Endometriosis

Symptoms of Endometriosis

The symptoms of endometriosis vary from woman to woman, and some women may not experience symptoms at all.

Common symptoms of endometriosis include:

recurring pain
abnormal bleeding
infertility
other symptoms such as fatigue or mood swings.

Recurring Pain Relating to Endometriosis

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Source: Center for Human Reproduction
New York fertility doctor Norbert Gleicher, founder of the Center for Human Reproduction, explains what endometriosis is, symptoms of endometriosis, and how it affects fertility, is diagnosed and treated.

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Endometriosis

Endometriosis can be a painful, chronic disease that results when the tissue that is normally inside the uterus (endometrial tissue) grows outside of the uterine cavity. Although it is estimated to affect over one million women in the U.S., the exact number is unknown, since many women with the condition have no symptoms. The incidence of endometriosis is approximately 48 percent in infertile women and 5 percent in fertile women.

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New Endometriosis Center Launches With $3M from Marriott Foundation

WBUR, April 18, 2012

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Endometriosis Awareness: How It Affects Fertility

by Leigh Ann Woodruff, March 28, 2012

While not all women with endometriosis are infertile, about 30 percent to 40 percent of women with are, which makes endometriosis one the top causes of female infertility.

Some women don't even find out they have endometriosis until they have trouble getting pregnant. "Some women with infertility, who are later found to have endometriosis, have not had any other symptoms of endometriosis," says Carol Drury, Education Program Coordinator and Associate Director of the Endometriosis Association, "though some experience symptoms later."

Researchers are actively studying the relationship between endometriosis and infertility, and there are many different ways endometriosis is thought to have an effect — from lesions that distort pelvic anatomy to immunological abnormalities.

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Endometriosis Awareness: Five Things You Should Know

by Leigh Ann Woodruff, March 13, 2012

March is National Endometriosis Awareness Month, so it's time to increase your knowledge about a disease that can cause debilitating pain and is estimated to affect 6.3 million women in the United States.

"When the Endometriosis Association was founded in 1980, endometriosis was commonly thought of as a disease of the single, white career woman," says Carol Drury, Education Program Coordinator and Associate Director. "That is certainly not the case! We estimate that more than 89 million girls and women around the world — of all races, single and married, working inside or outside of the home — are currently affected by endo. Endo has been diagnosed in girls as young as 8 — prior to their first menses — and can also be found in women who are post-menopausal."

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Endometriosis: Developments in Gene Research

By Leigh Ann Woodruff, February 9, 2012

Endometriosis is a condition in which uterine tissue grows in other parts of the body, such as the abdominal cavity, ovaries, vagina, and cervix. The condition affects millions of women — 5 percent to 15 percent of women of reproductive age — causing chronic pain and infertility.

Endometriosis is often hereditary, and now researchers at the Yale School of Medicine have found an inherited mutation located in part of the KRAS gene, which leads to abnormal endometrial growth and endometrial risk. The KRAS gene makes the KRAS protein, which is involved in cell signaling pathways, cell growth and cell death. It is believed that this gene may cause cancer when it is mutated.

"This tells us that a single gene mutation leads to endometriosis in some women," says Hugh S. Taylor, M.D., professor and chief of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at Yale. "Not all endometriosis is caused by this variation, but in those who have this type of endometriosis, we can track it and its inheritance. We can start to personalize treatment and perhaps target therapies that work towards this new pathway.”

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Video: How Is Endometriosis Treated if Trying to Conceive?

Treatments for endometriosis can vary: laparoscopy, fertility drugs, IUI or IVF. Dr. David Keenan, a fertility doctor with Atlanta Center for Reproductive Medicine explains that fertility treatment for a women with endometriosis who is trying to conceive depends on her symptoms and diagnosis.

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0:00:00.000,0:00:02.000 (Text on screen): Fertility Authority: Your Most Trusted Source 0:00:02.000,0:00:05.000 Ask the Experts 0:00:05.000,0:00:10.000 If I am trying to conceive, how is endometriosis treated? 0:00:10.000,0:00:12.000 Dr. David Keenan, Atlanta Center for Reproductive Medicine: Treatments for endometriosis 0:00:12.000,0:00:20.000 for someone who's trying to conceive can consist of superovulation with medication in combination with intrauterine insemination, 0:00:20.000,0:00:30.000 and if someone is primarily having pelvic symptoms of painful periods or painful intercourse, 0:00:30.000,0:00:36.000 then some of those patients might also wind up having treatment for endometriosis with laparoscopy, 0:00:36.000,0:00:39.000 if that's so required based on their symptoms. 0:00:39.000,0:00:46.000 But many patients with infertility and early-stage endometriosis are treated nonsurgically 0:00:46.000,0:00:49.000 with insemination in combination with medications. 0:00:49.000,0:00:55.000 With later-stage endometriosis, many of those patients require in vitro fertilization to conceive 0:00:55.000,0:01:01.000 because of the physical changes that occur in the pelvis with more advanced disease. 0:01:01.000,0:01:05.000 So many of those patients are going to go through in vitro fertilization with success, 0:01:05.000,0:01:13.000 and, certainly, age plays a role in deciding what type of treatment is instituted and when that's instituted. 0:01:13.000,0:01:16.000 So, that's also an important factor. 0:01:16.000,0:01:22.000 Surgery certainly can be used as a treatment for endometriosis when a patient's primary complaint 0:01:22.000,0:01:27.000 is painful intercourse, painful periods, pelvic pain. 0:01:27.000,0:01:35.000 You know; many times patients want relief from that and they choose surgery as a primary treatment. 0:01:35.000,0:01:42.000 And then, of course, as far as conceiving after surgery, if they don't conceive promptly after surgery, 0:01:42.000,0:01:46.000 then they are treated with medications and intrauterine insemination at that point. 0:01:46.000,0:01:56.000 If someone has advanced disease involving the ovaries, many times those patients might have to have surgery performed 0:01:56.000,0:02:00.000 before they can actually do in vitro fertilization if they did have advanced disease. 0:02:00.000,0:02:03.000 But that's not the most common route. 0:02:03.000,0:02:09.000 Most people are able to undergo in vitro fertilization without any surgery ahead of time. 0:02:09.000,0:02:11.000 (Text on screen): Fertility Authority: Your Most Trusted Source

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Video: How Does Endometriosis Affect Fertility?

The location of endometriosis as well as the stage of endometriosis will determine whether it affects fertility and how endometriosis will be treated. Dr. David Keenan, a fertility doctor with Atlanta Center for Reproductive Medicine explains.

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0:00:00.000,0:00:02.000 (Text on screen): Fertility Authority: Your Most Trusted Source 0:00:02.000,0:00:05.000 Ask the Experts 0:00:05.000,0:00:10.000 How does endometriosis affect fertility? 0:00:10.000,0:00:13.000 Dr. David Keenan, Atlanta Center for Reproductive Medicine: Endometriosis is when the endometrial tissue 0:00:13.000,0:00:18.000 that is normally found on the inside of the uterine cavity is found, generally, in the pelvis. 0:00:18.000,0:00:22.000 It can be found in other places in the body, too, but from a reproductive standpoint we're concerned 0:00:22.000,0:00:32.000 when we find endometrial tissue in abnormal places, usually around the ovaries or above or below the uterus, in the pelvic area. 0:00:32.000,0:00:37.000 And that's where it certainly can affect fertility. 0:00:37.000,0:00:45.000 The more advanced stages of endometriosis, generally stage 3 and stage 4, can interfere with actual egg pickup, 0:00:45.000,0:00:53.000 it can cause more obstructive symptoms having to do with; interfering with the ends of the fallopian tube 0:00:53.000,0:00:58.000 picking up the egg off the ovary, and generally is more of a physical event. 0:00:58.000,0:01:08.000 The earlier stages of endometriosis is debatable whether or not that has a true impact on infertility, but certainly, treatments are available 0:01:08.000,0:01:15.000 for early stages of endometriosis that can enhance someone's fertility if they're having problems getting pregnant. 0:01:15.000,0:01:18.000 (Text on screen): Fertility Authority: Your Most Trusted Source

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