November 2005 Women with moderate-to-severe endometriosis are less likely to fall pregnant and have a baby with the help of IVF than those with minimal-to-mild disease, researchers have shown, according to Finish researchers. “Women with endometriosis often need IVF to conceive—most women need several cycles of treatment,” note the researchers, led by Paula Kuivasaari from […]

October 2005 Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the University of California at Los Angeles recently conducted a study of the molecular mechanism involved in the human implantation process, specifically targeting the role of one gene in the success of an embryo to implant itself in the endometrium, the inner lining of the uterus. “There […]

October 2005 Antiangiogenic therapy with endostatin may present a promising novel, non-toxic therapeutic option for patients with endometriosis. Researchers at the Department of Surgery, Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA, have shown that an anti-angiogenic protein hinders the development of endometriosis in mice without any apparent negative effects on fertility or reproduction. As […]

August 2005 Genomewide linkage study in 1,176 affected sister pair families identifies a significant susceptibility locus for endometriosis on chromosome 10q26 The cause of endometriosis remains uncertain despite >50 years of hypothesis-driven research, and thus the therapeutic options are limited. Disease predisposition is inherited as a complex genetic trait, which provides an alternative route to […]

August 2005 There has been speculation for decades regarding the role of flushing women’s fallopian tubes in improving the chance of pregnancy. More recent evidence has highlighted a possible specific role for lipiodol (ethiodized oil), an oil-soluble contrast medium, in the enhancement of fertility by these means. Nei Johnson, MD, of University of Auckland and […]

June 2005 New science suggests that women with endometriosis often have several types of pain conditions because their abnormal growths develop a nerve supply that communicates with the brain. Professor Karen Berkley from Florida State University is the lead researcher in a study that shows that endometrial cysts become supplied by sympathetic and sensory nerves […]

April 2005 Researchers in Iran have evaluated the efficacy of vitamin E for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea (pelvic pain around the time of menstruation). This randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology [1], and showed that adolescents with menstrual pain, who took vitamin E for 5 days […]

April 2005 Dr. Simone Ferrero and colleagues, from San Martino Hospital at the University of Genoa, evaluated the sexual function of 299 women undergoing surgery for infertility or pelvic pain. The team found that 170 women had endometriosis, while 129 did not. As expected, the number of women who reported deep pain during sexual intercourse […]