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Gene Research Gives Hope for Women with Endometriosis
Researchers have identified two genetic variants that increase the risk of women developing endometriosis.
The genomes of 5,500 women with the condition from the UK, US and Australia were compared to those of 10,000 healthy volunteers.
The Nature Genetics study could lead to more effective treatments and diagnosis, researchers said.
An endometriosis charity said more research was needed to show how this could lead to better treatments.
Researchers from the University of Oxford, the Queensland Institute of Medical Research in Australia and Harvard Medical School, Boston were all involved in the study.
They say their findings provide clues to why endometriosis occurs.
They identified chromosome 1 and chromosome 7 as being crucial to a women's risk of developing the condition.
Chromosome 7 is thought to be involved in regulating genes which develop the womb and its lining, the study says, while chromosome 1 is close to a gene which is important for hormone metabolism and the development of the female reproductive tract.
