex diseases are managed…
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How are endometriosis patients managed clinically?
By Irem Onur
This review paper by Falcone and Flyckt, entitled “Clinical Management of Endometriosis” published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology aims to summarize the current strategies for treating endometriosis patients with pain, pelvic dysfunction, and subfertility related to their disease. There are many…
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FDA Approves Endometriosis Pain Treatment
By Özge Özkaya
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new medication for the treatment of moderate to severe pain associated with endometriosis, making it the first treatment to be approved in 10 years. The decision was announced in the Journal…
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A Balancing Act: How Endometriosis Invades the Body
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is a disease defined by the presence of endometrial tissue outside of the uterine cavity. Ectopic endometrial tissues have been shown to have some features that mimic malignancy. For example, endometriosis can invade surrounding structures and attach to surfaces such…
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A Tool That Goes Where No One Has Gone Before
By Kasthuri Nair
Vitral et al., researchers from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, recently published a paper in the World Journal of Nuclear Medicine titled “Use of radioguided surgery in abdominal wall endometriosis: An innovative approach.” The publication focused on a…
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Should I Have Surgery Before Trying to Conceive?
By Özge Özkaya
The presence of rectouterine nodules is associated with a lower chance of becoming pregnant with in vitro fertilization (IVF), according to a study published in the Journal of Gynecology Obstetrics and Human Reproduction. This finding is important as it can…
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The vaginal delivery rate of singleton term pregnancies still remains the same after total deep infiltrating endometrosis excisions
By Selma Oransay
This recently published report in the Journal of Fertility Sterility is planned as a matched case-control study, by Nirgianakanis et al. from the University of Bern, Switzerland. Authors claimed their study is the first because previous studies on pregnancy outcome after laparoscopic…
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Prior endometriosis surgery and the risk of pregnancy complications
By Irem Onur
Koninckx et al. discussed the association of pregnancy complications with endometriosis and endometriosis surgery in their recently published paper in the journal Fertility and Sterility. They especially mentioned about the retrospective study of Nirgianakis et al. published in the same…
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Women recommended laparoscopy for chronic pelvic pain
By Irem Onur
Chronic pelvic pain is a diagnostic and therapeutic dilemma. It has many etiologies in many organ systems. Clinician and patient factors affect the management of chronic pelvic pain. Mirowska-Allen K.L. et al. have recently published an article titled, “The characteristics of…
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Vitamin C supplementation in the patients with endometriosis undergoing in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is defined as the localization of endometrial stromal and glandular cells outside the uterine cavity. Women having endometriosis present with dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, chronic pelvic pain, and infertility. Thus, infertility remains a significant problem for women with endometriosis. Endometriosis is…
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Questionnaire based evaluation of sexual life after laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis
By Deniz Kocas
Researchers from Denmark note that laparoscopic surgery is being increasingly used for the treatment of endometriosis due to its safety and effectiveness. However, treatment success is often evaluated through follow-up on the experience of pain, leaving other important aspects of…
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Complementary treatments for endometriosis symptoms: acupuncture, exercise, electrotherapy, or yoga?
By Yu Yu
Endometriosis is associated with debilitating symptoms in some women including dysmenorrhea, chronic pelvic pain, deep dyspareunia, dyschezia, and dysuria. There are a few therapeutic options to treat these symptoms; however, only a few studies have considered treating the pain symptoms…
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Coumarin based compounds found to inhibit the estradiol synthesis pathway
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is a disease characterized by ectopic endometrial tissue outside the endometrium. Several biochemical and molecular pathways have been researched and used to alleviate endometriosis symptoms by inhibiting key molecules involved in the menstrual cycle. This review paper by Niinivehmas…
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The diagnostic value of “sliding sign” and direct visualization of the bowel in rectal/rectosigmoid deep endometriosis
By Hale Goksever Celik
Deep endometriosis is the presence of endometrial subperitoneal implants of ≥5 mm localized in the rectum/rectosigmoid bowel, uterosacral ligaments, rectovaginal septum, vagina and/or bladder. The most common diagnostic screening methods are the transvaginal ultrasound (TVS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)…
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Is there a new hope for the prevention of endometriotic invasions?
By Selma Oransay
This research which recently published in Biomed Research International is performed by Xiaomei et al. from Obst/Gyn, Pathology and Genetic departments of three hospitals in Changsha, CHINA. The authors planned a prospective and controlled biochemical study to specify the role…
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Fluorescence Guided Surgery: a New Technique to Treat Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis
By Özge Özkaya
Fluorescence-guided surgery could help differentiate recto-vaginal deep infiltrating endometriosis nodules (RVDIEN) from healthy rectal tissue and remove them successfully without perforating the rectum, according to a study published in the scientific journal Surgical Innovation. The method could offer a better,…
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The role of peritoneal washings in the diagnosis of endometriosis
By Irem Onur
Endometriosis is a common entity seen in the gynecologic tract and pelvic surfaces. It may be frequently asymptomatic and/or undiagnosed at the time of gynecologic surgery. Pathologists diagnose endometriosis based on the presence of at least two of the following elements: endometrial glands,…
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“Free butterflies will come out of these deep wounds”: A grounded theory of how endometriosis affects women’s psychological health
By Deniz Kocas
Researchers from the Catholic University of Milan and the University of Milan note in Journal of Health Psychology that although qualitative research describes the negative impact of endometriosis on quality of life and psychological well-being, studies that analyze individual differences…
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How to improve the current ASRM classification of endometriosis?
By Selma Oransay
In this article which recently published in Best Practice&Research Clinical Obst&Gyn. from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Andres et al. penned a review of the classification of endometriosis in chronological order, and discussed the limitations of existing classification systems to…
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CARD10 and CARD11 Mutations: Another Piece of the Puzzle
By Kasthuri Nair
Zou et al., a research group from China, recently published a study titled “Analysis of CARD10 and CARD11 somatic mutations in patients with ovarian endometriosis” in Oncology Letters. The paper looked at the effects of caspase recruitment domain family member…
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Oxidative Stress and Endometriosis
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is a disease characterized by ectopic endometrial tissue outside the endometrium and is associated with a background of a chronic inflammation. Recent studies have aimed to elucidate the inflammatory mediators involved in endometriotic lesions by studying immune cell interactions,…
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3,6-DHF suppresses the invasive properties of endometrial stromal cells through the Notch signaling
By Dr. Youngran Park
Dr. Zhou group reported recently that 3,6-DHF can inhibit the development of EMT, migration, and invasion of endometrial stromal cells by inhibiting the Notch signaling pathway. Endometriosis is a condition in which the layer of tissue (glands and mesenchyme) that normally…
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Impact of coping strategies on quality of life of adolescents and young women with endometriosis.
By Deniz Kocas
González-Echevarría et al. report in J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol. that symptoms caused by endometriosis have been found to be associated with negative quality of life (QoL) in women with endometriosis and the type of coping strategies adopted by patients have been shown…
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Can we predict the complexity of laparoscopic surgery by ultrasound?
By Selma Oransay
This is a multicentric, retrospective cohort study recently published in the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology by Tompsett et al. in which the results of the transvaginal ultrasonographic examinations (TVS) are compared to the results of the laparoscopic operations performed…
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Health-related quality of life in women with Endometriosis and Rheumatoid Arthritis
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease that is defined by the presence of ectopic endometrial tissue outside of the uterus. Unfortunately, endometriosis continues to be a leading cause of chronic pelvic pain and long-term morbidity in women of reproductive age.…
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Thoracic Endometriosis Syndrome (TES): Diagnosis by cytology of pleural effusion
By Engin Aydin
Parikshaa Gupta and colleagues from Chandigarh, India report a case of thoracic endometriosis diagnosed primarily by pleural fluid cytology in a most recent article at Cytopathology. A 33-year-old female presented with a long history of recurrent bouts of chest pain…
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Endometriosis Development: Pathogenesis and genomics
By Selma Oransay
In this review recently published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Baranow et al from Saint Petersburg, Russia, hypothesize the existence of an endometriosis development genetic program (EMDP) that governs the origin of endometrium stem cells programmed for endometriosis; their transition…
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The association between endometriosis, adenomyosis and preterm delivery
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis and adenomyosis are diseases of the same spectrum which have common features and coexist in some but not all patients. Both diseases are characterized by endometrial implants outside of the uterine cavity. Endometriosis is defined as the localization of…
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Polymorphism of IL12B May Help Solve Endometriosis
By Kasthuri Nair
Zhao et al. recently published a paper titled “A functional promoter polymorphism in interleukin 12B gene is associated with an increased risk of ovarian endometriosis” in Gene. The research group from Hebei Medical University wanted to explore the potential roles…
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A Doctor's Guide to Making Endometriosis Less Scary
By Kasthuri Nair
Canis, Bourdel, and Chauvet, doctors from CHU Estaing, recently published an article titled “Endometriosis: frightening the patients is not an acceptable alternative to inadequate surgical management and or pathophysiology ignorance” in Fertility and Sterility. Their paper delineated proper health practices…
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Personalised Medicine for Endometriosis?
By Özge Özkaya
The lining of the uterus of women with endometriosis is different from that of women without the disease even if they have chronic pelvic pain found a study published in the scientific journal Biology of Reproduction. The difference is found…
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Is there a definitive guideline for the surgical management of endometriosis?
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease that is defined by the presence of ectopic endometrial tissue outside of the uterus. Unfortunately, endometriosis continues to be a leading cause of chronic pelvic pain in women of reproductive age. This article titled,…
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Predictors of psychological distress
By Deniz Kocas
Studies have now established that endometriosis can negatively impact mental health and quality of life, however, some studies show that not all women with endometriosis are necessarily more distressed than healthy women. This suggests that individual differences may explain women’s’…
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Key to Understanding Ovarian Endometriosis may lay in the Peptides
By Kasthuri Nair
Xue et al. recently published a paper titled “Peptidomic Analysis of Endometrial Tissue from Patients with Ovarian Endometriosis” in Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry. The research group from various departments of Nanjing Medical University wished to better understand the pathogenesis of…
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How do adolescent girls and boys perceive symptoms suggestive of endometriosis among their peers?
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis, a chronic condition characterized by cells similar to the uterine lining that exist outside of the uterus, is estimated to impact 10% of women of reproductive age. In the USA, that approximates to some 7.4 million women. Endometriosis has…
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Inflammatory molecules promote the migration and invasion of endometriosis cells
By Yu Yu
Increasing scientific evidence has shown that the immune and inflammatory mechanisms play a central role in the progression of endometriosis by allowing a permissive environment that allows migration, adhesion, proliferation, and invasion of endometrial cells in ectopic regions of the…
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What is being done to help surgeons detect endometriosis during laparoscopy
By Murat Osman
The gold standard for the diagnosis of endometriosis is diagnostic laparoscopy and histologic confirmation. During laparoscopy, visualization of as many lesions as possible may hold better long-term clinical outcomes. Peritoneal endometriosis is difficult to diagnose intraoperatively due to the heterogeneity…
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Effectiveness of the Endometriosis Symptom Diary
By Kasthuri Nair
Seitz et al., a research group from Bayer AG and the University of Giessen, recently published an article titled “Patterns of missing data in the use of the endometriosis symptom diary” in BMC Women's Health. The authors were analyzing data…
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Fallopian Tube Capability in Women with Pelvic Endometriosis and Adenomyosis
By Kasthuri Nair
Xia et al. recently published a paper titled “Effects of pelvic endometriosis and adenomyosis on the ciliary beat frequency and muscular contractions in the human fallopian tube” in Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology. This research group primarily from Shanghai Jiaotong University…
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The comparison of Chinese women in terms of risk factors, genetics and treatment of endometriosis
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is characterized by endometrial implants outside of the uterine cavity. There is a wide spectrum of symptoms of this disease including dysmenorrhea, chronic pelvic pain, dyspareunia, extragenital symptoms. The pathogenesis of endometriosis appears to be multifactorial, including ectopic endometrial…
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Link Between Type of Endometriosis and Cancer
By Özge Özkaya
The type of endometriosis a woman has could determine her risk of gynecologic cancer, according to a study published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology. This is important because it means that those women who are at a higher risk…
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Elevated levels of adrenomedullin in eutopic endometrium and plasma from women with endometriosis.
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is a common gynecologic disease characterized by the presence of endometrial tissue outside of the eutopic endometrium, commonly in the peritoneum of the pelvis and in pelvic organs, and often causing scarring and pain. The nonspecific nature of endometriosis…
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Pain cognition and pain intensity are negatively associated with health-related quality of life
By Deniz Kocas
Pain is a personal experience and is different for every individual. Catastrophizing, fear of pain, and hypervigilance to pain are important factors that contribute to pain perception. These factors are described as pain cognition and refer to the negative appraisal…
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New Target for Endometriosis Treatment?
By Özge Özkaya
NR4A1 could be a novel target for the treatment of endometriosis, according to a study published in the scientific journal Cell Physiology and Biochemistry. NR4A1 is a receptor protein involved in cell division, inflammation, and programmed cell death. The development…
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A prospective cohort study examining meat and fish consumption and endometriosis risk.
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is a benign, estrogen-dependent, gynecologic condition with a prevalence of ~10% in women of reproductive age. There has been an increased interest in the identification of modifiable risk factors for endometriosis including diet. Diet may influence endometriosis risk through…
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Contraceptives for the management of endometriosis pain
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is a common gynecologic disease that affects many women of reproductive age and is associated with significant morbidity. One of the treatment options for women with endometriosis is the use of oral contraceptives (OCPs) for pain management. However, its…
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Ambiguous experience: Destructive or Constructive
By Deniz Kocas
A diagnostic delay of 4-12 years is reported among women with endometriosis, which is explained by the lack of awareness of endometriosis as a medical condition among patients and healthcare professionals. In searching for a diagnosis, patients encounter many healthcare…
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Endometriosis in a Man as a Rare Source of Abdominal Pain
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis occurs when a tissue resembling endometrial glands and stroma grows in ectopic sites, commonly causing infertility and pain. Endometriosis has largely been found in women of reproductive age. However, in extremely rare cases, it is also found in men…
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Patient-centered endometriosis care
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is defined as endometrial glands and stroma that exist outside the uterine cavity. Ectopic endometrial tissue and resultant inflammation can cause dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, chronic pain, and infertility, all of which reduce the quality of life. The aim of the…
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A clearer picture of "endometriosis after menopause"
By Irem Onur
Delfin Avendano Tan and Marie Josephine Guanlao Almeria are obstetrician-gynecologists from the Philippines. They recently published a review article titled "Postmenopausal endometriosis: drawing a clearer picture". In this paper, the authors discussed the pathogenesis, risk factors, and management of postmenopausal…
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How Artificial Intelligence Can Improve Our Understanding of the Genes Associated with Endometriosis.
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is a disease characterized by the development of endometrial tissue outside the uterus. A number of studies have shown that endometriosis could have a genetic basis and numerous genes have been studied and proposed to help explain its pathogenesis.…
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Psychosocial impact of endometriosis
By Deniz Kocas
In this review article, researchers from Switzerland report a review to outline the consequences of endometriosis on the psychological, sexual, and interpersonal functioning of both patients and their partners, in the journal Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology.…
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Therapeutic strategies involving uterine stem cells in reproductive medicine
By Murat Osman
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that often serve to regenerate tissue in states of injury or apoptosis. The endometrium has progenitor cells that replace tissue lost after each menstrual cycle. It has been postulated that excessive stem cell recruitment to…
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Abnormal Regulation of Pathways Seen in Endometriosis
By Kasthuri Nair
Sikora et al., a team from the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, published a study in the Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics titled “The role of complement components C1q, MBL and C1 inhibitor in the pathogenesis of endometriosis.” It has been said that complement system…
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Stenoses in the colorectal anastomose sites after DIE surgery
By Hale Goksever Celik
Deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) is a particular form of endometriosis that penetrates at least 5 mm under the peritoneal surface. DIE is primarily located in the rectosigmoid junction and the rectum with an incidence of 70% and 90%, respectively. The…
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A Way to Better Diagnose Colorectal Endometriosis
By Özge Özkaya
Combining magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with computed tomography-based virtual colonoscopy (CTC) can make the assessment of colorectal endometriosis more accurate. This is important because it can help doctors plan the surgery better and inform their patients. In order to evaluate…
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Non-coding RNAs in endometriosis
By Dr. Youngran Park
The pathophysiological mechanisms causing the development of endometriosis, which is a heterogeneous disease remain enigmatic, and a lack of effective biomarkers necessitates surgical intervention for diagnosis. Non-coding RNA (ncRNA) molecules, which are important regulators of cellular function, have been implicated…
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Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis Impairs Sexual Function
By Kasthuri Nair
Lima et al., a group of scientists from Hospital do Servidor Público Estadual in Brazil, recently published an article entitled “Female Sexual Function in Women with Suspected Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis” in Revista Brasileira De Ginecologia E Obstetricia. The paper analyzed…
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Emerging medical treatments for endometriosis
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is a disease whereby uterine tissue grows outside the walls of the uterus to the surfaces of other tissues in the body. It is a chronic disease and relies upon estrogen to grow and survive. Current medical therapies take…
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Is the Endometriosis Fertility Index Reliable?
By Kasthuri Nair
Zhang et al. recently published a paper titled “Prediction of Endometriosis Fertility Index in patients with endometriosis-associated infertility after laparoscopic treatment” in Reproductive BioMedicine Online. The research group from the West China Second University Hospital in Sichuan University wanted to…
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Could Endometriosis Be Caused by Bacteria?
By Özge Özkaya
A new concept called the bacterial contamination hypothesis in endometriosis has been proposed for the first time by researchers in Japan. This means that new potential therapies approaches could exist for this condition in addition to the conventional estrogen-suppressing therapies.…
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Exosomal miR-214 from endometrial stromal cells inhibits endometriosis fibrosis.
By Dr. Youngran Park
Fibrosis is an important pathological feature of endometriosis. Novel therapies targeting the mechanisms of fibrosis in endometriosis are indispensable for the development of strategies to prevent and treat endometriosis. Previous microarray studies have detected some miRNAs that are aberrantly expressed…
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Extending the Female Fertility Clock
By Kasthuri Nair
Varela, Sanchez-de-Puerta, and Garcia-Velasco are a group of scientists from various institutions in Spain and they recently published a review article titled “Fertility, IVF and reproductive genetics” in Current Opinion in Obstetrics and Gynecology. In this publication, the authors discussed…
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Thoracic Endometriosis Syndrome : A case report describing endometriosis involvement of the lung
By Murat Osman
Leonardo-Pinto and authors from the Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brazil, have recently published a case report titled, "Hemoptysis and Endometriosis: An Unusual Association - Case Report and Review of the Literature" in the Journal, Revista Brasileira De Ginecologia E Obstetricia describing a…
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Endometriosis surgery and preservation of fertility, what surgeons should know
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis can involve most of the pelvic organs including the uterus, ovaries and fallopian tubes and thus has the potential to cause infertility. This article titled, “Endometriosis surgery and preservation of fertility, what surgeons should know” written by H. Roman…
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The use of retinoic acid for the treatment of endometriosis
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is one of the leading causes of chronic pelvic pain in women during their childbearing years. Several drugs have been researched to either reduce inflammation, decrease growth, or kill endometriotic cells. Retinoic acid (Vitamin A) is one such molecule…
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No Link Found Between Vitamin D and Endometriosis
By Kasthuri Nair
Buggio et al., a group of scientists from the Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Universita` degli Studi in Milan, recently published a paper in the Reproductive Sciences titled “25-Hydroxyvitamin D Serum Levels and Endometriosis: Results of a Case-Control Study.” The publication sought…
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Endometriosis From an Epigenetic Lens
By Kasthuri Nair
Samadieh et al. from the Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, recently published an article in Reproductive Sciences titled “Epigenetic Dynamics of HOXA10 Gene in Infertile Women With Endometriosis.” In this paper, the researchers wanted to observe HOXA10 gene expression in…
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Direct shedding of endometrioma contents visualized by ultrasonography
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is one of the leading causes of chronic pelvic pain in women during their childbearing years. Researchers from Italy have recently published a case report in the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology observing the direct shedding of endometriotic…
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Exercise can improve pelvic pain and posture associated with endometriosis
By Yu Yu
Nearly half of women affected by endometriosis have mild to severe chronic pelvic pain (CPP). Clinically, postural changes are frequently seen in CPP sufferers. These postural changes can include uneven positions, shortenings, antalgic postures, and tensions. Moreover, endometriosis is also…
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Treatment of Endometriosis in Adolescents
By Özge Özkaya
Most women with endometriosis who have been treated with Lupron plus add back as adolescents felt the treatment was effective in reducing the pain caused by the condition, according to a study published in the Journal of Pediatric & Adolescent…
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Picture This: 8K UHD Television System for Endometriosis Surgery
By Kasthuri Nair
This case report by Aoki et al. was published in the journal "Videosurgery and Other Miniinvasive Techniques" under the title “Effect of an 8K ultra-high-definition television system in a case of laparoscopic gynecologic surgery.” In this publication, the authors delineated…
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Using the "Mushroom Cap" sign to describe endometriotic masses
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is a disease whereby ectopic endometrial cells attach and grow outside of the uterus. A number of imaging techniques have been used to evaluate and assess endometriotic lesions. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a type of imaging modality used…
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Endocrine and inflammatory factors in current understanding of endometriosis
By Yu Yu
There are three forms of endometriosis: peritoneal, ovarian, and deep infiltrating. All three forms consist of endometriotic lesions containing endometrial glands, stroma, nerves, blood vessels, and inflammatory cells. Endometriosis symptoms can be accounted by these elements and the involving organs.…
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Endometrial stem cells and Endometriosis
By Dr. Youngran Park
Human endometrium is a cyclically proliferative tissue, and this monthly regeneration is likely mediated by endometrial stem (or progenitor) cells.The upper functional layer of the endometrium breaks down and is shed into the uterine cavity during menstruation. Re-epithelialization and repair…
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Independent development of endometrial epithelium and stroma within the same endometriosis
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is one of the leading causes of chronic pelvic pain in women during their childbearing years. A popular theory for the pathogenesis of endometriosis posits that circulating progenitor cells differentiate into the endometrial stroma and glandular tissue once they…
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The use of histone deacetylase inhibitors for the treatment of endometriosis
By Murat Osman
Histone deacetylase inhibitors prevent the deacetylation of specific gene sequences thereby allowing the increased transcription of certain genes. Trichostatin A, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, has been seen to induce the expression of a pro-apoptotic gene called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug-activated gene…
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Enhanced UGT1A1 Gene and Protein Expression in Endometriotic Lesions.
By Dr. Youngran Park
The estrogen plays an essential role in endometriosis. Lately, it is becoming evident that, besides the circulating levels of estrogens, the balance of synthesis versus inactivation (metabolism) of estrogens by intralesional steroid-metabolizing enzymes also determines the local net estrogen availability.…
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Recurrence of Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis
By Yu Yu
There are mainly three types of endometriotic lesions. These are ovarian endometriosis, superficial peritoneal endometriosis, and deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE). The latter is often described as a lesion with greater than 5 mm invasion of the peritoneal surface. DIE lesions…
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Does Endometriosis Cause Infertility?
By Özge Özkaya
Infertility may be related to the localization of endometriosis involvement according to a study published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. This finding is in agreement with the results of previous studies and could help clinicians in their decision…
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Collaboration Between the Surgical and Medical Experts of Endometriosis Needed
By Murat Osman
The authors of this perspective article aim to initiate a dialogue regarding the current evidence regarding the surgical and medical treatment of endometriosis. In their view, the quality of data regarding the outcomes of surgery for endometriosis is lacking and…
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Interleukin 6 secretion from activated macrophages promotes the migration of endometriotic epithelial cells
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease. Accumulating evidence suggests that endometriosis patients have a higher level of various inflammatory factors which are associated with the pathogenesis of the disease. Several studies have shown marked increases in macrophage populations and activity…
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Ectopic Pregnancy Risk Factors
By Kasthuri Nair
Jacob, Kalder, and Kostev recently published an article titled “Risk factors for ectopic pregnancy in Germany: a retrospective study of 100,197 patients” in German Medical Science. The retrospective German study hoped to elucidate the risk factors for ectopic pregnancies. The…
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Inflammatory mediators in endometriosis pathogenesis
By Yu Yu
Proinflammatory cytokines play an important function in mediating inflammatory reactions in chronic inflammatory diseases and in endometriosis. IL-32 is a new proinflammatory cytokine, and can also induce other proinflammatory cytokines in the body such as Tumour Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α) and…
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The endometrial stem cell markers notch-1 and numb are associated with endometriosis.
By Dr. Youngran Park
The pathological mechanisms of endometriosis are still poorly understood. However, stem cells have been candidates of interest because of their high proliferation potential and their ability to differentiate into multiple lineages, contributing to characteristic traits of endometriosis. Also, previous studies…
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Endometriosis and its pro-fibrotic nature.
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is currently defined as the presence of endometrial epithelial and stromal cells at ectopic sites. However, with advances in disease knowledge, several vital issues challenge this old definition. Especially, endometrial stromal and glands have been shown to represent only…
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The effects of MK2206 and chloroquine combination therapy on endometriosis.
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis affects approximately 10% of women of reproductive age. A high recurrence rate after medical treatment with or without surgery is a significant clinical problem for patients with endometriosis. Establishment of a complete cure for patients with endometriosis awaits new…
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Can Getting Pregnant Make my Pain Go Away?
By Özge Özkaya
The association between pregnancy and symptoms of endometriosis are controversial and strongly biased, and there is no evidence suggesting that pregnancy reduces the size and number of endometriotic lesions, according to a study published in the journal Human Reproduction Update.…
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Inhibition of Histone methyltransferase for fighting endometriosis
By Dr. Youngran Park
Although the histone methyltransferase EZH2 and its product H3K27me3 are well studied in cancer, little is known about their role and potential as therapeutic targets in endometriosis. It has been previously reported that the endometriotic lesions are characterized by global…
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Novel lipid biomarkers may make early detection of endometriosis possible
By Murat Osman
Currently, specific clinical diagnostic indicators for the early detection of endometriosis have not been found with enough specificity and sensitivity for widespread use. Novel diagnostic biomarkers are needed that are both effective and non-invasive to detect endometriosis as early as…
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"N-myc Downstream-Regulated Gene 1" and Endometriosis.
By Dr. Youngran Park
NDRG1 is implicated in many different cellular functions such as differentiation, proliferation, migration, invasion, and vascularization. In endometriosis, NDRG1 is identified as an inhibitor of several important pathways. To focus on the potential function of NDRG1 in endometriosis, Lou et…
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Which cell defines endometriosis?
By Murat Osman
A well-accepted theory regarding the pathogenesis of endometriosis hypothesizes that the origin of endometriosis is from peritoneal dissemination of endometrial cells and stroma during the neonatal period or menarche. Varying cellular components of endometriosis have been observed in the setting…
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Skin Endo Diagnosis
By Özge Özkaya
High-frequency ultrasound can be very useful for the early diagnosis of cutaneous endometriosis according to a study published in the journal Skin Research and Technology. The diagnostic tool could be used in patients who have unusual cyclical pain even before…
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Therapeutic Roles of Statins in Gynecology and Obstetrics.
By Dr. Youngran Park
Statins are a class of drugs, which act by inhibiting the rate-limiting enzyme of cholesterol biosynthesis, which reduces lipid production. Therefore, statin has been used for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and coronary artery disease. This study published in Reproductive Sciences performed…
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A new hypothesis for the origin of endometriosis-associated ovarian cancers
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis has been associated with an increased risk in the development of the clear cell, endometrioid, and low-grade serous tumors. Thus, progression to these forms of type I tumors is associated with endometriosis precursor lesions that are atypical. The transition…
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Are there any risk factor associated with the progression of endometriosis to ovarian cancer?
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is a disease whereby endometrial glands proliferate outside of the endometrial lining. Apart from causing significant morbidity, It has been found that endometriosis is associated with an increased risk of progression to endometroid and clear cell ovarian cancer. However,…
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Is the presence of endometriosis associated with a survival benefit in pure ovarian clear cell carcinoma?
By Dr. Youngran Park
Ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC) has been known to be associated with endometriosis for a long time. However, the impact of the presence of endometriosis around the tumor on the prognoses of women with OCCC is still controversial. To shed…
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When Endometriosis Becomes Malignant
By Kasthuri Nair
Anglesio and Yong recently wrote a review titled “Endometriosis-associated Ovarian Cancers” that was published in Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology. This review explored the relationship between endometriosis and ovarian cancers. It is important to note that this review is a compilation of…
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Women with Endometriosis Should Not Worry About Ovarian Cancer
By Kasthuri Nair
Kvaskoff, Horne and Missmer recently published an article in The Lancet titled “Informing women with endometriosis about ovarian cancer risk.” This article was written to address the growing concern surrounding the information that women suffering from endometriosis are at increased…
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Intestinal Endometriosis and Colorectal Cancer versus T4 Colorectal Cancer
By Kasthuri Nair
Ishii et al. recently published a paper titled “Intestinal endometriosis combined with colorectal cancer: a case series” in the Journal of Medical Case Reports. This case report follows 7 Japanese women who have intestinal endometriosis and colorectal cancer. These women…
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EFA Medical Conference 2017: "Ovarian Cancer" Presentation by Dr. Jeannine Villella
By Kasthuri Nair
Dr. Jeannine Villella, the Chair of Gynecologic Oncology in the Department of OBGYN at Lenox Hill, presented at the 2017 EFA Medical Conference. Her presentation was titled “Ovarian Cancer, ” and she discussed the similarities, differences, and links between ovarian…
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Diagnostic and treatment guidelines for gastrointestinal and genitourinary endometriosis.
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis may affect the pelvic reproductive system, but it can also be found in non-reproductive organs such as the gastrointestinal and urinary tract. The article outlined below discusses the diagnosis and management of genitourinary and gastrointestinal endometriosis. Gastrointestinal endometriosis: The…
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Atypical Sites of Deeply Infiltrative Endometriosis
By Yu Yu
Endometriosis is the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity and is characterizes by fibrosis and inflammatory reaction. The pelvic cavity is the most common location for endometriotic lesions, which involves the retro-cervical space, ovaries, vagina, rectosigmoid colon, bladder…
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Epigenetic regulation of the pathological process in endometriosis.
By Dr. Youngran Park
Epigenetic mechanisms have been recognized as important players in the development of a broad range of human diseases including endometriosis. A growing body of evidence shows that the remodeling of retrograde endometrial tissues to the ectopic endometriotic lesions involves multiple epigenetic…
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How to Improve the Psycho-Social Well Being in Endometriosis Patients?
By Kasthuri Nair
Endometriosis and its various symptoms can negatively impact an individual’s psycho-social wellbeing. Additionally, current endometriosis treatments do not adequately alleviate the symptoms and improve a patient’s health-related quality of life (HRQOL). In their article titled “The association between experiences with…
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Laparoscopic Bowel Resection Can Be Beneficial Rectosigmoid Endometriosis
By Kasthuri Nair
Riiskjær et al. recently published a paper titled “Pelvic Pain and Quality of Life Before and After Laparoscopic Bowel Resection for Rectosigmoid Endometriosis: A Prospective, Observational Study” in Diseases of the Colon & Rectum. This paper focuses on the effects…
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The Use of Resveratrol as an Adjuvant Treatment of Pain in Endometriosis
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is considered a predominantly estrogen-dependent disease, and therefore hormonal suppression might be an attractive medical approach to treat this disease and its symptoms. Resveratrol is a natural phytoestrogen synthesized by plants and has known to have side effects such…
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MRI Best at Detecting Intestinal Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis
By Özge Özkaya
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) seems to be a better method in identifying deep infiltrating endometriosis in the intestine compared to two-dimensional ultrasonography (2DUS), found a study by researchers in Italy and Spain. However, this does not seem to be the…
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The Deregulated Molecular Functions Involved in Malignant Transformation of Endometriosis to Endometriosis-Associated Ovarian Carcinoma
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer (EAOC) is postulated to be transformed from endometriosis. Though different deregulated functional areas were proposed accounting for the pathogenesis of EAOC transformation, there is a lack of data-driven analysis to prove this. To understand the EAOC pathogenesis…
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Does asthma increase the risk of endometriosis?
By Demet Candaş Green
Previous studies have shown an association between asthma and endometriosis but with inconsistency. It is still unclear whether women who have asthma are at a higher risk of endometriosis than women without asthma symptoms. Peng et al., conducted a large…
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Estrogen receptor splice variants may be associated with endometriosis pathogenesis and clinical severity.
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is defined as the presence of uterine stroma and glands outside of the uterine cavity and is one of the leading causes of chronic pelvic pain in women. Thus, understanding key genetic markers of this disease and evaluating those…
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How good are the current guidelines on endometriosis?
By Dr. Youngran Park
The endometriosis was first described in 1860, yet the etiology and pathogenesis remain poorly understood. Treatment strategies vary significantly between disease severity and the symptoms of pain and/or subfertility. These challenges have resulted in multidirectional research, and the comparability of…
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Centralization of Pelvic Endometriosis Care
By Kasthuri Nair
Dr. Patrick Chien, the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of BJOG, recently wrote an article titled “Pelvic endometriosis: will centralization of services improve patient care?” In this article, Dr. Chien formulated an opinion on the centralization of pelvic endometriosis care based on the…
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Autophagy in endometriosis
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is a common gynecologic disease affecting both fertile (5-10%) and infertile (20-50%) women, and it commonly causes chronic pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea, and infertility. Recent research found that the autophagy exerts a pro-apoptotic effect on normal human endometrial cells and…
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The Heritability of Endometriosis
By Kasthuri Nair
The mechanisms underlying endometriosis, genetic or otherwise, have yet to be understood. Thus, very little is known about how one can be afflicted with this disease. Isidor et al. recently published a paper titled “Familial deep endometriosis: A rare monogenic…
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Diagnosis and management of adolescent endometriosis
By Murat Osman
Early onset endometriosis (EOE) is characterized by endometriosis that begins around menarche or early adolescence. Recent evidence suggests that this form of endometriosis may have a different pathogenic origin than that of adult-onset endometriosis. This opinion article suggests that early…
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Detection and diagnosis of deep endometriosis in the clinical setting
By Murat Osman
This review aims to evaluate the contribution of imaging techniques including transvaginal sonography (TVS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to the diagnosis of deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE). Endometriosis is defined by the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterus and…
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Bowel Function not Affected by Type of Surgery in Deep Rectal Endometriosis, Clinical Trial Shows
By Özge Özkaya
Conservative surgery for the management of deep rectal endometriosis does not seem to improve the function of the digestive and urinary system compared to more radical surgery according to a new study by French researchers published in the scientific journal Human…
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Ectoenzymes as endometriosis biomarkers
By Yu Yu
The diagnosis of endometriosis is often delayed by 7 to 11 years because of the lack of a non-invasive diagnostic test. The ovarian endometriomas occur in about 17%-44% of women with endometriosis and cysts which contain endometrial tissue and fluid…
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Hormonal Contraceptives and the Risk of Breast Cancer
By Kasthuri Nair
A study titled “Contemporary Hormonal Contraception and the Risk of Breast Cancer” was recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine and was immediately picked up and summarized by many well-known newspapers and broadcasting journals, including but not limited…
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By Laura ArdighieriEffects of osteopathic manipulative therapy in patients with colorectal endometriosis
By Laura Ardighieri
Alternative treatments have been used for colorectal endometriosis, between them Chinese medicine, acupuncture and more recently osteopathic manipulative therapy. The osteopathic manipulative therapy has been shown to reduce the chronic pain working on muscular contractions due to vicious analgesic positions.…
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Short-term effects of dienogest on ovarian endometriomas
By Murat Osman
First-line treatment of symptomatic, uncomplicated ovarian endometriosis is the use of progestins with or without estrogens such as Dienogest (DNG). These drugs are used to inhibit ovulation and thus reduce the estrogenic environment in which endometriosis relies upon for survival.…
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How Could Doctors Reduce Risk of Complications Following Rectal Endometriosis Surgery?
By Özge Özkaya
Introducing a temporary opening, known as a stoma, in the abdomen of patients that are operated for rectal endometriosis to collect waste products could reduce the risk of complications such as anastomotic leakage. This is according to a study by…
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Endometriosis pathogenesis through the lens of reactive oxygen species
By Yu Yu
Oxidative stress caused by reactive oxygen species is an essential factor in endometriosis pathogenesis. The harmful effects of reactive oxygen species have been implicated in many diseases, although the multiple biological changes caused is unclear especially in endometriosis. The article…
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Quality of Life in Women with Endometriosis
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is a chronic disease characterized by the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity. Progression and spread of the disease to other structures may lead to symptoms such as pelvic pain, urinary, and GI dysfunction. Endometriosis has been…
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How to identify an Expert Centers for Colorectal Endometriosis Surgery
By Özge Özkaya
It is of paramount importance to determine set criteria to define expert centers for colorectal endometriosis surgery, according to a research article published in the scientific journal Surgical Endoscopy. As the hospital and surgeon case volume has a significant impact…
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Investigational Medical Therapies for Endometriosis: Current Data and Future Trends.
By Dr. Youngran Park
The medical treatment of endometriosis has traditionally relied on hormonal therapies. Because these hormonal therapies preclude fertility or may have unwanted side effects, there is a great need for novel hormonal and non-hormonal medical options. Therefore, this review focuses on…
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Endometriosis early pointers
By Yu Yu
Endometriosis can take a long time to diagnose, thus associated with prolonged symptoms of pain, subfertility and patient frustration/demoralization. It can be difficult to diagnose clinically because the symptoms are common and non-specific so that GP can misconceive them as…
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Surgical treatment is an excellent option for women with endometriosis and infertility.
By Murat Osman
Women with endometriosis most often have difficulty becoming pregnant and thus require a combination of endometriosis treatment and infertility techniques to achieve pregnancy. Depending on the severity of endometriotic symptoms, women may or may not need surgical excision of endometriosis…
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Autophagy in endometriosis: Friend or foe?
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is a chronic, estrogen-dependent disease and affects an estimated 10% of the female population of reproductive age. Unfortunately, the etiology of endometriosis is not clear. Recently emerging evidence shows that there is a close relationship between endometriosis and autophagy.…
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Treatment of minimal endometriosis in infertile women
By Demet Candaş Green
For women with mild/minimal endometriosis, European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) recommends the removal of endometriotic lesions to improve fertility and increase pregnancy rates. For women undergoing assisted reproductive treatment, there is ongoing debate whether surgical removal of…
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Endometriosis and Oxidative Stress
By Dr. Youngran Park
The etiology of endometriosis is still unclear. However, it is now widely accepted that oxidative stress, defined as an imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidants, may be implicated in the pathophysiology of endometriosis causing a general inflammatory response…
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EFA Medical Conference 2017: "The Environmental Risks of Breast Cancer" Presentation by Dr. Marisa Weiss
By Kasthuri Nair
The second speaker in the subsection of the conference titled “Estrogen from Inflammation to Cancer: A Distant Link?” was Dr. Marisa Weiss and she gave a presentation titled “The Environmental Risks of Breast Cancer: Common Ground with Endometriosis.” Dr. Weiss…
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Effects of acupuncture for the treatment of endometriosis-related pain
By Murat Osman
Acupuncture has been seen to offer chronic pain relief most likely due to multiple effects including analgesia and anti-inflammatory changes. Current therapy for endometriosis includes pharmacological and surgical methods. Symptom relief using other supplementary therapies such as acupuncture has been…
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Women with Mild Endometriosis May Have a Higher Risk of Miscarriage
By Özge Özkaya
Mild endometriosis presents an increased risk of miscarriage according to a new study published in the scientific journal Fertility and Sterility. Researchers think that this may be because superficial lesions are associated with a greater extent of the inflammatory disorder, which may lead…
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The role of the B lymphocytes in endometriosis: A systematic review
By Murat Osman
Insight into the role of an inflammatory response in endometriosis has sparked further study into the role of different immune cells and their causal relationship to the pathogenesis of endometriosis. Several recent studies have found an association between aberrant immune…
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Highlights from the Endometriosis Foundation of America Medical Conference
By Özge Özkaya
The Endometriosis Foundation of America (EFA)’s 2017 Medical Conference was held in New York City on October 28. The conference titled “Breast, Ovary, and Endometriosis” was attended by more than 100 people and viewed online by more than 5.300. Following…
Lay Summary
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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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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New Scoring System to Identify Bowel Endometriosis Syndrome
By Özge Özkaya
Researchers in Denmark have developed a new scoring system to identify women with bowel endometriosis syndrome (BENS) and monitor the effect of treatments on the syndrome. The scoring system that can be used in everyday clinical practice is the first…
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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?
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
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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Migraine and endometriosis?
By Murat Osman
Many studies have alluded to the relationship between endometriosis and migraines but have often been inconclusive. A migraine is a neurologic disorder in which intense pain, either focal or generalized, occurs with or without associated symptoms such as photophobia, nausea,…
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Ultrasound-guided High-intensity Focused Ultrasound can Treat Abdominal Wall Endometriosis
By Kasthuri Nair
Endometriosis is a painful and complicated disease that can manifest in various ways. One particular way is Abdominal Wall Endometriosis (AWE), which usually arises from surgery. As is true for other types of endometriosis, there has yet to be a…
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Is operation the best option for infertile patients with digestive endometriosis?
By Demet Candaş Green
A severe form of endometriosis affecting 8-12% of women with deep endometriosis is bowel endometriosis. Bowel involvement with associated infertility is a serious challenge for gynecologists who must choose between two main therapeutic options: surgery or medically assisted procreation (e.g.…
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An association of negative coping strategies on the presence of chronic symptoms associated with endometriosis
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is often a long-term condition that becomes disabling and can affect the quality of life and mental health of many women. One area of endometriosis that needs to be focused on is the psychosocial-related issues of endometriosis and how…
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Swimming Against the Stream: Is Surgery Worthwhile in Women with Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis and Pregnancy Intention?
By Murat Osman
Management of Deeply Infiltrating Endometriosis (DIE) is further complicated by the implications of affected patients who plan to become or are pregnant. Optimal management in this situation is not standardized due to a lack of randomized trials comparing primary surgery…
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The Endometriosis Fertility index Could Help Better Predict the Chance of Conceiving After Laparoscopy
By Özge Özkaya
The endometriosis fertility index (EFI) can more reliably predict the chance of a woman getting pregnant following endometriosis surgery compared to the revised-American Society of Reproductive Medicine score, according to a study published in the scientific journal Gynecologic and Obstetric…
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By Vishaan NurseyEndometriosis linked with increased risk of cancer and frequency of future surgical procedures
By Vishaan Nursey
The purpose of this data research was to determine how women with endometriosis might be predisposed to other medical conditions later on in their lives. In order to determine if endometriosis affected health outcomes, a group of Scottish researchers collected…
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Is there any association between menstrual pain and ovarian cancer?
By Yu Yu
Inflammation may be important in ovarian carcinogenesis. Epidemiological studies show that inflammatory conditions such as endometriosis and pelvic inflammatory disease have been associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer, while regular use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs has reduced associated…
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Urocortin 1 as a noninvasive diagnostic marker for endometriosis
By Demet Candaş Green
Urocortin 1 (Ucn1) is a neuropeptide secreted by epithelial cells of the endometrium. It promotes endometrial differentiation to help with embryo implantation. Endometriotic lesions were shown to be rich in Ucn1, suggesting a potential role for Ucn1 in the pathogenesis…
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Zinc and lead levels in blood are altered in endometriosis
By Demet Candaş Green
Trace metals are metals usually present in small but measurable amounts in the body. They are needed by living organisms to function properly and when depleted, can be replenished through diet and environmental exposures. Some common trace metals include iron,…
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The role of gene polymorphisms in the pathogenesis of endometriosis
By Murat Osman
Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are the most common type of genetic variations that exist among individuals. These polymorphisms differ by a single nucleotide base pair and are scattered throughout the human genome. Scientists use SNPs as a biological marker to…
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Fetal Membranes Abnormalities in Pregnant Women with DIE
By Kasthuri Nair
Marcellin, Méhats, and Gogusev formulated a study where they analyzed alterations in the fetal membranes (FM) of women suffering from severe endometriosis. Their paper titled “Histopathological Alterations in Fetal Membranes of Women With Endometriosis” was recently published in the Reproductive…
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Are there contributing factors to the co-presence of Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Endometriosis?
By Murat Osman
Recently, there has been an association between the presence of endometriosis and increased visceral and pressure hypersensitivity, chronic pelvic pain, and other pain and mood disorders. IBS is a functional bowel disorder that is characterized by recurrent abdominal pain or…
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New Approach could help Preoperative Differentiation of Endometriosis and Cancer
By Özge Özkaya
Researchers in Japan identified some radiological parameters that could be used to differentiate between endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer (EAOC) and a particular type of benign ovarian endometriosis (OE), making it easier for doctors to offer the right treatment to women who…
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Exposure to organic pollutants and endometriosis
By Yu Yu
There is increasing evidence suggesting the associations between exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals and gynecological diseases over the last decade. In rodent and primate experimental models, consistent associations have been previously found between exposure to dioxins and the onset of…
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With so many imaging tools and modalities, which one should be used for endometriosis?
By Murat Osman
Intestinal endometriosis affects 5 to 12% of women with endometriosis and commonly presents as dyschezia, rectal bleeding, cyclic defecation pain, constipation, and diarrhea. Currently, surgical treatment includes segmental rectal resection with colorectal anastomosis, but it is often riddled with complications.…
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Symptomatology and Surgical Perspective of Scar Endometriosis
By Laura Ardighieri
Scar endometriosis is a rare condition that occurs as a consequence of iatrogenic implantation of endometrial tissue following cesarean section, vaginal delivery with episiotomy, laparotomy for hysterectomy, tubectomy, ectopic pregnancy surgeries, appendectomy, hernia repair sites; interestingly it can also occur in…
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Characteristics and location of extrapelvic endometriosis
By Demet Candaş Green
The authors of this study reviewed the medical records of 1000 women with endometriosis from two geographical areas, New Haven, US and Crete, Greece over a 20-year period with a goal of identifying the presence and location of extrapelvic endometriosis…
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Endometriosis increases the risk of miscarriage
By Demet Candaş Green
This systematic review was based on four studies in literature and included a total of 31,167 pregnant women with endometriosis. Several studies were previously performed to establish the association between endometriosis and pregnancy loss with contradictory results. This somewhat large…
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Updates in the Field of Endometriosis: Imaging
By Kasthuri Nair
Hoyos, Johnson, and Puscheck wrote a chapter titled “Endometriosis and Imaging” that discusses the imagining technologies that can be used to diagnosis and examine individuals with the disease. This chapter evaluates three types of imagining, namely Ultrasound (US), Magnetic Resonance…
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Comprehensive review on the drug delivery options being used for endometriosis and uterine fibroids.
By Murat Osman
Both endometriosis and uterine fibroids (uterine leiomyomas) contribute to infertility, chronic pain, and dysmenorrhea across the world. Thus, drug delivery methods ranging from contraceptives to biochemical systems based on nanotechnology are currently being used and developed. Specifically, long-acting implantable contraceptives…
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Environmental toxins and endometriosis
By Demet Candaş Green
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are organic chlorine contaminants that were widely used in industry due to their excellent physicochemical properties. However, they were banned in the US and the rest of the world in 1979. PCBs are highly stable and resistant…
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Women with endometriosis are increasingly seeking alternative medical therapies for symptom relief
By Murat Osman
Cyclic premenstrual pain and discomfort (CPPD) encompasses a number of symptoms commonly experienced by many women including premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and is experienced by both women with and without endometriosis. CPPD includes physical and emotional symptoms associated with menstruation including…
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Best Time for IVF Between 7 and 25 Months Post Surgery Study Suggests
By Özge Özkaya
The more severe endometriosis is, the lower the success rate of IVF, according to a new study published in the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology. However, the presence of endometriosis as such does not seem to affect the outcome of…
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Arcyriaflavin A Decreases Endometriosis Cell Viability and Proliferation
By Vishaan Nursey
The purpose of this research topic was to determine whether Arcyriaflavin A could serve as a potential new therapeutic option for those suffering from Endometriosis. Arcyriaflavin A is a Cyclin D1 inhibitor. Cyclin D1 regulates the cell cycle by interacting…
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First-line surgery followed by ART versus ART alone among women with colon-involving endometriosis.
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis, a disease characterized by the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterus, may cause pelvic and gynecologic complications that affect fertility in women of reproductive age. Several forms of endometriosis have been observed that are characterized by the varying…
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Does endometriosis increase skin cancer risk?
By Demet Candaş Green
Two major types of skin cancer are melanoma, which is the least frequent type but with highest metastatic potential; and non-melanoma skin cancers which include basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Several risk factors are identified for skin cancer…
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Severe Dyspareunia is Related with "Cul-de-sac" and "Uterosacral Ligament" Endometriosis
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis and especially deep infiltrating endometriosis has been associated with an increased risk of severe dyspareunia. Studies reporting the anatomical sites associated with deep dyspareunia and the severity of pain, and the risk factors of these anatomic sites are incongruent;…
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Endometriosis and Ovarian Cancer Risk
By Yu Yu
Ovarian cancer prevalence in women with endometriosis is higher than the general population. It is often hypothesized that endometriosis-associated malignancies can occur from ovarian endometrioma. This systematic review by Taniguchi highlighted new insights on the relationship between endometriosis and ovarian…
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Special considerations for the evaluation of Endometriosis on MRI
By Murat Osman
Pelvic endometriosis may involve either superficial peritoneal or ovarian tissues or may spread to the organs and ligaments of the pelvis in what is known as deeply infiltrating endometriosis (DIE). According to the size and location of these lesions, patients…
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Women with Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis Have a Higher Risk of Appendix Involvement
By Özge Özkaya
Women with deep-infiltrating endometriosis, a form of endometriosis that invades the abdominal and pelvic cavity, have an increased risk of developing endometriosis of the appendix. It is therefore important to check women with deep infiltrating endometriosis for appendix involvement during…
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Ovarian Endometriomas vs Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis
By Yu Yu
Ovarian endometrioma (OMA) and deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) have been described as two disease entities, although they are both characterized by endometrial tissue located outside the uterus. As OMA and DIE look different histologically, it is puzzling what cause their…
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By Asli Bahadirli TalbottCA-125 may be useful for the diagnosis of deep infiltrating endometriosis
By Asli Bahadirli Talbott
Marco Aurélio Oliveira et al. conducted a prospective study at outpatient gynecology clinic and Endometriosis Treatment Center in Pedro Ernesto University Hospital (Rio de Janeiro State University) between January 2012 and January 2016 with two groups of patients: deep infiltrating endometriosis…
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By Elisabetta KuhnReevaluating response and failure of medical treatment of endometriosis
By Elisabetta Kuhn
Endometriosis is a chronic disease affecting more than 10% of women in the fertile age and causing "pain" symptoms, that may require medical therapy. Most medical treatments used for endometriosis exert a hormonal mechanism to curtail estrogen effects either locally…
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Bowel Involvement in Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis
By Özge Özkaya
Cleansing the colon before an ultrasound makes it easier to detect rectal nodules of deep infiltrating endometriosis, found a study published in the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology. Cleansing the colon before a surgery is called bowel preparation and is…
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"Kissing Round Ligaments" May Be a Sign of Bladder Endometriosis
By Özge Özkaya
Specific laparoscopic findings may help surgeons diagnose bladder endometriosis, a rare and often undiagnosed condition. Bladder endometriosis is thought to affect only around one percent of patients with endometriosis. However, this could be an underestimation and many cases may go…
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Abdominal Wall Endometriosis
By Kasthuri Nair
Endometriosis can present itself in many places including within the pelvic organs, the more common manifestation, and outside of the pelvic organs, often referred to as extrapelvic endometriosis. One form of extrapelvic endometriosis is Abdominal Wall Endometriosis (AWE). Yela, Trigo,…
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The Involvement of the Blood Clotting System in Endometriosis
By Özge Özkaya
The blood clotting system might be over-active in women with endometriosis, found a study published in the scientific journal Reproductive Sciences. Although the authors stated that there is not enough evidence to suggest that over-coagulation may be directly causing endometriosis…
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Is it Estrogen that Regulates Endometriosis Pain?
By Yu Yu
Endometriosis-associated pain is a debilitating condition; however, it is surprising that the perceived pain has no correlation to the endometriosis extent. The mechanism that causes the pain is also poorly understood. Nerve growth factor is enhanced in endometriosis and may increase…
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Dienogest for endometriosis pain in clinical practice
By Yu Yu
Dienogest is a synthetic progestogen that has been marketed as a medical treatment for endometriosis. Previous randomized controlled clinical trials have shown that it is effective in women with endometriosis at different stages of the disease. Given its recent introduction,…
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Endometriosis and Productivity at Home and in the Workplace
By Kasthuri Nair
Soliman et al. recently published an original paper in the Journal of Managed Care and Specialty Pharmacy that discusses the impact that endometriosis symptoms have on an individual’s productivity level at home and work. This publication is titled “The Effect…
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Hormonal Contraceptives and Endometriomas
By Kasthuri Nair
Hormonal contraceptive has recently become a popular choice of birth control for many women. The European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology recently published an article entitled “Incidence of ovarian endometrioma among women with peritoneal endometriosis with and…
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Inhibition of key neurotransmitter could reduce endometriosis-related pain
By Asli Bahadirli Talbott
This study published in the scientific journalMolecular MedicineReports[link] by Lian et al. from Shanghai, China, aims to explore the relationship between transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) and endometriosis-associated pain. Pain is the most common symptom for women with…
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ICSI Outcomes for Laparoscopic Intervention of Endometriosis
By Kasthuri Nair
Women with endometriosis can have trouble conceiving and often turn to fertility treatments for help. Guler et al. recently published a paper in Systems Biology in Reproductive Medicine titled “The Impact of laparoscopic surgery of peritoneal endometriosis and endometrioma on…
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Retinoic Acid Signaling Involved in Endometrial Decidualization
By Murat Osman
Decidualization occurs in the eutopic endometrium during the luteal phase and is controlled by signaling pathways such as cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and progesterone. Researchers from the Northwestern University School of Medicine reported in their recent paper entitled "Altered Retinoid…
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Cryoablation to Treat Abdominal Wall Endometriosis
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis of the abdominal wall (AWE) is often painful and requires hormone therapy or surgery for clinical management. Thus, non-invasive treatment options to help reduce pain and the progression of these lesions will help patients who suffer from this disease.…
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Immune Response in Endometriosis and Regulatory T cells
By Yu Yu
The adaptive immune system is crucial for many diseases. Lymphocytes, including T cells, are particularly important in the adaptive immune system. Previous research suggested that defective immune response could play a role in endometriosis. The hypothesis proposes that the immune…
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Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis, Surgery and Fertility
By Kasthuri Nair
Carneiro, Costa, and Ávila recently published an article in a scientific journal named Reproduction, titled “To operate or not to operate on women with deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) before in vitro fertilization (IVF),” that explored the relationship between DIE and infertility.…
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The Unresolved Link Between Sexual Dysfunction and Endometriosis
By Kasthuri Nair
Barbara et al. recently published a systematic review of literature in Reproductive Sciences titled “What Is Known and Unknown About the Association Between Endometriosis and Sexual Functioning” that delves into the effects that endometriosis has on female sexual dysfunction. Endometriosis…
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T-Cell Dysfunction May Worsen Endometriosis
By Murat Osman
Researchers from the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Japan, have found that T regulatory lymphocytes (Treg) may be the reason for the formation of the chronic inflammatory environment involved in endometriosis, a study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology &…
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Body size, adult height and endometriosis
By Asli Bahadirli Talbott
Endometriosis is associated with lean body size during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood; tall total adult height; and tall sitting height, found a study published in the scientific journal, Human Reproduction. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between body size across…
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A potential indicator of invasive endometriosis.
By Asli Bahadirli Talbott
Furuya & Masuda et al., in their recent article that will be published in Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand, report that the protein encoded by ZEB1 gene (Zinc finger E-box-Binding homeobox) is a potential indicator of invasive endometriosis. ZEB1 is a transcription factor that has been implicated…
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Characteristics of endometriosis in adolescents and young girls
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is not an uncommon disease. Even among adolescent girls and young women, endometriosis may cause severe symptoms and lead to complications. Understanding the clinical variability of endometriosis in younger and older patients may lead to insight on the risk…
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How Resveratrol is effective in endometriosis?
By Asli Bahadirli Talbott
In their review paper, Mohammadi and Arablou recommend using Resveratrol, a plant-derived compound, for the treatment of endometriosis. Resveratrol is abundant in nature and can be found in many different plant species, fungi, berries, peanuts, legumes, and grasses; however, grapes…
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Women with endometriosis suffer from anxiety and depression
By Demet Candaş Green
Endometriosis is considered a disabling condition that may significantly affect social relationships, sexuality and mental health of patients. Women who suffer from endometriosis report high levels of anxiety and depression and other psychological disorders. In this review article, the authors…
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Could the cell surface protein "EWI-2" be the new diagnostic marker for endometriosis?
By Murat Osman
Further Understanding: Researchers from the Reproductive Medicine Center of Wuhan University sought to observe the differential expression of EWI-2, (a cell surface protein and an early activation marker, also known as IGSF8 - Immunoglobulin superfamily member 8) in 145 women…
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Asian Women at Higher Risk of Endometriosis and Less Likely to Conceive with IVF but not Because of their Endometriosis
By Özge Özkaya
The rate of endometriosis is higher amongst women of Asian origin confirms a study published in the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics. In addition, pregnancy rates following fertility treatments are lower in this group of women. However, this does…
Lay Summary
Endometriosis as a Barrier to Fertility
By Murat Osman
Some of the articles in the from the journal "Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica (AOGS) issue are discussed in further detail below: Pain caused by endometriosis has been seen to significantly impact women's physical, psychosocial, and sexual health. Although endometriosis has been…
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TFF3 May Be Involved in Endometriosis Research Suggests
By Özge Özkaya
Levels of a protein called TFF3 are significantly increased in the peritoneal cavity (the abdominal space) of women with endometriosis, found a study published in the scientific journal Reproductive Sciences. This increase was in line with levels of other known…
Lay Summary
Can a cure be developed for endometriosis?
By Asli Bahadirli Talbott
The Lancet correspondence highlights that regardless of the importance of endometriosis; its full socioeconomic impact is underestimated and endometriosis research is considerably underfunded. The Endometriosis Priority Setting Partnership (PSP) which includes women with endometriosis, their supporters, health-care practitioners, endometriosis researchers, and representatives from…
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Endometriosis Micrometastasis
By Yu Yu
Micrometastasis is used to describe the migration of a small number of cancer cells from its original location to the other organs within the body. While endometriosis is not cancer, it occurs when endometrial cells migrate outside of the uterus…
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Endometriosis Reduces Chance of Having a Baby Even with Assisted Reproduction, Study Shows
By Özge Özkaya
Endometriosis significantly decreases the likelihood of conceiving even with assisted reproductive technique such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) and Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), according to a study published in the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology. In…
Lay Summary
By Karime Kalil MachadoPatient-completed or symptom-based screening tools for endometriosis: a scoping review.
By Karime Kalil Machado
Endometriosis affects approximately 10% of women in reproductive age. Its clinical presentation is variable, and symptoms, such as chronic pelvic pain, may overlap with those of other benign conditions, making differential diagnosis challenging. Therefore, a patient-completed screening questionnaire could potentially…
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How rats can help improve colon endometriosis treatment in humans
By Demet Candaş Green
Colorectal endometriosis forms about 3–37% of all deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) cases. DIE is a highly invasive type of endometriosis, occurs when ovarian endometriomas overgrow and rupture, releasing their contents into the abdominal and pelvic cavity, resulting in the formation…
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More than Four Years Pass Before Endometriosis is Diagnosed After Symptoms First Appear
By Özge Özkaya
The average time that passes between the onset of symptoms such as pelvic pain and the diagnosis of endometriosis is 4.4 years on average, according to a study conducted by researchers at the pharmaceutical company Abbvie and published in the…
Lay Summary
By Ezio RosatoWomen with Endometriosis Undergoing Surgery Often Require Further Treatment
By Ezio Rosato
Recurrence of endometriosis is common even in women who underwent surgery, a new study confirmed. This suggests that women with endometriosis should be closely followed up even after treatment with surgery. For the study published online in the Journal of…
Lay Summary
Unexpected "cancer-related" mutations in "non-cancerous" endometriosis: Do they predict aggressiveness?
By Laura Ardighieri
A study supported by Endometriosis Foundation of America, reported by scientists from Johns Hopkins Medicine (Baltimore, USA) and the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada) have identified the molecular alterations of deep infiltrating endometriosis trough a wide exome sequencing (protein-coding genetic alphabet…
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Hypoxia induces molecular pathways favoring survival of endometriosis
By Laura Ardighieri
Kuei-Yang Hsiao and colleagues from the Department of Physiology and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan, have investigated the molecular basis of this phenomenon. In particular, they found that hypoxia significantly…
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Ultrasound Ablation to Treat Endometriosis
By Murat Osman
Further Understanding: Deeply infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) often presents in the rectosigmoid colon in women with endometriosis and can be the major cause of gastrointestinal and pelvic symptoms. This preliminary study focuses on the utility of High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) in…
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New Molecular Targets for the Treatment of Endometriosis-Associated Pain
By Ezio Rosato
The study identifies potential new targets for alleviating chronic pelvic pain that afflicts many women with endometriosis. A new study published in the scientific journal Redox Biology shows that molecules called microRNAs could be a potential new target to combat…
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Women with Endometriosis May Require Additional Care During Pregnancy and Labour
By Özge Özkaya
Women with endometriosis have a higher risk of bleeding after giving birth, found a study published in the Chinese Medical Journal. In addition, women with endometriosis who conceived by assisted reproduction may also have a higher risk of bleeding after…
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Immune substances in peritoneal fluid for endometriosis diagnosis and armamentarium
By Yu Yu
Cytokines are immune substances secreted by a broad range of cells within the body, including immune cells like the macrophages, B lymphocytes, T lymphocytes, mast cells, and non-immune cells such as the endothelial cells and fibroblasts. They are important in…
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Metabolomic profiling and biochemical evaluation of the follicular fluid of endometriosis patients.
By Yu Yu
Metabolites are the intermediates and products of metabolism from our body. Increasingly the study of metabolite content in biological systems can be used to derive useful information to identify disease-related markers, such as the use of glucose in the blood…
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Genetic Variations May Link Risk of Endometriosis and Ovarian Cancer
By Özge Özkaya
Variations in a gene called HNF1B could be linked to the risk of endometriosis, according to a study published in the medical journal Gynecologic Oncology. Previous studies had identified the same genetic variation as a risk factor for ovarian cancer.…
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Complexity of Urinary Tract Endometriosis: Highlights from a Review
By Murat Osman
Understanding the Clinical Complexity of Urinary Tract Endometriosis: Highlights from a Review While endometriosis predominantly affects the pelvic reproductive organs, spread to the urinary tract has also been observed and requires a different subset of surgical techniques for treatment. Accurate…
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Endometriosis doubles the risk of sexual dysfunction
By Karime Kalil Machado
Women with endometriosis are more than two times as likely to present sexual dysfunction as compared to women without the disease, according to a study published in Gynecologic Endocrinology. In this study conducted by researchers from the University of São…
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Diet & Endometriosis
By Asli Bahadirli Talbott
Diet and the risk of developing endometriosis Current studies examining the modifiable risk factors for prevention of endometriosis are pointing to the development of effective dietary restrictions. Thus understanding the role of nutrition in endometriosis has become critical. In a…
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Women with Endometriosis Should be Closely Monitored During Pregnancy and Birth, Study Suggests
By Özge Özkaya
Women with endometriosis have a significantly higher risk of developing several complications during pregnancy and delivery such as preeclampsia and placental complications, according to a study by Danish researchers. In addition, babies born to mothers with endometriosis have a higher…
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Endometriosis Can Reduce Sleep Quality and Negatively Impact Patient’s Quality of Life Study Suggests
By Özge Özkaya
Most women with endometriosis of the posterior cul-de-sac, experience poor sleep quality, excessive daytime sleepiness and insomnia, according to a study published in the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology. Poor sleep quality can reduce the quality…
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