New research highlights that endometriosis, a condition where tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the uterus, can affect organs throughout the body, not just the reproductive system. The story features the case of Julie Nash, who experienced various symptoms seemingly unrelated to her reproductive health, until a comprehensive surgery revealed the widespread impact of the disease. Experts emphasize the need for broader understanding and treatment approaches.
Studies are showing that the inflammatory condition can impact organs across the body, not just those involved in reproduction. Many people with the most severe forms of endometriosis undergo excision surgery to treat their symptoms.
These surgeries often remove inflammatory tissue from areas beyond reproductive organs, and research is showing that the disease can impact disparate parts of the body.Julie Nash got her first period at 14. It was so painful that she vomited and spent hours in bed. More than a decade of similar symptoms later, she was finally diagnosed with endometriosis, a disease where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus takes root outside of the organ in the form of lesions and cysts. In recent years, Nash, now a 40-year-old real estate agent in Alvin, Texas, has suffered a bizarre list of additional symptoms—intense fatigue, constipation, the constant need to urinate, a burning sensation in her stomach, and pain in her hips, leg, and lower back—that didn’t seem related. For several years, “I was living on the couch, doing the bare minimum for my kids, ready to check out of life,” she recalls. Taking continuous birth control pills helped, but Nash only put her symptoms in the rear-view mirror after a comprehensive surgery last year. The doctor removed lesions not just around her pelvis but also on parts of her colon, back muscles, gastric nerves, and other areas. “I didn’t realize all these other problems were from the endometriosis,” Nash says. Primary care doctors, gynecologists, and even patients too often view endometriosis as a reproduction-related illness that warrants treatment primarily when someone wants to conceive, says, a minimally invasive gynecologic surgeon at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, who treats endometriosis patients. But in the operating room, she has removed endometrial lesions from the lungs, bowels, spleen, and even the pericardial sac surrounding the heart. “The inflammatory process that is endometriosis can truly affect every single organ system,” Wasson says. “It can cause a host of symptoms that can significantly impact quality of life and make people miserable.” In the last year, studies have validated patient experiences, finding a shockingly long list of symptoms and medical conditions in some women and exploring some of the far-flung impacts of the disease. Researchers have also uncovered a growing array of molecular signals in blood and saliva. All of this may ultimately lead to earlier diagnosis and a wider range of treatments.For a study at University of California, San Francisco , scientists used anonymous electronic health records from nearly forty thousand patients across six statewide university health systems to compare symptoms and diseases in women who have an endometriosis diagnosis to similar-aged women without one. Not surprisingly, those with the condition suffered more heavy periods, ovarian cysts, infertility, and other gynecological afflictions. But the scientists also identified numerous less-intuitive links, including asthma, autoimmune diseases, migraines, gastroesophageal reflux, and vitamin D deficiency. Ultimately, the group The mechanisms behind the conditions were not studied, but experts point to a variety of likely explanations. Some may result from hypersensitivity to pain that can emerge when people live with any long-term, agonizing condition. Others may stem from the systemic inflammation or the excess estrogen that endometrial lesions are known to produce. Genes are also likely involved, as nearly a dozen other pain or inflammatory conditions This real-world research makes clear that “endometriosis is a complicated disease” where a lot is going on across the body, says, a pediatrician and data scientist at UCSF and senior author of the paper. As one example, her lab’s unpublished, unrelated work with cells removed from patient biopsies shows the disease can disrupt As labs dive further into endometriosis’ wide-ranging impacts, the results raise more questions. A study published last summer in the journalaffects some 11 percent Identifying seemingly unrelated conditions could change that, by flagging women who may warrant further evaluation earlier, Sirota says. If future studies were to confirm the links her research found, for example, neurologists who see a woman for migraine who also has reflux and pelvic pain might refer her for additional testing for endometriosis., the database study coauthor and a longtime reproductive endocrinologist at UCSF. “To have years of pain and not know why—to be dismissed, as many have, being told that severe menstrual cramps are normal or that it’s all in their head—it’s very disempowering,” she says. On the horizon, a dozen biotech companies are currently developing tools to screen for or perhaps diagnose the condition. Their tests use saliva, blood, or menstrual blood to explore systemic markers linked to endometriosis. One test, for example, seeks outWasson is eager for a time when such tests, once proven, catch people experiencing symptoms who currently fall through the cracks. “I think it would be phenomenal to put these in the hands of pediatricians and primary care doctors, to give them another tool to say there might be something going on,” Wasson says.Identifying unusual symptoms and conditions could also one day improve therapeutics, not just for endometriosis, but also for other conditions, Giudice says. Endometriosis is best treated using a multidisciplinary approach to care, with gynecologists working with neurologists, say, Treating the systemic inflammation in a patient with endometriosis can improve other inflammatory-related diseases. As happened with Nash, Wasson has seen patients resolve numerous conditions once the endometrial lesions are removed. “When we get to the core source of the inflammation and we treat that, the rest of the body is naturally going to be able to heal itself,” she says. Drugs prescribed for other diseases might also help alleviate endometriosis symptoms. Statin medicines to reduce high cholesterol and the anti-malarial primaquine have, according to researchers who evaluated a decade of U.S. insurance claims. Hormonal birth control is recommended as a first-line treatment for pain, but it’s often overlooked in favor of opioid drugs or surgical hysterectomy. The latter often fails to stop pain because lesions can exist away from the uterus. Women with advanced forms of the disease need the same minimally invasive gynecologic surgery that Nash underwent, known as excision surgery. This “removes the endometriosis from its roots—taking the cells from the abdomen, pelvis, thoracic cavity—wherever it is located,” Wasson says . This surgery is mostStill more work is needed to fully understand all the ways endometriosis impacts women’s bodies. In the UCSF study, Giudice says she was surprised to see hundreds of comorbidities. “I was expecting maybe 10 or 15 max,” she says. “That’s interesting from the disease perspective, but also for the opportunities to be looking at the whole person, not just one part of the elephant.”
Endometriosis Women's Health Reproductive Health Surgery Symptoms
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Jeffries: Any extra funding request for Iran war is ‘beyond the pale’Hakeem Jeffries slammed the idea that supplemental funding for Iran could be passed through a budget process called reconciliation.
Read more »
Reproductive health clinics scramble as Title X funding cliff approachesTitle X is a 56-year-old federal grant program that supports thousands of clinics that provide birth control and STI testing and treatment around the country. Now those clinics could face a funding gap because of a Trump administration delay.
Read more »
What I’ve learned by volunteering with recent immigrants to the U.S. — beyond facts and figuresJulie Wittes Schlack volunteers with new immigrants to the U.S., helping them get settled. The Trump administration's cuts to food benefits have forced one of the immigrants Julie supports, Sandrine, to choose between rent and food for her five children. A pending bill in the Mass. Legislature would offer much-needed assistance.
Read more »
States are pushing Medicaid beyond its intended limitsStates have gotten very good at using loopholes to circumvent the law. Chief among them is something called 'emergency Medicaid.'
Read more »
Scientists discover pungent sulfur planet beyond our solar systemJustin Boggs is a writer for the E.W. Scripps company. Justin covers anything from politics to sports and entertainment.
Read more »
Irish dance group celebrates culture, welcomes all dancers on St. Patrick's Day and beyondCLICK HERE to reach out to Darienne with any story ideas or news tips.
Read more »