By Eylül GÜNExploring the underlying causes of orgasm-related pain in endometriosis
By Eylül GÜN
As one of the most common symptoms of endometriosis, pain may involve peripheral or central mechanisms resulting in different pain sensations. Female orgasm pain is an underexplored condition associated with pelvic floor myalgia and uterine factors like adenomyosis, likely due to…
Key Points Lay Summary
By Selma OransayAdenomyosis as a Barrier to Effective Surgery for Dyspareunia in Rectovaginal Endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
Women with endometriosis often experience severe pain during intercourse, known as dyspareunia, which can deeply affect their quality of life and intimate relationships. One form of this condition, rectovaginal septum endometriosis, involves deep, scarred tissue that can cause pain during…
Key Points Lay Summary
Knowledge synthesis of the "Relevance of Endometriosis Diagnostic Tools"
By Selma Oransay
Spiers et al. from the Department of Obstetrics and Reproductive Medicine at Angers University Hospital in France identified significant diagnostic challenges and the absence of definitive diagnostic tools for endometriosis. In response, they evaluated existing medical literature to enhance diagnostic…
Key Points Lay Summary
The prevalence of deep and superficial dyspareunia in women with endometriosis..
By Selma Oransay
Almost half of the women affected by endometriosis experience both superficial and deep dyspareunia. While superficial dyspareunia is less studied, deep dyspareunia is often linked to mechanical pressure on endometriotic lesions or tissue rigidity. To address the sexual difficulties faced…
Key Points Lay Summary
An observational study on predicting endometriosis recurrence risk.
By Selma Oransay
Endometriosis presents in various ways, and improper management can lead to recurrence. Studies show that the recurrence rate can range from 6% to 67%. Factors that may increase this risk include having severe or deep forms of the disease, being…
Key Points Lay Summary
By Hale Goksever CelikEffects of Endometriosis Symptoms on Women's Overall Health and Well-Being
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis significantly affects women's quality of life. Many women face daily challenges due to pelvic pain, which can lead them to miss work or school and withdraw from social activities. It's crucial to assess and manage the symptoms associated with…
Key Points Lay Summary
Bladder Endometriosis: Current Knowledge and Future Directions
By Selma Oransay
About 70-80% of urinary tract endometriosis occurs in the bladder, particularly affecting the base and dome regions. Endometriotic lesions can penetrate the detrusor muscle either partially or completely. Endometriosis affecting the uterovesical fold peritoneum or deep endometriosis that does not involve…
Key Points Lay Summary
Does a comprehensive interventional program improve sexual health in women with endometriosis?
By Hale Goksever Celik
Women with endometriosis suffer from dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia and chronic pelvic pain, all of which has significant negative consequences on their physical and psychological health regarding sexual and reproductive function. A group of scientists from Iran, published a study protocol titled…
Key Points Lay Summary
By Özge ÖzkayaEndometriosis May Be Identified Using a Standardized Questionnaire
By Özge Özkaya
Screening adolescents and young adult women with a questionnaire can identify clinical symptoms associated with histologically proven endometriosis, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Human Reproduction. “Combined with imaging and clinical examination, this approach will enable…
Key Points Lay Summary
Laparoscopic procedures can alleviate fatigue in women suffering from endometriosis
By Hale Goksever Celik
The most common symptoms of endometriosis include pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, and infertility. Effective management is essential due to the significant impact these symptoms have on a woman's quality of life. Fatigue, characterized by persistent and severe tiredness, is also…
Key Points Lay Summary
Evaluating chronic pain through art
By Eylül GÜN
Chronic non-cancer pain, affecting up to 31% of the global population, is a complex condition defined by persistent or recurring pain lasting over three months. Despite advancements in understanding chronic pain as a multifaceted interaction of biological, psychological, and social…
Key Points Lay Summary
Superiority of hysterectomy over lesion excision in the treatment of rectovaginal endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
Confirmative treatment of endometriosis includes excision or ablation of visible lesions while conserving the uterus and ovaries. On the contrary, the radical approach involves total hysterectomy and even bilateral oophorectomy to create a hypo-estrogen state, remove adenomyosis if it exists,…
Key Points Lay Summary
Effect of Endometriosis Pain in Women Living in Similar Socio-Economic Conditions
By Özge Özkaya
Endometriosis-associated pelvic pain is associated with reduced health-related quality of life including impaired mental and sexual functioning among women in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, and the US, according to a new study published in the Journal of Minimally Invasive…
Key Points Lay Summary
A literature review about postmenopausal endometriosis.
By Selma Oransay
Typically, endometriosis disease brings relief to women after menopause, but some individuals continue to develop some endometriosis-related issues even after the cessation of menstruation. This enigmatic condition, called postmenopausal endometriosis, needs to be understood, and the disease must be diagnosed…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis and musculoskeletal function of pelvic loin complex
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is an inflammatory and estrogen-dependent disease which is diagnosed in reproductive-aged women most frequently. These women present with a broad clinical spectrum including pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia and infertility. All of these symptoms and signs may harm women’s lives…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis relief: How vitamins C and E can make a difference
By Eylül GÜN
Recent studies indicate that oxidative stress significantly contributes to the onset and progression of endometriosis. High levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) can cause cellular damage and enhance inflammation, leading to the pain associated with the condition. Antioxidants like vitamins…
Key Points Lay Summary
An often overlooked symptom: Sleep disorders in patients with endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
Recent reports suggested that women with endometriosis have more frequent complaints of poor sleep, reduced quality of life, and higher pain scores when compared with healthy women. Patients experience fatigue and increased pain the day after insomnia. For this reason,…
Key Points Lay Summary
Diminished physical activity in women with endometriosis due to chronic pelvic pain
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is a systemic, chronic, inflammatory disease defined as the localization of endometrial-like tissue outside the uterine cavity. Pelvic pain is the most common symptom in these women resulting in abstinence from school or work and psychosocial problems. Physical activity…
Key Points Lay Summary
Chronic pelvic pain mechanisms in endometriosis
By Eylül GÜN
M. J. Quinn from Shanghai, China wrote an editorial piece in the latest issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology commenting on an article by Gete et al. in which they shared the findings from the Australian Longitudinal Study…
Key Points Lay Summary
Dysmenorrhea in adolescent girls and the quality of life
By Hale Goksever Celik
Dysmenorrhea, also known as period pain, painful periods, or menstrual cramps, is pain during menstruation. Despite its high incidence, dysmenorrhea is often a stigmatized and normalized condition. However, it is known that painful periods cause abstinence from work or school…
Key Points Lay Summary
A concerning link between endometriosis and cardiovascular disease.
By Selma Oransay
Endometriosis is a disease characterized by endometrial-like tissues outside the uterus, which causes inflammation, scarring, and adhesion formation. The pathologic process of forming those adhesions releases proinflammatory molecules, cytokines, and growth factors that may have systemic effects. Recent research, for…
Key Points Lay Summary
By Nasuhi Engin AydinA comprehensive review of subdermal progestin in adenomyosis management
By Nasuhi Engin Aydin
French academicians from Lyon and Marseilles led by Dr. Chene have published recently an electronic database search on the effectiveness of progestin subdermal implants in adenomyosis patients. This review appeared in the March 2024 issue of “The European Journal of…
Key Points Lay Summary
Uterine innervation and its impact on endometriosis related pelvic pain.
By Selma Oransay
Advancements in immunochemistry, fluorochromes, computer-associated anatomical dissection, and 3D reconstruction of uterine micro-innervation brought substantial progress in pelvic neuroanatomy. The complex uterine innervation and its interactions with uterine parts and layers are yet fully revealed. Austruc et al., from the…
Key Points Lay Summary
Mindfulness Apps Could Help Adolescents Manage Period Pain
By Özge Özkaya
Adolescents with period pain are interested in using a mindfulness app for their pain, according to a new study published in the journal, JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting. However, they have unique needs that must be addressed so that the app is…
Key Points Lay Summary
Can a Virtual Stress Reduction Program Help Improve my Quality of Life?
By Özge Özkaya
A virtual mindfulness-based stress reduction program may improve the quality of life of patients with endometriosis, according to a new study published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada. The authors of the study reported that the program was…
Key Points Lay Summary
Sophisticated study yields hopes for a new potential remedy
By Nasuhi Engin Aydin
Academicians from the Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University Graduate School, Japan, conducted a clinical and experimental study on the role of SMAD (Suppressor of Mothers Against Decapentaplegic) molecules in endometriosis, and have published their results in a recent issue…
Key Points Lay Summary
Ultrasonographic findings and the clinical symptoms of pelvic endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
Imaging techniques achieve the clinical diagnosis of endometriosis, which affects 10-15% of all women of reproductive age. Suspected patients with clinical history and symptoms need a systemic examination of the uterus, ovaries, adnexa, and peritoneal covering the rectouterine, retrocervical, and…
Key Points Lay Summary
Painful Sex Might Be a Valid Indication for Endometriosis Surgery
By Özge Özkaya
According to a new study published in the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology, the type of endometriosis surgery, and pain improvement after surgery may be linked. More precisely, rectovaginal endometriosis surgery may be associated with reduced dyspareunia or painful intercourse. “Clinicians…
Key Points Lay Summary
Visual representation of endometriosis pain
By Selma Oransay
Endometriosis is accompanied by severe chronic pelvic pain that impacts quality of life, relationships, and work conditions. Studies aiming to improve pain are frequently encountered in the literature. Nonetheless, pain research is complex due to its subjective nature, and cannot…
Key Points Lay Summary
Postoperative pain-related quality of life for patiens with different types of endometriosis surgery.
By Selma Oransay
Endometriosis surgery usually improves chronic pelvic pain and the quality of life in women suffering from that disease. Response to surgery depends on several factors, however, in younger ages, recurrence of both pain and endometriosis lesions are reported. Most research…
Key Points Lay Summary
Fact or fiction: prescribing medicinal cannabioids in endometriosis patients in Australia
By Nasuhi Engin Aydin
A team of academic institutions from Australia has published their cross-sectional study on cannabis usage in endometriosis patients which has appeared in the recent issue of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. As victims of a…
Key Points Lay Summary
Is there any relationship between age at diagnosis and the severity of endometriosis?
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent gynecological disease mostly encountered in reproductive-aged women. Early diagnosis is important, as endometriosis impairs the quality of life. The most accepted theory is that endometriosis is a progressive disease and its stage increases with age. Dr.…
Key Points Lay Summary
Does The Severity of Endometriosis Pain Affect the Chance of Having a Baby With IVF?
By Özge Özkaya
Severe pain symptoms in endometriosis have no relation with the outcomes of assisted reproductive techniques such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), according to a new study published in the journal Human Reproduction. This finding suggests that the decision-making process for…
Key Points Lay Summary
Early diagnosis of deep infiltrating endometriosis in adolescence
By Selma Oransay
Dysmenorrhea is widely observed in adolescence, and endometriosis is one of its causes. However, endometriosis diagnosis is usually made after 25 years of age. It is clear that early diagnosis and management of this progressive disease is essential and will…
Key Points Lay Summary
Psychological effect of endometriosis due to chronic pelvic pain
By Hale Goksever Celik
The most common symptoms of endometriosis are dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, and chronic pelvic pain, all of which affect the quality of women’s lives. Early diagnosis and management are important as endometriosis impairs the quality of life of patients and creates a…
Key Points Lay Summary
Study Identifies Best Questionnaires to Assess Sexual Function in Patients With Endometriosis
By Özge Özkaya
The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and the Sexual Activity Questionnaire (SAQ) have the best measurement properties according to the Consensus-Based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) criteria for the measurement of sexual function in women with endometriosis,…
Key Points Lay Summary
Can We Reliably Measure Sleep Quality in Women With Endometriosis?
By Özge Özkaya
The Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) lead to consistent scores comparable in women with deep infiltrating endometriosis, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Sleep Medicine. However, the cutoff values of…
Key Points Lay Summary
Clinical awareness for endometriosis in infertility should be surged
By Nasuhi Engin Aydin
A team of researchers from multiple centers including Stanford University and Swiss Federal Laboratories, led by Dr.Camran Nezhat have published their cross-sectional retrospective study on endometriosis and unexplained infertility association. This research paper appeared in a recent issue of the Journal…
Key Points Lay Summary
Is post-cesarean pain perception and analgesic use in endometriosis-affected women different?
By Hale Goksever Celik
It has been known that endometriosis patients have increased pain sensitivity and different reactions to pain compared to women having no endometriosis. Several mechanisms such as nociception, inflammation, and changes in peripheral and central nervous system pain processing have been…
Key Points Lay Summary
Understanding endometriosis pain
By Eylül GÜN
Chronic pain, especially in conditions like endometriosis, poses significant challenges for diagnosis and treatment due to its multifaceted nature. Elina Helosvuori and Venla Oikkonen from Finland conducted a study in which they aimed to explore the complexities of chronic pain,…
Key Points Lay Summary
Neonatal uterine bleeding at birth and endometriosis later in life
By Selma Oransay
In the first few days after birth, some female newborns bleed from the vaginal route, and this is called newborn uterine bleeding. The overt and occult neonatal uterine bleeding prevalence rates are 3-5% and 25-60% retrospectively. The causative risk factors for…
Key Points Lay Summary
Could brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) be a potential marker of endometriosis ?
By Nasuhi Engin Aydin
Medical student Kyana Jafarabady and academicians from several medical centers in Iran have published their database research on Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in endometriosis patients in a recent issue of BMC Women’s Health. BDNF is a neurotrophin that plays an important…
Key Points Lay Summary
Psychosocial Factors Must Be Taken Into Account When Dealing With Endometriosis
By Özge Özkaya
It is crucial to take into account both physical and psychosocial factors to maintain physical and mental health in patients with endometriosis, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Psychology & Health. “Treatment should address both pelvic…
Key Points Lay Summary
New visions on diaphragmatic endometriosis
By Nasuhi Engin Aydin
Elvin Piriyev and Thomas Römer from Academic Hospital Cologne Weyertal, Germany have published their retrospective analysis of diaphragm endometriosis in a recent issue of the European Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. About 7-10% of reproductive-age women have endometriosis but diaphragm…
Key Points Lay Summary
Complementary and alternative therapies for managing acyclic pelvic pain in women with endometriosis
By Hale Goksever Celik
The quality of life in women with endometriosis is affected depending on the symptoms and signs of endometriosis such as dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, chronic pelvic pain, and infertility. Because of different clinical spectrum and diagnostic delays, there is no optimum management…
Key Points Lay Summary
Peritoneal fluid in young women with endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
Many blood substances are present in peritoneal fluid due to their derivation from the transudation of blood through the peritoneal surface. Ectopic endometriotic lesions can also change the medium to contribute to the definition of the local environment of the…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis and the risk to have mental disorders
By Hale Goksever Celik
The most common clinical findings of endometriosis patients are pelvic pain and fertility problems, resulting in impairment of quality of life. These women are also affected regarding psychological health due to disease-associated symptoms. Dr. Wang et al., from Taiwan, published…
Key Points Lay Summary
The effect of medical treatment on sexual function and quality of life in women with endometriosis
By Hale Goksever Celik
Women with endometriosis suffer from dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia and chronic pelvic pain, all of which has significant negative consequences on their physical and psychological health regarding sexual function, work and social relationships. Biasioli et al. from Italy, published an article entitled…
Key Points Lay Summary
Family history of endometriosis and its characteristics
By Selma Oransay
Depression and migraine are two familial disorders affected by menstrual cycle and endometriosis patients have an increased likelihood of suffering from these comorbidities. A correlation of endometriosis, migraine and depression has been already reporteed in the literature, however a link for…
Key Points Lay Summary
"Ovarian Reserve Markers" in Peritoneal Endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
Endometriosis-related subfertility is attributed to multiple factors, including mechanical obstructions, adhesions, pelvic inflammation, and diminished ovarian reserve. Serum anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) levels and ovarian antral follicle counts (AFC) currently serve as fertility markers to diagnose decreased ovarian reserve and failure.…
Key Points Lay Summary
Coupled torture due to endometriosis and depressive symptoms
By Eylül GÜN
Endometriosis significantly impacts various aspects of women's lives including their physical and mental health, careers, and social relationships. Physically, it causes chronic pelvic pain and dyspareunia, affecting 5-10% of reproductive-age women and leading to infertility challenges and a substantial percentage…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis With or Without Chronic Pain Linked to Anxiety and Depression
By Özge Özkaya
There may be a potential link between endometriosis, with and without chronic pain, anxiety, and depression, according to a new study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders. “We recommended that clinicians provide proper medical management of endometriosis-related pain through…
Key Points Lay Summary
Neurotrophins proposed as possible biomarkers for endometriosis
By Eylül GÜN
As the search for a good-quality biomarker in endometriosis continues, certain growth factors have been investigated for their roles in the pathophysiology of the disease. Neurotrophins, as regulators of neuronal development and survival, are also known to take part in…
Key Points Lay Summary
Diagnosis and the Treatment of Postmenopausal Endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
About 190 million women around the world are diagnosed with endometriosis. The majority of the cases are between 30 and 40 years of age. After menopause, the incidence of endometriosis declines to 2-5%, and it is more common in women…
Key Points Lay Summary
Potential New Therapeutic Avenue for Deep Endometriosis
By Özge Özkaya
The use of lipid nanoparticles carrying methotrexate seems to be safe and feasible in women with deep infiltrating endometriosis, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics. The approach could, therefore, be a new…
Key Points Lay Summary
A non-invasive test to determine the risk of endometriosis in women having chronic pelvic pain or unexplained infertility
By Hale Goksever Celik
Women having endometriosis may suffer from chronic pelvic pain and/or infertility, both of which diminish the quality of life in these women. Minimalization of the time between the onset of symptoms and diagnosis is essential to improve patients’ lives. However,…
Key Points Lay Summary
Quality of life analyses among women with endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
Clinical factors that may affect the quality of life in women with endometriosis are mental health, sexual life, working capacity, and social relations. Symptom severity, especially dysmenorrhea, heavy periods, pelvic pain, and infertility complaints, are the most disturbing factors in…
Key Points Lay Summary
Monitoring eating behavior is important
By Selma Oransay
The relationship between dietary products and endometriosis gained interest after the recognition that a proper diet can improve pathological and physiological processes. There is also a belief that the benefits of some anti-oxidants may have a therapeutic effect on the…
Key Points Lay Summary
Mediterranean Diet Associated With Less Endometriosis Pain?
By Özge Özkaya
There seems to be a link between pain relief in endometriosis and a Mediterranean diet, according to a new study published in the International Journal of Science. This finding suggests that a Mediterranean diet could help manage chronic pain in…
Key Points Lay Summary
Sacral neuromodulation for endometriosis-related chronic pelvic pain
By Selma Oransay
Sacral neuromodulation is a therapeutic technique that involves electrical stimulation of a sacral nerve route to modulate a neural pathway. The device is an implantable neurostimulator, and the procedure is a minimally invasive procedure with good long-term outcomes. This technique…
Key Points Lay Summary
The overlap of endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome
By Eylül GÜN
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common causes of female subfertility similar to endometriosis. It has been hypothesized that owing to the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms, women with endometriosis are at a greater risk of having PCOS than…
Key Points Lay Summary
Hazardous substances in pollution and relationship with endometriosis.
By Selma Oransay
Vallée and colleguages. from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health of Foch Hospital, France, recently published a narrative review about environmental pollution and its association with endometriosis in BJOG. They used the existing English literature to discuss the association…
Key Points Lay Summary
Comparison of two different surgical approach to deep colorectal endometriosis in terms of postoperative outcomes.
By Selma Oransay
Deep colorectal endometriosis affects one-fifth of women with endometriosis, which is commonly associated with more pelvic pain and severe gastrointestinal symptoms. Three surgical approaches for deep colorectal endometriosis are segmental colorectal resection, full-thickness discoid resection, and shaving operation. Choosing the…
Key Points Lay Summary
Omitted facet of endometriosis : mental health related to stigma
By Nasuhi Engin Aydin
A team of clinical psychologists involved in women’s health led by Deniz Kocas has published a recent review on the mental health aspect of endometriosis patients in the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology. Endometriosis is a notoriously…
Key Points Lay Summary
Peritoneal Endometriosis and Acyclical pelvic pain
By Eylül GÜN
The most debilitating symptom of endometriosis is chronic pelvic pain. The peripheral nervous system is affected and the growth and regeneration of sensory nerve fibers in endometriotic tissue has been identified. The first line treatment which is hormonal therapy for…
Key Points Lay Summary
Exploring endometriosis symptoms and their effects on women's lives
By Eylül GÜN
Endometriosis symptoms, their severity, and the way they affect patients' lives may vary. With the aim of investigating different personal experiences and perceptions of endometriosis symptoms and the way they impact women's daily lives, Hunsche and colleagues from Switzerland and…
Key Points Lay Summary
Women With Endometriosis More Likely to Also Have Non-Specific Symptoms
By Özge Özkaya
Women with endometriosis are more likely to report menstrual symptoms, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. However, they are also at an increased risk of mental health disorders, other pain symptoms, bowel,…
Key Points Lay Summary
The compliance for post-surgical follow-ups after endometriosis surgery
By Selma Oransay
. The patient's adherence to follow-ups after surgery is essential as it is the only way to evaluate the surgery's benefits in improving pain symptoms and recurrences, measuring the quality of life, and fertility outcomes. . Dr. Szabo and his…
Key Points Lay Summary
Objective Assessment of Pain Sensitization in Women With Chronic Pelvic Pain
By Özge Özkaya
There are objective elements that can help assess the presence of central sensitization, independently of psychological factors, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. This is the first study that assessed whether central sensitization…
Key Points Lay Summary
A Starch-Based Gel Barrier Reduces Pain and Improves Fertility After Endometriosis Surgery
By Özge Özkaya
The development of pain was reduced in women with endometriosis who underwent surgery for deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) resection and the "gel barrier 4DryField® PH" was used during the operation, according to results from a randomized controlled trial. Moreover, fertility was improved. "4DryField® PH"…
Key Points Lay Summary
Postoperative outcomes of laparoscopic rectosigmoid resection for bowel endometriosis.
By Selma Oransay
Rectosigmoid endometriosis comprises 80-85% of all bowel endometriosis cases and can be localized in the rectovaginal septum, uterosacral ligaments, retro-cervical region, and parametrium. Symptoms of rectosigmoid endometriosis include abdominal bloating, constipation-diarrhea, lower-back pain, dyschezia, and sometimes cyclic rectal bleeding. Minimally…
Key Points Lay Summary
Pain Scoring System for Deep Endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
The numeric pain scale is commonly used to interpret pain score values. According to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines, pain scores of 4-7 points indicate moderate, and 8-10 points indicate severe pain. Patients with a local pain score of…
Key Points Lay Summary
Outcomes of improving chronic pelvic pain with "immersive digital therapeutics" at home.
By Selma Oransay
Studies have shown that virtual reality can effectively treat acute pain experienced by burn victims, during labor, dental surgery, or for chronic musculoskeletal, neuropathic, and cancer pain. Considering the effectiveness of treating chronic pelvic pain at home, Merlot et al.…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis and Genetic Polymorphisms in Proinflammatory Cytokines
By Hale Goksever Celik
Several pathophysiological mechanisms have been proposed for the chronic inflammatory nature of endometriosis, such as retrograde menstruation, coelomic metaplasia, hormonal change, oxidative stress and inflammation, immune dysfunction, and apoptosis suppression. One of the most widely accepted theories in recent years…
Key Points Lay Summary
Outcomes of chronic pelvic pain after niche repair
By Selma Oransay
Rapidly increasing cesarian section rates in recent years increased the cesarian scar defects and the development of "isthmoceles". Isthmocele is a myometrial lesion located around the isthmic portion of the uterus that is a myometrial discontinuity or hypoechoic triangle in…
Key Points Lay Summary
Melatonin for endometriosis-associated pain
By Eylül GÜN
Treatment options for endometriosis-associated pain include analgesics, hormonal therapy, and surgery. However, these treatments may be ineffective for some women, leading to a search for alternative approaches. Melatonin, a hormone involved in regulating sleep-wake cycles, possesses anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and anti-estrogenic…
Key Points Lay Summary
Limitations of current surgical classification systems for endometriosis.
By Selma Oransay
Many classification systems for endometriosis have been developed since the 1970s, and in a 2021 review, more than 20 of those systems were identified. The best-known and most frequently used are rASRM (revised American Society of Reproductive Medicine), the Enzian…
Key Points Lay Summary
Pelvic pain in transgender individuals on testosterone therapy
By Eylül GÜN
Pelvic pain is a common issue among individuals assigned female at birth who are transgender or gender diverse (referred to as trans individuals) and are undergoing testosterone therapy as part of their gender-affirming hormone treatment. However, this topic remains poorly…
Key Points Lay Summary
Headaches Appear Years Before a Diagnosis of Endometriosis
By Özge Özkaya
Headache is associated with different forms of migraine, is related to pain, and often appears before diagnosis in women with endometriosis, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Reproductive Biomedicine Online. This knowledge can help ensure women with…
Key Points Lay Summary
The cost-effectiveness of different GnRH agonist regimes for progestogen-resistant endometriosis.
By Selma Oransay
Surgical and medical treatments are currently used to treat the pelvic pain caused by endometriosis. Respected guidelines recommend using progestins with or without estrogens as first-line medical treatment due to their safety, effectiveness, inexpensive, and tolerability. However, one-third to one-quarter…
Key Points Lay Summary
The effect of dienogest vs ethynyl estradiol/dienogest on quality of life in women with endometriosis
By Hale Goksever Celik
Women with endometriosis suffer from dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, and chronic pelvic pain that diminishes the quality of their life. Both physical and mental components of quality of life have been affected by endometriosis-associated symptoms. There are several medical and surgical treatment…
Key Points Lay Summary
Integrative medical management of endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
This lecture entitled "Integrative Medical Management of Endometriosis" was presented by Dr. Pinar Kodaman, Director of the endoscopic reproductive surgery program and Assoc. Professor of Clinical ObGyn and Reproductive Sciences at the Yale School of Medicine. In addition to surgery which…
Key Points Lay Summary
Which surgery for deep endometriosis? Laparoscopic shaving or rectal resection?
By Selma Oransay
This keynote lecture entitled "Deep endometriosis: The place of laparoscopic shaving" was presented by Dr. Jacques Donnez, the director of the infertility research unit at the Catholic University of Louvain, Brussels, Belgium, at the Annual International Medical Conference of the Endometriosis Foundation…
Key Points Lay Summary
The role of neurogenic inflammation in endometriosis
By Eylül GÜN
Prof. Mechsner from Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany presented on neuroimmunomodulation and its clinical impact on endometriosis at the Annual International Medical Conference of the Endometriosis Foundation of America. Endometriosis is a complex disease and the main symptoms are all pain-related. The pain mechanisms are…
Key Points Lay Summary
Is there any advantage of addition of hysterectomy on deep endometriotic pelvic pain or on the quality of life?
By Selma Oransay
The addition of hysterectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy to the endometriosis excision surgery provided greater benefits when compared to excision surgery alone, according to the results of a comparison study that was recently published in the journal named "Facts Views and Visions in Obstetrics…
Key Points Lay Summary
By Bahar YukselA self-diagnostic tool that predicts the likelihood of endometriosis
By Bahar Yuksel
Early diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis are crucial for preventing these negative outcomes, but the disease is often difficult to diagnose due to a lack of specific symptoms and reliable diagnostic tests. Goldstein et al. aimed to develop a machine-learning…
Key Points Lay Summary
Women With Chronic Pelvic Pain Have a Negative Experience With Doctors
By Özge Özkaya
Women with chronic pelvic pain have a negative experience with the healthcare system, according to a study by US researchers published in the International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. This is the case regardless of whether or not they have…
Key Points Lay Summary
Is there a way for a nonaddictive opioid for endometriosis pain?
By Bahar Yuksel
Endometriosis is a neuro-inflammatory disease whose current medical treatment is hormonal therapy. Given the side effects and the possible interactions between the opioid system and pain mechanisms, a new opioid medication might be promising. in the review conducted by Dr.Mechsner et…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis awarness for the Gastroenterologists.
By Selma Oransay
Women with endometriosis can develop chronic abdominal pain and/or abnormal bowel habits more than eight times compared to women without endometriosis. For this reason, an undiagnosed patient with endometriosis may be referred to a gastroenterologist and remain in a situation…
Key Points Lay Summary
Gathering brings relief to endometriosis pain.
By Bahar Yuksel
Endometriosis is an inflammatory disease that should be managed on a multidisciplinary basis. In a study conducted in Porto Rico, the authors designed a multitask organization to support women with endometriosis and analyzed its feasibility and accessibility. In order to define…
Key Points Lay Summary
GnRH Antagonists Can Effectively Reduce Endometriosis Pain
By Özge Özkaya
Oral gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonists are effective in reducing pain associated with endometriosis in 12 weeks, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics. The safety and efficacy of most drugs were dose-dependent…
Key Points Lay Summary
The effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of dysmenorrrhea
By Selma Oransay
Asymptomatic endometriosis does not adversely affect women's quality of life and mental health. But the quality of life of women with endometriosis who suffer endometriosis-related pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, and dysuria declines as they become more susceptible to anxiety and…
Key Points Lay Summary
Myofascial pain management and endometriosis
By Bahar Yuksel
Endometriosis is an inflammatory disease that causes inflammation around pelvic muscles and peripheric nerves which ultimately may cause peripheral and central sensitization and result in increased response to pain. In the study conducted by Shrikhande at al. from the pelvic…
Key Points Lay Summary
Weighting (side)effects when dealing with endometriosis-associated pain.
By Bahar Yuksel
The treatment options for endometriosis-related pain are so many. And the guidelines leave the selection to the clinicians, which causes obscurity between preferences. In the study by Christine Poulos et al, the authors analyzed the response of clinicians on the…
Key Points Lay Summary
Evaluation of the postoperative disability in women with endometriosis.
By Selma Oransay
Endometriosis is a chronic disease with a prevalence of 4,4% in women of reproductive age. It is also estimated that 23,8 of infertile women have endometriosis. Pelvic pain, dyschezia, dysmenorrhea, and dysuria are the symptoms of this disease that negatively…
Key Points Lay Summary
The most common gynecologic admissions to the emergency: Endometriosis and adenomyosis
By Hale Goksever Celik
Women with endometriosis demand therapy for the most common symptoms, which are pelvic pain and infertility. Adenomyosis occurs when the endometrial glandular and stromal tissue grows into the muscular wall of the uterus, called the myometrium. Women having adenomyosis also…
Key Points Lay Summary
Diaphragmatic Endometriosis: a Call for Awareness
By Nasuhi Engin Aydin
Dr. Pagano and colleagues from the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University of Bern, Switzerland, have published a prospective cohort study on diaphragmatic involvement in endometriosis patients in a recent issue of “The Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology”. Endometriosis is…
Key Points Lay Summary
Iron and toxic environmental elements in ovarian endometriomas
By Selma Oransay
It is well-known that the growth of endometriotic lesions is estrogen-dependent and supported by inflammatory processes. In addition to oxidative stress, it is believed that several other factors, including chemicals and environmental factors, and genetic predisposition may play a potential…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis-Associated Pain: The Role of Sensitization
By Eylül GÜN
As the most common symptom of the disease, endometriosis-associated pain (EAP) is experienced as dysmenorrhea, non-cyclical pelvic pain, and cyclical pain related to organ function. EAP is contributed to by different mechanisms, including local factors, peripheral sensitization, central sensitization, cross-sensitization,…
Key Points Lay Summary
Younger Women With Endometriosis Feel More Pain
By Özge Özkaya
Younger women with endometriosis feel more period pain (dysmenorrhea) and pain during intercourse (dyspareunia) compared to older women with the disease, found a new study published in the Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Acknowledging this fact can make sure…
Key Points Lay Summary
The "Painful Periods Screening Tool" Could Speed Endometriosis Diagnosis
By Özge Özkaya
The Painful Periods Screening Tool (PPST) is a useful tool for women with endometriosis, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Reproductive Sciences. The study's authors said that the tool “ facilitated communication between patients and providers…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis and the body perception
By Hale Goksever Celik
The most common endometriosis-associated symptoms are pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, and infertility. Women with endometriosis should be managed due to the significant impact of these symptoms on their quality of life. Body perceptions of these women are also affected depending…
Key Points Lay Summary
Do combination GnRH antagonists improve endometriosis-associated pain?
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease with a broad spectrum of pain symptoms such as dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, and chronic pelvic pain. It has been understood in light of scientific evidence that endometriosis results in diminished quality of life in these…
Key Points Lay Summary
Deep Endometriosis Surgery and Women’s Quality of Life
By Özge Özkaya
The physical and social functions as well as the overall physical health is worse than normal among Spanish women who underwent surgery for deep endometriosis, reported a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine. The bodily pain, emotional…
Key Points Lay Summary
Minimally Invasive Surgery Improves the Quality of Life of Women With Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis
By Özge Özkaya
Minimally invasive surgery improves the quality of life of women with deep infiltrating endometriosis two years after the operation, according to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine. The results are similar between conservative and total surgery.…
Key Points Lay Summary
Opioid use following operation for endometriosis or pelvic pain
By Hale Goksever Celik
Women with endometriosis have pain in the form of dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, and chronic pelvic pain, and they have a diminished quality of life depending on the severity of pelvic pain. Opioids have been preferred in many patients suffering from pain,…
Key Points Lay Summary
What causes pelvic pain? Androgens or estrogens?
By Selma Oransay
A comparison between women and men reveals that women suffer more pelvic pain. This reality raises the possibility of the pain-relieving effect of testosterone or androgens. It would be a wise solution to investigate how androgens affect pain at different…
Key Points Lay Summary
Anhedonia and its relation to endometriosis as a sole symptom
By Eylül GÜN
"Anhedonia may be defined as a broad category of hedonic function deficiencies, including diminished motivation or enjoyment capacity. It has been an area of interest for a long time in psychiatric disorders and has been crucial in some diagnoses such…
Key Points Lay Summary
Non-hormonal medication for endometriosis-associated pelvic pain
By Selma Oransay
The thought of benefiting from non-hormonal therapy in endometriosis pain is based on the pathophysiological findings that include angiogenesis, fibrosis, the presence of inflammatory cytokines and immune cells, apoptosis, and stem cell theory. But the effect of this treatment in…
Key Points Lay Summary
Embryo implantation and endometriosis
By Bahar Yuksel
Infertility is one of the main symptoms of endometriosis. And unfortunately, monthly fecundity rates decrease from 15% to 2-10% for women with endometriosis. The reason for these decreases is controversial and still not known whether it is because of impaired…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis Care Is More Patient-Centered for age older than 35
By Özge Özkaya
Women younger than age 35 receive endometriosis care in a less patient-centered manner compared to older women, found a new study published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. This finding underscores the importance of improving endometriosis care, especially for…
Key Points Lay Summary
How beneficial is colorectal surgery for patients with deep endometriosis?
By Eylül GÜN
In cases of deep endometriosis, which causes more severe pain and gastrointestinal symptoms, the patient's quality of life and fertility outcomes are negatively affected. Surgical intervention is thought to be the optimal treatment method in colorectal deep endometriosis cases, however,…
Key Points Lay Summary
Educational Programs Important to Raise Endometriosis Awareness
By Özge Özkaya
An educational program consisting of lectures and group discussions motivated nursing and medical students to seek medical attention so endometriosis can be detected and managed early, reported a new study published in the scientific journal Reproductive Biomedicine Online. However, this…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis and the possible mechanisms of pain.
By Selma Oransay
The most common clinical symptoms of endometriosis are chronic pelvic pain and infertility. It is often not enough to treat pain symptoms with hormonal therapy or a surgical approach. Moreover, the stage of endometriosis has weakly associated with the amount,…
Key Points Lay Summary
Organizing structural protein Ezrin and its active form in endometriosis biopsies
By Nasuhi Engin Aydin
Dr. Alessandra Peloggia and colleagues from Brazil have published their results on immunostaining of Ezrin protein and its phosphorylated active form in endometrial tissues in a recent issue of “Clinics” Possible factors on endometrial cell implantation and proliferation in the…
Key Points Lay Summary
The Sex Life of Women With Endometriosis Improve After Laparoscopic Surgery
By Eylül GÜN
As one of the most common symptoms of endometriosis, dyspareunia affects the patient's quality of life in many aspects including sexual dysfunction and disorders. Among the treatment methods used in endometriosis, laparoscopic surgery is suggested to improve the symptoms of dyspareunia and the…
Key Points Lay Summary
Pelvic pain characteristics in young girls with endometriosis.
By Selma Oransay
The occurrence of severe and frequent pelvic pain in young women is a piece of evidence that endometriosis begins and develops at an early age. Two-thirds of women with endometriosis who were diagnosed in their adulthood reported the onset of…
Key Points Lay Summary
Combined Birth Control Pills May Be Beneficial in Reducing Endometriosis Pain
By Özge Özkaya
Treatment with an extended regimen of ethinylestradiol and drospirenone improves health-related quality of life, according to a new study conducted on Japanese women with painful periods or pelvic pain due to endometriosis. (Ethinylestradiol and drospirenone are medications that are widely…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis Prediction by "Machine Learning"
By Selma Oransay
To develop a predictive model for endometriosis and to re-assess the contribution of known risk factors, Blass et al. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel used the data of the UK biobank by machine learning-based models. They compared and…
Key Points Lay Summary
To Remove the Ovary(ies) or Not During Hysterectomy for Endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
Some surgeons prefer empiric bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy during the hysterectomy of women with endometriosis based on the knowledge that endometriosis is stimulated by endogenous estrogens, as leaving the ovaries in situ may increase the possibility of endometriosis recurrence and pelvic pain.…
Key Points Lay Summary
Coexistence of endometriosis and cardiovascular diseases
By Hale Goksever Celik
The most common presenting complaints are mainly pelvic pain and infertility, most of which relate to the menstrual period. Affected women demand therapy for these symptoms of endometriosis, notably pelvic pain. Several theories have been proposed to explain the development…
Key Points Lay Summary
Sex Education For The Sexual Quality Of Life
By Hale Goksever Celik
The most common symptoms of endometriosis are dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, chronic pelvic pain, and infertility. Decreased quality of life due to pelvic pain, dyspareunia, and psychological conditions such as anxiety and depression can lead to sexual dysfunction in women with endometriosis.…
Key Points Lay Summary
Estradiol metabolism, endometriosis and migraine
By Bahar Yuksel
Endometriosis and migraine are the leading pain diseases of women of reproductive ages. As both are known to be induced by hormonal changes, in the review conducted by Joy-Fleur van der Vaart et al, the authors aimed to find out the…
Key Points Lay Summary
Time has come to learn more about endometriosis and take action!
By Eylül GÜN
It has been a long time since endometriosis was defined. Extensive population studies have shown that around 10% of women suffer from this condition. Depending on its severity, it alters the various functions of the body and causes the patients…
Key Points Lay Summary
Is it possible to reduce pain by diet in endometriosis?
By Eylül GÜN
Endometriosis-related pain is one of the most common symptoms of endometriosis that significantly affects the patient's quality of life. The peripheral and central sensitization, caused by chronic inflammation activation, may result in referred pain. The pain perception was shown to…
Key Points Lay Summary
Understanding the expression of endometriosis-related pain: A barrier to overcome
By Eylül GÜN
It is difficult to describe the feeling of pain, one of the most important symptoms of endometriosis because it is subjective. Endometriosis-related pain is proven to be underestimated by some clinicians resulting in the patient getting a late diagnosis. It…
Key Points Lay Summary
Chronic pelvic pain and endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
Patients may have an average of 7 clinical visits before being diagnosed with endometriosis. Understanding chronic pain conditions including endometriosis-associated pain, and developing chronic pelvic pain benefits the management of the patients. The role of central sensitization, comorbid conditions, and…
Key Points Lay Summary
Who Is Diagnosing my Endo?
By Özge Özkaya
It is possible to acquire the skills necessary to diagnose endometriosis lesions as well as adenomyosis using three-dimensional rectosonography after a short learning period in an expert radiology center. This is according to a new study by French researchers published…
Key Points Lay Summary
Surgery Improves the Sex Life and Sleep of Women With Endometriosis
By Özge Özkaya
Endometriosis surgery improves patients’ quality of life, sexual function, and sleep confirms a new study by Turkish researchers published in the scientific journal Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics. According to the first author Dr. Belfin Nur Arici Halici of the…
Key Points Lay Summary
How does endometriosis affect the life course of the patients?
By Eylül GÜN
Endometriosis, as a chronic disease has impairing effects on women’s lives. Patients carry psychological, social, and work-related burdens along with debilitating physical symptoms. Studies have been performed on these issues at a particular time in patients’ lives, however, only a…
Key Points Lay Summary
The relation between body mass index and endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
The studies have emphasized a link between low BMI values and endometriosis, however, this conclusion may be questionable when the estrogen dependence of the disease is concerned. Excess adipose tissue may produce higher circulating estrogen that may result in an…
Key Points Lay Summary
The consequence of COVID-19 pandemic on endometriosis patients
By Selma Oransay
The relevant policies and restrictions concerning Covid-19 have prevented patients from accessing medical care. Similarly, standard care for endometriosis patients has also been negatively impacted by postponed or canceled appointments and suspended surgeries across the countries. Women trying to cope…
Key Points Lay Summary
The evaluation of sexual dysfunction in infertile women
By Eylül GÜN
Infertility constitutes a serious health problem in women and men worldwide. The most common causes of women’s infertility are reported to be endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome. The prevalence of infertility in women with endometriosis is as high as 50%.…
Key Points Lay Summary
Social media and endometriosis management
By Selma Oransay
Endometriosis has a negative impact on social life, work, daily activities, personal relationship, and overall quality of life. A study from Australia recently published in the Australian New Zeland Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology reports that social media helps these…
Key Points Lay Summary
No way to sleep when you suffer from pain
By Bahar Yuksel
Having chronic disease might alter the sleep quality and disturb sleeping periods. Besides insomnia, endometriosis itself changes the pain sensitivity and increases the body’s reaction to inflammatory and painful inputs. Thus, as a chronic and painful long-term situation, the relation…
Key Points Lay Summary
Which Method Is Best To Reduce Pain During Egg Retrieval?
By Özge Özkaya
Women experience the least pain during egg retrieval for in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) when alfentanil is injected into the muscles and this is followed by fentanyl injection into the bloodstream and non-sedative analgesics given by…
Key Points Lay Summary
How reliable are the patient questionnaires in predicting endometriosis?
By Eylül GÜN
It is well known that the diagnosis of endometriosis is delayed in the majority of patients throughout the world. The burden that this brings has many effects on the patients’ lives as well as the society. The radiological developments in…
Key Points Lay Summary
Potential New Approach to Treat Endometriosis
By Özge Özkaya
Inhibiting ribosome biogenesis could be a potential therapeutic approach for endometriosis according to a new study published in the scientific journal Biomedicines. Ribosome biogenesis plays a key role in protein homeostasis during cell growth and division. Previous research has shown…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis diagnosis and management based on the best available evidence from published literature
By Selma Oransay
ESHRE, "European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology" published a Guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis in 2005 and then revised it in 2013. Based on new research and development there was a need to renew the last…
Key Points Lay Summary
What are the most common symptoms of endometriosis and how are they related to age?
By Eylül GÜN
Even though the incidence of endometriosis is relatively high and numerous studies are being conducted to elucidate its pathogenesis, it is still a highly underdiagnosed and undertreated disease. The symptoms of the disease are well-known; however, the correlation between the…
Key Points Lay Summary
A revolutionary view on endometriosis related pain
By Nasuhi Engin Aydin
Dr. Lydia Coxon and colleagues from Oxford University, UK, have recently published their cross-sectional study on the categorization of endometriosis-related pain in the journal "Frontiers in Pain Research". As a chronic inflammatory condition, endometriosis results in pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea, and…
Key Points Lay Summary
Mindfullness Can Hep Reduce Endometriosis Pain
By Özge Özkaya
A brief mindfulness-based intervention can be useful in managing pain related to endometriosis and restoring patients’ psychological well-being, found a new study published in the European Journal of Pain. This finding contributes to the applicability of mindfulness-based interventions in people…
Key Points Lay Summary
It is all about awareness when it comes to endometriosis
By Bahar Yuksel
Endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain are known to have debilitating effects on daily life, educational life, and work life. However, the true prevalence and effects of the disease data are still controversial all over the World. The survey-based study conducted…
Key Points Lay Summary
The underlying reason of implantation failure in women with endometriosis-associated infertility
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is most frequently encountered in reproductive-aged women, with a prevalence of 10-15% in the general population. However, endometriosis is more frequently diagnosed in infertile women, with a prevalence of 25-40%. Although the exact mechanism explaining the association between endometriosis…
Key Points Lay Summary
Cannabis use in the management of endometriosis-related pain during the COVID19 pandemic
By Eylül GÜN
Pain management in endometriosis has been challenging owing to many reasons. Since the pathways that cause pain in endometriosis have not been elucidated extensively, the medical and surgical management of pain remains to be symptomatic. Alternative pain management methods have…
Key Points Lay Summary
Algorithm for pain management in endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
One of the debilitating symptoms of endometriosis is pain. Mostly due to delayed diagnosis and the high recurrence rate, even after the surgical and hormonal therapy pain control may not be sufficient causing the patient to suffer for decades. Endometriosis-associated…
Key Points Lay Summary
Surgery for the Treatment of Endometriosis of the Diaphragm and Thorax
By Özge Özkaya
Diaphragmatic and thoracic endometriosis starts in the abdominal wall of the diaphragm and later invades the thorax, based on findings from a series of patients surgically treated for the disease, reports a study published in the Journal of Gynecology Obstetrics…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis of the Diaphragm, What do the Doctors Know About it?
By Özge Özkaya
The median time between the first consultation with a primary care physician and receiving a diagnosis of endometriosis of the diaphragm is two years according to a study by U.K. researchers. In the worse case, it took 23 years for…
Key Points Lay Summary
Urinary Tract Endometriosis
By Bahar Yuksel
Endometriosis is mostly seen in patients of fertile age, and urinary tract endometriosis affects 1.2 to 6% of women with endometriosis. French coloRectal Infiltrating ENDometriosis Study (FRIENDS) group investigated the characteristics of urinary tract endometriosis in 232 patients from 31 centers. Authors…
Key Points Lay Summary
Quality of life assessment in women with endometrioma
By Eylül GÜN
Like most chronic diseases, endometriosis poses a significant risk of diminishing the quality of life in patients suffering from it, particularly with its most considerable symptom; chronic pelvic pain. Although it is known that endometriosis is more common in East…
Key Points Lay Summary
Pain During Intercourse, What Does it Feel Like?
By Özge Özkaya
The presentation, severity, and impact of painful intercourse caused by endometriosis differ between patients, found a new study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine. According to the authors of the study, these findings are important because they can help…
Key Points Lay Summary
Evaluation of daily diary for endometriosis-related pain.
By Selma Oransay
Some endometriosis patient-reported outcomes elements have been previously developed in accordance with regulatory and best practice guidelines including Endometriosis Pain Daily Diary, the Endometriosis Symptom Diary, and Endometriosis Impact Scale. The aim of this study was to develop another content-valid…
Key Points Lay Summary
Is intrauterine insemination effective in women having endometriosis-associated infertility?
By Hale Goksever Celik
The most common presenting complaints of women with endometriosis are dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, chronic pelvic pain, and infertility. Affected women demand therapy for these symptoms of endometriosis, notably fertility problems. Several underlying mechanisms have been proposed to explain endometriosis-associated infertility including anatomic…
Key Points Lay Summary
The necessity of laparoscopy for unexplained infertility.
By Selma Oransay
The standard for accepting a couple as "infertile" is the inability to conceive after 12 months of regular unprotected intercourse. When this condition is met, assessing the number of motile sperm in the male partner and certifying the patency at…
Key Points Lay Summary
Association of psoriasis and endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
Psoriasis is an immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease characterized by scalpy, red, and well-demarcated skin plaques that are observed in 2-4% of the population. Approximately 30% of psoriatic patients additionally have joint pain, stiffness, and swelling called psoriatic arthritis. The mechanism…
Key Points Lay Summary
Physical activity and exercise in reducing endometriosis symptoms
By Eylül GÜN
The treatment modalities to date on endometriosis have focused on the symptomatic relief and management of chronic pain. Hormonal suppression sometimes shows intolerable side effects and is known to lose effect after some time. Surgical interventions may not provide a…
Key Points Lay Summary
Envorinmental metals harmful for female reproductivity
By Selma Oransay
Heavy metals exposure in a wide range of ways is one of the main causes of increased infertility. According to the 2003 National Health Survey, nearly every pregnant woman in the USA is exposed to at least 43 hazardous chemicals…
Key Points Lay Summary
Pain alone is not a specific predictor for endometriosis diagnosis
By Hale Goksever Celik
The most common symptoms and signs of women with endometriosis include dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, chronic pelvic pain, and infertility. However, diagnostic delay still occurs due to the broad clinical spectrum of the disease and the absence of non-invasive diagnostic biomarkers. Gordon et…
Key Points Lay Summary
The quality of life and mental health in endometriosis patients
By Eylül GÜN
One of the most important aspects of having a chronic illness comes with its relative effect on the patients’ quality of life and mental health status. Being among the most debilitating diseases in women in the reproductive period, endometriosis is…
Key Points Lay Summary
From Spain: execution for endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain unresponsive to conventional therapies
By Selma Oransay
The current conventional therapy for chronic pelvic pain for endometriosis is defined as either hormonal or non-hormonal medical treatment starting with combined oral contraceptives progestins or dienogest, and then gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs and/or surgery. Although conventional therapies usually are successful, still…
Key Points Lay Summary
Importance of Language in Communicating Endometriosis Pain
By Özge Özkaya
Language is of great importance for women with endometriosis to communicate their pain to their doctor, according to a new study published in Frontiers in Global Women's Health. The study also found that additional tools are needed to help women…
Key Points Lay Summary
A study design to improve the patient-centeredness in endometriosis care.
By Selma Oransay
It is well known that endometriosis causes impaired daily activity and productivity along with energy loss, fatigue, pelvic pain, deep dyspareunia, and further, infertility accompanies all these negative influences. The chronic nature of the disease forces clinicians to plan long-term care…
Key Points Lay Summary
An Overview on Treatment of endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
There are different guidelines by different gynecological societies for the diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis, which is an extremely complex illness. Kalaitzopoulos and Samartzis et al. from Switzerland worked on and compared six national and two international widely used guidelines to…
Key Points Lay Summary
Effects of Hormonal Contraceptives on Endometriosis Pain
By Özge Özkaya
There is no difference between the oral progestin dienogest and combined oral contraceptive pills in managing pain and increasing quality of life in women with endometriosis, according to the results of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. However, there was…
Key Points Lay Summary
Evaluation of patient self-reported outcome measures for endometriosis.
By Selma Oransay
Endometriosis symptomology is multifactorial and it changes over time based on the patient's life experience, perceptions, and medical treatment. These changes require the agility of adaptation for both clinicians and patients to respond properly. The documentation of the patient's specific…
Key Points Lay Summary
Sexual Function in Women With Endometriosis
By Özge Özkaya
The sexual function of women diagnosed with endometriosis is impaired confirmed a new study by Spanish researchers published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine. According to the study, the strongest predictive factors for poor sexual function are deep disease, depression,…
Key Points Lay Summary
Relationship Goals and Sexual Satisfaction for Couples Coping with Endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
"Relationship satisfaction" is based on an individual's emotional judgment. Physical and emotional obstacles may present and negatively affect relationship satisfaction. Endometriosis is associated with multiple life domains, and also includes relationship and sexual satisfaction. Sexual satisfaction, on the other hand,…
Key Points Lay Summary
Antinuclear Antibody May Be Linked to Milder Disease in Endometriosis
By Özge Özkaya
The prevalence of positive antinuclear antibody was 21.2% in women with endometriosis compared to 5.4% in controls, according to a new study published in the journal Human Immunology. Antinuclear antibodies are autoantibodies that bind to the content of the cell…
Key Points Lay Summary
Cross-cultural translation and adaptation of an endometriosis survey
By Eylül GÜN
Endometriosis is a disease that presents heterogeneously which makes it hard to identify a causal relationship. A patient-based questionnaire called Endometriosis Participant Questionnaire (EPQ) has been originated by The World Endometriosis Research Foundation Endometriosis Phenome and Biobanking Harmonization Project. It…
Key Points Lay Summary
Pharmacological Therapy for Endometriosis Pain
By Eylül GÜN
The negative effects of endometriosis on women’s quality of life are indisputable. Women who suffer from endometriosis might have to deal with problems in many aspects such as psychological, sexual, social, and economic. Pain which is one of the most…
Key Points Lay Summary
The new Endometriosis Surgical Complexity Classification: AAGL 2021
By Selma Oransay
Multiple endometriosis categorizations have been approved in the recent forty years. The American Fertility Society proposed ASRM with a desire to score the impact of the endometriosis in 1996, which was updated several times later (rASRM), to predict infertility after laparoscopic operations. For…
Key Points Lay Summary
Dietary adjustments do not increase the quality of life of women with endometriosis.
By Özge Özkaya
Even though dietary changes do not seem to increase patients’ quality of life, they lead to a perceived reduction in symptoms. No specific adjustment in the diet increases the quality of life of women with endometriosis, according to a new…
Key Points Lay Summary
Could Cannabis Be Recommended to Manage Endometriosis?
By Özge Özkaya
It is not possible to recommend cannabis-based products to patients with endometriosis because there is not enough evidence supporting their benefits, according to a new study published in the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology. Cannabis-based products have been suggested as…
Key Points Lay Summary
Persistence of Chronic Pelvic Pain after Hysterectomy
By Hale Goksever Celik
Chronic pelvic pain is defined as the "pain in the pelvic area that lasts for 6 months or longer". There are several gynecological, urological, and gastrointestinal reasons for the development of chronic pelvic pain. Nociceptive pain or central sensitization is…
Key Points Lay Summary
Improvement of sexual-life quality in patients with endometrioma
By Bahar Yuksel
Endometriosis is a painful disease that affects daily life as well as sexual life quality. In the study conducted by Yalcin Bahat et al, the researchers questioned the effect of periodic use of dydrogesterone on the sexual life quality of patients with…
Key Points Lay Summary
How to Reduce Pain After Laparoscopic Surgery
By Özge Özkaya
Using humidified warm gas with forced-air warming blanket during laparoscopic surgery resulted in significantly less pain in the recovery room, according to a new study published in the journal "Surgical Endoscopy". In patients with endometriosis, using humidified warm air even…
Key Points Lay Summary
The Cost of Healthcare for Chronic Pelvic Pain
By Özge Özkaya
The healthcare costs of pelvic pain range between 1,367 USD and 7,043 USD per woman per year, found a new study published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada. The study also reported that prescription costs ranged between 193…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endogenous cannabinoids are related to endometriosis pain
By Eylül GÜN
Pain, specifically dysmenorrhea is the most important symptom of endometriosis. Prostaglandins are the main director of the pain process in dysmenorrhea, therefore the mechanisms affecting the prostaglandin metabolism have been studied in order to find a treatment for pain, and found that…
Key Points Lay Summary
Body Mass Index and indicators of metabolic syndrome in women with Endometriosis
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is a disease of reproductive-aged women and has common pathophysiological mechanisms with other chronic health morbidities due to its estrogen-dependent chronic inflammatory background. The changes in the inflammatory components of adipose tissue may have an impact on the quality of…
Key Points Lay Summary
Potential new Target to Reduce Endometriosis Pain
By Özge Özkaya
The inflammatory mediators, bradykinin, and bradykinin B1 receptor may play a role in the onset of endometriosis-associated pain according to a new study by Chinese researchers. They do so by inducing the prostaglandin signaling pathway. Therefore, targeting these biological pathways…
Key Points Lay Summary
A new "survey-based" endometriosis diagnostic tool
By Bahar Yuksel
Endometriosis is a disease that is diagnosed years after its appearance which causes life quality impairment to patients. It is crucial for the patient to find out the probability of the presence of endometriosis, for applying to healthcare providers before…
Key Points Lay Summary
A rare complication of endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
Morales et al. from the Monterrey School of Medicine, Mexico, reported a case of bowel intussusception in a woman with severe endometriosis to draw attention to this very rare endometriosis complication. The case is a 27 years old young female…
Key Points Lay Summary
By Dr. Youngran ParkAwareness is the first step toward endometriosis treatment
By Dr. Youngran Park
We want to reiterate the importance of endometriosis, by handling the paper entitled "Endometriosis awareness: screaming at the top of our voices" published on April 2021 in the journal “Women & Health”. The Endometriosis Awareness Month of 2021 was a little different,…
Key Points Lay Summary
Outpatient neuromuscular protocol may improve the quality of life in women with chronic pelvic pain
By Bahar Yuksel
Chronic pelvic pain syndrome is a complicated entity causing central and peripheric sensitization of nerves. The sensitization processes start a loop of unbreakable pain chain causing resistance to conventional therapy methods. The study conducted by Soha Patil et al covering data…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometrioma post-surgical-recurrence risk factors
By Nasuhi Engin Aydin
Jiang and associates from Dailan Medical University, China published their review manuscript “Risk factors for ovarian endometrioma recurrence following surgical excision: a systematic review and meta‑analysis” in the June 2021 issue of "Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics". The most common form of endometriosis, "ovarian…
Key Points Lay Summary
Depression and Anxiety Common in Women with Endo
By Özge Özkaya
Symptoms of depression and anxiety are frequent among women with endometriosis and are related to chronic pain, confirms a review of the literature and meta-analysis published in the Journal of Women's Health. According to the study authors, correlating factors should…
Key Points Lay Summary
The incidence and prevalence of endometriosis in a United States population-based study .
By Selma Oransay
To define the accurate incidence and prevalence estimates of endometriosis among nonselected cohorts in the USA, Christ et al. from the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the University of Washington, Seattle, planned a retrospective cohort study using the electronic KPWA…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis & adolescents: Overcoming the diagnostic delay via education
By Eylül GÜN
Although the diagnosis of endometriosis is still not timely even in adults, due to its common under- or misdiagnosis in adolescents, the diagnostic delay may further cause the adolescent women to wait to seek medical treatment. A group of researchers…
Key Points Lay Summary
The clues for pain and infertility in endometriosis/adenomyosis complex
By Nasuhi Engin Aydin
Drs. Gruber and Mechsner from Charite University-Berlin, Germany published their comprehensive review on pathophysiological background of endometriosis and adenomyosis in the scientific periodical “Cells”. Chronic pain and fertility problems are the main clinical issue in endometriosis and adenomyosis patients. In order to…
Key Points Lay Summary
Non-pharmacological self-care: dietary modifications in women with endometriosis.
By Selma Oransay
The academic interest on the role of diet in endometriosis has grown due to its possible relation with inflammation, estrogenic activity, and menstrual cycles. Multiple dietary strategies and prescriptions are being used to deal with the pelvic pain and gastrointestinal…
Key Points Lay Summary
Not just the pain stops but also the bowel function improves after DIE surgery
By Bahar Yuksel
Bowel endometriosis and the techniques to operate it have always been a challenge. The study conducted by Beraldo et al., from Brazil, highlighted the results of an effective nerve-sparing bowel surgery on endometriosis lesions and its long-term effects on patients. The…
Key Points Lay Summary
Impact of adenomyosis on sexual life
By Selma Oransay
Considering the similar etiopathogenesis and pain symptoms between adenomyosis and deep infiltrating endometriosis, Alcalde et al. from the Department of Gynecology, University of Barcelona, Spain, aimed to call attention to the presence of potential sexual dysfunction not only in patients with deep…
Key Points Lay Summary
Does exercise have an effect on pain perception in women with endometriosis?
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is an inflammatory disease causing pain symptoms such as dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, chronic pelvic pain, and also infertility. Several medical and surgical treatment options have been developed to improve quality of life of these women. Despite extensive research, the optimal…
Key Points Lay Summary
The Severity of Pain Does not Predict Endometriosis or its Stage, Study Confirms
By Özge Özkaya
The intensity of pain a woman experiences could predict whether or not she would undergo laparoscopic surgery. However, it could not predict whether she has endometriosis or in case she did, the severity of her disease. This is according to…
Key Points Lay Summary
Outcomes of chronic pelvic pain of endometriosis after laparoscopic surgery
By Selma Oransay
The prevalence of endometriosis is up to 35-50% among patients with pelvic pain. Among several medical and surgical options to relieve chronic pelvic pain, surgical options are the preferred method but this depends on patients' age, fertility desire, and disease…
Key Points Lay Summary
Women reject using hormonal drugs for endometriosis, an accelerating need for nonhormonal medications
By Bahar Yuksel
Although the pathophysiology of endometriosis is poorly understood, endocrine drugs are widely used for reducing inflammation and patients’ symptoms. Burla and colleagues aimed to evaluate the patients’ thoughts and expectations about the endocrine drugs which are used in the treatment…
Key Points Lay Summary
Managing Persistent Pelvic Pain in a distinct "pain" clinic
By Selma Oransay
Persistent pelvic pain is an important problem producing physiological stress and productivity loss during the reproductive period of women. A specific pelvic pain clinic named "Mater Health Persistent Pelvic Pain Clinic" was established in 2017 in a part of the emergency…
Key Points Lay Summary
The higher the cyst fluid iron concentration, the more severe the pain symptom for endometrioma
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis usually is encountered in three different forms: superficial peritoneal endometriosis, ovarian cysts (endometrioma) and deep infiltrating endometriosis. Endometrioma can be identified as cystic lesions consisting of dark brown endometrial fluid and are sometimes referred to as "chocolate cysts." The presence…
Key Points Lay Summary
Patient- centeredness in endometriosis
By Bahar Yuksel
Endometriosis is common in fertile age, and women with endometriosis are suffering from serious symptoms including pelvic discomfort, dysmenorrhea, and infertility. Due to resemblances of endometriosis symptoms with other diseases, most endometriosis patients are faced with delays in diagnosis. To…
Key Points Lay Summary
Migraine, endometriosis and plasma "Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide"
By Eylül GÜN
Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a neurotransmitter that takes part in migraine and is now thought to have a role in endometriosis. The role of CGRP is well known in migraine, it is released from neurons during acute attacks and…
Key Points Lay Summary
Peritoneal Pockets and Endometriosis
By Özge Özkaya
Infertile women with peritoneal pockets had more endometriosis compared to women without pockets according to a study published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada. Severe pelvic pain was also associated with the presence of pockets and the presence…
Key Points Lay Summary
The endless burden: sexual dysfunction and endometriosis
By Bahar Yuksel
The relationship between endometriosis and sexual health in women is one of the hottest topics in obstetrics and gynecology practice. There are some previous reports that investigated the effect of endometriosis on the loss of libido, arousal disorder, orgasmic dysfunction,…
Key Points Lay Summary
Targeting Endometriosis From a Different Angle
By Özge Özkaya
Dopamine agonists could help reduce the size of endometriosis lesions and minimize pain, while maintaining ovulation, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Human Reproduction. This constitutes a completely different approach in targeting endometriosis according to Dr.…
Key Points Lay Summary
Fertilization rate and pregnancy outcome in IVF cycles of endometriosis.
By Selma Oransay
Endometriosis affects the pelvic cavity, uterus, ovaries and causes impaired fertility as a result. The chronic inflammatory nature of this disease negatively impacts the oocyte quality, maturation, and fertilization. Obviously, fewer oocytes can be harvested in the IVF cycles of…
Key Points Lay Summary
Chronic Opioid Use in Women with Endometriosis
By Özge Özkaya
Women with endometriosis are at a higher risk of chronic opioid use compared to those without the disease, according to a new study by researchers in the U.S. This could be due to other diseases that accompany endometriosis. This finding…
Key Points Lay Summary
Pain Sensitization and What Should Be Done About it?
By Özge Özkaya
Pain sensitization and lumbopelvic impairments are common among women with endometriosis, especially if they have advanced stage disease. This is according to a study by researchers in Spain that was published in the scientific journal "Pain Medicine". The finding underscores the…
Key Points Lay Summary
The effects of endometriosis on life satisfaction.
By Bahar Yuksel
Endometriosis is well-known for its debilitating effects on women suffering from it. In the review conducted by Masoumeh Namazi et al, the authors have collected studies searching for the wellbeing of women with endometriosis. They have analyzed 46 studies that…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis and Sexual Satisfaction
By Özge Özkaya
Endometriosis affects the ability to have an orgasm during sexual intercourse, according to a study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine. However, the disease does not have an effect on reaching orgasm via masturbation or sexual activities with a…
Key Points Lay Summary
The cause of PAIN in patients with adenomyosis
By Bahar Yuksel
Adenomyosis is known to be a painful disease with heavy menstrual cycles and negatively affects fertility. Even adenomyosis and endometriosis look alike, it is still crucial to call them as different variation of the same disease. The mechanism underlying the…
Key Points Lay Summary
DNA damage response in eutopic endometria of endometriosis patients
By Dr. Youngran Park
The DNA damage response (DDR) is a network of cellular pathways that sense, signal, and repair the lesions occurring in DNA. Surveillance proteins that monitor DNA integrity activate the DNA repair pathways in response to DNA damage and try to prevent the generation of potentially deleterious mutations. Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent…
Key Points Lay Summary
The incidence of endometriosis and pelvic pain in transgender man
By Bahar Yuksel
Transgender operations are quite common all around the world and hysterectomies are performed almost 1 in 5 of this population. The studies conducted until now mostly evaluated operative and postoperative outcomes, but the present research also questioned the preoperative symptoms and…
Key Points Lay Summary
Do Adolescents Know About Endometriosis?
By Özge Özkaya
Most secondary school girls have painful periods and many of them don’t know what typical periods are like, according to a study published in the "Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology". The majority of the girls do not have knowledge…
Key Points Lay Summary
The improvement of fertility rate and symptoms of superficial endometriosis following laparoscopic peritoneal stripping
By Selma Oransay
Pain, in the form of diverse entities, including dyspareunia, dysuria, dyschezia, is the main symptom of endometriosis patients. The severity of pain is independent of the extent and the location of the disease, and generally causes a negative impact on…
Key Points Lay Summary
Vitamin D supplementation, endometriosis symptoms and metabolic profiles
By Hale Goksever Celik
Patients with endometriosis suffer from dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, chronic pelvic pain, and infertility. These women are also at higher risk for ovarian and breast cancer, cardiovascular events, and metabolic abnormalities. Several medical and surgical alternatives have been recommended to these patients…
Key Points Lay Summary
A comparison of symptomatology and histopathologic features in surgically resected colorectal endometriosis
By Nasuhi Engin Aydin
Dr. Tschan and associates from Feldrich Academic Teaching Hospital, Austria published their retrospective research on patients requiring colorectal surgical resection for endometriosis in European Journal of Medical Research. Bowel endometriosis requiring colorectal surgical resection causes important morbidity. The rectum and…
Key Points Lay Summary
Antioxidant therapy for the endometriosis pain
By Selma Oransay
Ts the protective defense mechanism of cells, hence the destruction of balance between oxidants and antioxidants in our body is called "redox imbalance". The major oxidants are reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are involved in multiple cellular processes by physiologically…
Key Points Lay Summary
By Irem OnurThe association between body size and endometriosis
By Irem Onur
Until today there have been few studies investigating body size in childhood and adolescence in women with endometriosis. A new study published recently in the journal Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica provides further evidence of the associations between endometriosis, body…
Key Points Lay Summary
By Murat OsmanUltrasound for the Detection of Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis
By Murat Osman
Endometriosis is a disease that causes significant morbidity to women worldwide. Deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) is a term used to characterize endometriosis that has invaded deeper pelvic structures and is associated with significant inflammatory, fibrotic, and surgically complex disease. Depending…
Key Points Lay Summary
Analysis of women with endometriosis-related pain before the multidisciplinary endometriosis care management
By Irem Onur
Endometriosis patients are generally treated by a single provider and they frequently report dissatisfaction with care. To decrease diagnostic delays, improve pain management, and promote patient satisfaction, multidisciplinary endometriosis centers emerged. But, baseline data assessing the efficacy of the multidisciplinary…
Key Points Lay Summary
High-dose progestin intake and sexual functions in endometriosis patients
By Selma Oransay
Dr. Oppenheimer et al. from the Department of Reproductive Medicine and Fertility Preservation of Antoine Beclere University Hospital, Clamart, France, recently published this bi-center observational prospective study in "Acta Obstetrica et Gynecologica Scandinavica". The study was designed to put forth…
Key Points Lay Summary
KEYNOTE: Excision Without Mutilation: It’s Possible! - Arnaud Wattiez, MD
By Özge Özkaya
In his keynote lecture, Dr. Wattiez talks about the pros and cons of endometriosis surgery and the importance of tailoring endometriosis surgery to individual patients. “Endometriosis is a disease that degrades patient’s wellbeing," Dr. Wattiez says and gives some examples…
Key Points Lay Summary
Exploring the Role of Neuropathy in Re-Operative Endometriosis - Marc Possover, MD, PhD
By Özge Özkaya
Prof. Possover starts his presentation by summarizing the possible cause of pelvic neuropathy following endometriosis surgery. Pelvic neuropathy is the damage or dysfunction of the pelvic nerve. Prof. Possover explained that this could either be due to incomplete surgery, disease…
Key Points Lay Summary
Exploring Pelvic Pain: Deep to Ischial Spine Including Pre-Sacral Roots - A. Taner Usta, MD
By Irem Onur
Chronic pelvic pain is defined as pain in the pelvic area that lasts for 6 months or longer and results in functional or psychological disability or requires intervention and treatment by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists. There are…
Key Points Lay Summary
Does hysterectomy bring a total relief in patients with endometriosis?
By Bahar Yuksel
There is a common belief that hysterectomy is the last option to relieve the pain in patients with endometriosis by stopping the production of menstrual material. The study entitled "Impact of hysterectomy on analgesic, psychoactive and neuroactive drug use in…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis and chronic opioid use
By Selma Oransay
The members of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have declared that gynecologists prescribe opioids after laparoscopic hysterectomy, or for relieving endometriosis pain, although guidelines are not available for when or how to use opioids for the treatment of endometriosis-associated…
Key Points Lay Summary
Pain in Endometriosis
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is a chronic and debilitating condition characterized by chronic pelvic pain (CPP) and infertility. It affects approximately 10% of women globally and more than 60% of women diagnosed with endometriosis report CPP. However, the mechanisms underlying the associated pain…
Key Points Lay Summary
Adolescent endometriosis: Diagnostic clues?
By Irem Onur
The rates of dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, and heavy menstrual bleeding in adolescents showing endometriosis signs on ultrasound are significantly higher compared to those without. This is according to a retrospective observational study recently published in the journal "Fertility and Sterility". The…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis and Natural Killer Cell Immunity
By Dr. Youngran Park
It is known that approximately 25 to 50% of infertile women have endometriosis, and 30% to 50% of the women with endometriosis have infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss. Previous studies have shown that women suffering endometriosis have abnormal NK cell…
Key Points Lay Summary
Patients' opinion about surgical treatment of endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
Delayed diagnosis and management of endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain is a major problem in gynecologic practice. Alternatively, providers may feel reluctant to perform surgery although they are aware of treatment options and surgical timing. One possible reason for this…
Key Points Lay Summary
By Ellen TumimbangCA125 do not correlate with pain and its severity among adolescents
By Ellen Tumimbang
Cancer antigen 125 (CA125) is a high molecular weight glycoprotein expressed in tissue derived from the coelomic and Mullerian epithelia including the uterus endometrium. Previous studies reported that CA125 is the most studied endometriosis marker. Women with endometriosis experienced different…
Key Points Lay Summary
It is time for non-invasive tests for peritoneal endometriosis diagnosis
By Nasuhi Engin Aydin
Maria Szubert with colleagues from Lodz Medical University, Poland, investigated the possibility of potential diagnostic biomarkers in the eutopic endometrial tissue from peritoneal endometriosis patients and published their results in the "Journal of Gynecology Obstetrics and Human Reproduction". Currently, diagnostic…
Key Points Lay Summary
Assessment of Reproductive Health for Women With Endometriosis
By Özge Özkaya
Researchers in Iran developed a new and reliable patient-generated instrument to measure the reproductive health of women with endometriosis. Health providers as well as researchers can use the questionnaire to better understand the impact of the disease on women’s reproductive health…
Key Points Lay Summary
Fallopian tube endometriosis
By Bahar Yuksel
Endometriosis affects various tissues including pelvic and extra-pelvic organs. Fallopian tube endometriosis is not a widely studied topic in endometriosis, hence the real incidence is unknown as not all studies evaluate microscopically diagnosed Fallopian tube endometriosis. In the retrospective database…
Key Points Lay Summary
By Timur SeckinBody mass index, the incidence of endometriosis and the severity of dysmenorrhoea
By Timur Seckin
According to a case-control study conducted by researchers from China, there is no association between body mass index (BMI) and the incidence of endometriosis. This finding contrasts with the conventional knowledge that low BMI is a risk factor for endometriosis.…
Key Points Lay Summary
The peculiarity of adolescent endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
Recent studies showed the prevalence of endometriosis in adolescents with chronic cyclic or acyclic pelvic pain is about 60-70%. Moreover, all stages of endometriosis, including deeply infiltrating endometriosis can be found in this population. Gubbels et al. from the Department…
Key Points Lay Summary
The intensity of pelvic pain is higher in endometriosis patients
By Irem Onur
Silva J.B. et al., researchers from Brazil, conducted a case-control study to determine the intensity of clinical pain, the average body composition, and the anthropometric markers including the body mass index, the perimeters (waist, abdomen, hip), and the percentage of…
Key Points Lay Summary
Sexual Quality of Life in Women With Endometriosis
By Özge Özkaya
Painful intercourse, more severe period pain, worse health-related quality of life, and unemployment are all associated with worse sexual quality of life in women with endometriosis. This is according to a Dutch study published in the scientific journal Sexual Medicine.…
Key Points Lay Summary
Depression and anxiety levels in "in vitro fertilization" patients with endometriosis
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is a reproductive-aged and estrogen-dependent disease. The most common symptoms of this disease are dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, chronic pelvic pain, and infertility affecting the quality of life in several aspects mainly the psychological domain. In the literature, there are many studies…
Key Points Lay Summary
Pain and Quality of Life Following Surgical Treatment for Endometriosis
By Ellen Tumimbang
Currently, laparoscopy is the preferred approach as a surgical treatment of endometriosis. Many studies have shown the effectiveness of laparoscopic surgery to reduce the painful symptoms and improve the quality of life for patients with endometriosis in the short term…
Key Points Lay Summary
Effect of Endometriosis on IVF Success Rates
By Özge Özkaya
Endometriosis lowers the rate of cumulative live births during in vitro fertilization (IVF). However, this is due to a lower number of embryos being available for transplantation rather than their quality. This is according to a study published in the "Journal…
Key Points Lay Summary
Colorectal Deep Endometriosis Resection and Potential Complications
By Murat Osman
A severe clinical form of endometriosis, deeply infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) is characterized by more aggressive endometriotic lesions commonly involving deeper pelvic or gastrointestinal organs. It causes significant quality of life impairment and morbidity and is increasingly associated with infertility. When…
Key Points Lay Summary
Factors affecting the quality of life of women with endometriosis
By Timur Seckin
Results from a new study suggest that the quality of life of women with endometriosis is significantly affected by their confidence to manage pain and their belief in the evolution of their condition. In this study, led by Rees M. et…
Key Points Lay Summary
New Rat Model of Endometriosis Could Help Researchers Develop New Treatments for the Condition
By Özge Özkaya
Researchers in Belgium developed a new rat model of endometriosis. The animals showed signs of ongoing pain meaning that the model could provide a tool for researchers to develop potential new ways to treat the different symptoms of the condition…
Key Points Lay Summary
Patient-centered care in patients with endometriosis
By Hale Goksever Celik
The women with endometriosis suffer from several symptoms and signs including dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, chronic pelvic pain, and infertility which have a detrimental effect on their quality of life. Endometriosis is diagnosed with 7-10 years of delay due to the absence…
Key Points Lay Summary
The Impact of Painful Sex on the Physical and Mental Wellbeing of Adolescent and Young Adult Women
By Özge Özkaya
Clinicians should ask adolescents and young women about painful sex, not just talk about contraception and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. This is because painful sexual intercourse could have a negative impact on relationships and peer engagement, which is…
Key Points Lay Summary
Immune cells and endometriosis pain
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent inflammatory disorder in women. This disease leads to dysmenorrhea, pelvic pain, and infertility. The immune reaction is one of the most widely accepted pathologies of endometriosis. Estrogen dysfunction stimulates immune cells in the peritoneal cavity affecting…
Key Points Lay Summary
By Yu YuHormone Therapy Before Endometriosis Surgery
By Yu Yu
Hormonal therapy can be effective for endometriosis, although laparoscopic surgery is required for the frequent drug-resistant symptoms. Laparoscopic surgery can markedly improve endometriosis-associated pain. The administration of GnRH agonist prior to endometriosis laparoscopic surgery may be beneficial to improve surgical…
Key Points Lay Summary
A New Treatment Approach for Endometriosis?
By Özge Özkaya
A new approach may be effective at relieving pain associated with endometriosis according to a study published in the PM&R Journal. The new technique may also improve “overall pelvic function, particularly in relation to intercourse, working, and sleeping,” according to the…
Key Points Lay Summary
Suggested remedies for endometriosis patients during coronavirus pandemic
By Nasuhi Engin Aydin
The pandemic of COVID-19 continues to have important effects on endometriosis patients worldwide. Many health care facilities stopped providing surgical management and outpatient appointments are canceled or postponed. Dr. Leonardi from Australia and associates from several countries published their proposals…
Key Points Lay Summary
Hysterectomy as a choise of chronic pelvic pain relief in endometriotic women.
By Selma Oransay
Sandstrom et al. from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Umea University, Sweden, found a significant and long-lasting reduction in pain symptoms after hysterectomy among women with confirmed endometriosis and recently published their results in "BJOG". The authors performed…
Key Points Lay Summary
Adolescent dysmenorrhea diagnosis and management
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is usually diagnosed in reproductive-aged women. However, recent literature proved that clinical symptoms of endometriosis are also seen the adolescent girls and young women. Dysmenorrhea, the most common gynecologic complaint among this age group, can develop due to endometriosis.…
Key Points Lay Summary
The effect of endometriosis on the quality of life
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis, the disease defined as the localization of endometrial glandular and stromal tissue outside the uterine cavity, can be diagnosed in the reproductive-aged women with an incidence of 7-15%. However, endometriosis is observed in women with chronic pelvic pain syndrome…
Key Points Lay Summary
Diagnosing Deep Endometriosis Using Transvaginal Elastosonography
By Murat Osman
Deeply infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) is an advanced form of endometriosis that causes significant morbidity to a large number of women. Early detection of endometriosis is imperative for early treatment and improved outcomes for these patients. Currently, transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS) and magnetic…
Key Points Lay Summary
By Deniz KocasRacial Bias in Pain Assessment and Treatment Recommendations
By Deniz Kocas
This study, published by Hoffmann et al. in the April 2016 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that false beliefs about biological differences between blacks and whites are associated with the perception that black people feel less pain than do white…
Key Points Lay Summary
Opioids use in women with endometriosis, what does it tell us?
By Yu Yu
Endometriosis is a debilitating disease that can cause many painful symptoms such as dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, infertility, chronic pelvic pain, abdominal pain, and sacral or low back pain. More than half of women diagnosed with endometriosis suffer from chronic pelvic pain.…
Key Points Lay Summary
By Nadire DuruCase-control study to develop a questionnaire for early diagnosis of endometriosis
By Nadire Duru
Endometriosis, which affects 5–10% of women of reproductive age, is a chronic gynecological disease characterized by the presence of endometrial glands and stroma outside the uterus, associated with several discomforts such as pelvic pain, menstrual disorders, and infertility. Ultrasound evaluation…
Key Points Lay Summary
The predictors for sexual dysfunction in infertile women with endometriosis
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is a disease defined as the localization of endometrial glandular and stromal tissue outside the uterine cavity. Its incidence ranges up to 10% of reproductive-aged women. The most common symptoms in these women are chronic pelvic pain, dyspareunia, and…
Key Points Lay Summary
Ultrasound diagnosis of endometriosis: One Size Does-Not-Fit-All
By Murat Osman
Deeply infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) is an advanced form of endometriosis that causes significant morbidity to many women. The Pouch of Douglas (POD), otherwise known as the rectouterine space, is the anatomic area between the posterior cervix and anterior rectum. Its…
Key Points Lay Summary
Neglected needs of endometriosis and infertility patients during COVID-19 pandemic
By Timur Seckin
With the global outbreak of the COVID-19, hospitals canceled surgeries and people are afraid of going to hospitals. However, chronic diseases still need to be managed. Rowe H. and Quinlivan J., researchers from Australia, pointed out the neglected needs of…
Key Points Lay Summary
Fatigue from the viewpoint of patients with endometriosis
By Irem Onur
Fatigue, feeling spoonie, is documented as a significant symptom of endometriosis in many studies. Researchers from three different institutions dealing with reproductive health conducted individual interviews with patients reporting moderate to severe endometriosis-related pain to better understand endometriosis-related fatigue and…
Key Points Lay Summary
Postmenopausal endometriosis: Is it a rare phenomenon?
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis, the estrogen-dependent disease defined as the localization of endometrial glandular and stromal tissue outside the uterine cavity, is generally diagnosed in the reproductive-aged women. However, recent literature proved that this disease can also be observed in the premenopausal and…
Key Points Lay Summary
Progressive nature of ovarian endometrioma
By Yu Yu
The effective management of endometriosis requires a proper understanding of how the condition progress as women age, especially for those women with early onset of endometriosis. Several studies have tried to characterize the evolution of endometriosis. Some of the key…
Key Points Lay Summary
The efficacy of combined hormonal contraception on pelvic pain in endometriosis patients
By Irem Onur
Chronic pelvic pain, which is experienced by more than 33% of endometriosis patients, constitutes a significant challenge for patients and physicians. A new study that appears in the journal Human Reproduction Open has explored the prevalence of endometriosis patients with a history…
Key Points Lay Summary
Non-hormonal chemicals for endometriosis related pain reduction
By Nasuhi Engin Aydin
Loi and colleagues conducted a clinical prospective study at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Cagliari, Italy, and published in the journal "International Journal of Women’s Health". Formation of adhesions and/or interference with the reproductive process endometriosis, severe…
Key Points Lay Summary
Can Controlled Trials Help Surgeons Decide on Best Way to Treat Endometriosis-Associated Pain?
By Özge Özkaya
It may not be realistic to base the decision on the best way to surgically treat pain in a woman with endometriosis on the results of surgical randomized controlled trials. This is according to a study by researchers at the…
Key Points Lay Summary
The Relationship Between Dyspareunia and Infertility in Endometriosis
By Selma Oransay
Wahl et al. from the Center of Pelvic Pain and Endometriosis British Columbia Women's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada studied with endometriotic patients suffering from dyspareunia who were referred to their center and built a cross-sectional study to investigate the relations between…
Key Points Lay Summary
Clinical Evaluation of Endometriosis-Associated Pain
By Nadire Duru
Endometriosis has a noteworthy impact on the quality of life of the patients diagnosed with it since it is associated with unpleasant conditions such as endometriosis-associated pain. The diagnosis of endometriosis is not always straightforward because of the varying symptoms…
Key Points Lay Summary
Adiposity, endometriosis type and severity
By Selma Oransay
Dr. Jiyoung from the division of Public Health, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine of the University of Utah, planned a prospective cross-sectional study to assess whether there is an inverse relationship between the adiposity and endometriosis. The results of…
Key Points Lay Summary
Understanding endocannabinoid system in endometriosis
By Yu Yu
Endocannabinoids and their receptors are expressed throughout the body but have only been recently studied in depth since endocannabinoids were being discovered in 1992. In the female reproductive system, the cannabinoid receptor is expressed in the endometrium, the myometrium, the…
Key Points Lay Summary
By Demet Candaş GreenWoman at reproductive age suffering from migraines should consider getting evaluated for endometriosis.
By Demet Candaş Green
What do migraine and endometriosis have in common? One can easily answer “pain”. Turns out there are other shared aspects when it comes to these two conditions: both have a high prevalence in women of childbearing age, both suffer from…
Key Points Lay Summary
What do Women with Endometriosis Think About the Medical Profession?
By Özge Özkaya
Failure of surgical treatment, use of the emergency room, and access to complementary healthcare are factors associated with a negative perception of the medical profession in women with endometriosis. This is according to a study conducted by researchers in British…
Key Points Lay Summary
How to design patient-centered interventions to meet the needs of endometriosis patients
By Selma Oransay
The treatment of endometriosis is not perfect and necessitates the development of patient-oriented care initiatives. On this basis, patient-related transparent information should be the priority for researchers to find out a way for targeted interventions. Steele et al. from Australia and…
Key Points Lay Summary
When to do - and when not to do surgery for endometriosis
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent disorder. It was estimated to affect about 176 million women in the world and usually causes pelvic pain and infertility. Unfortunately, the current understanding of this disease is very limited. Though there are many remaining questions,…
Key Points Lay Summary
Surgery and the endometriosis associated-pain: A systematic review
By Selma Oransay
The surgical approach for pelvic pain-related to endometriosis depends on the stage and the type of the endometriotic lesion and ranging from ablation and the excision of the lesions to radical surgery as hysterectomy with removal of ovaries and presacral…
Key Points Lay Summary
Cannabis usage among Australian women with endometriosis
By Irem Onur
Sinclair J. et al., a group of researchers from Australia, conducted a cross-sectional online survey to determine the prevalence, tolerability, and self-reported effectiveness of cannabis in women with endometriosis. This study included 484 women with complete responses. Of all women,…
Key Points Lay Summary
How Best to Assess Productivity at Work Among Women with Endometriosis?
By Özge Özkaya
The health-related productivity questionnaire (HRPQ) is a valid tool to evaluate patient-reported productivity at work and at home among women with endometriosis found a study by U.S. researchers. This finding is important because it shows that HRPQ can be used…
Key Points Lay Summary
Recurrent endometriosis is a real challenge both for the patients and clinicians
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is defined as the localization of endometrial stromal and glandular cells outside the uterine cavity. Current medical and surgical treatment options have several limitations including the side effects, costs, risk of recurrence, effects on conception capability. Recurrence is a…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis of the Appendix
By Timur Seckin
Endometriosis of the gastrointestinal tract is infrequent, and it rarely involves the appendix. A group of researchers from the United States of America reported a case of a 50-year-old postmenopausal woman with endometriosis in the vermiform appendix presenting as acute…
Key Points Lay Summary
A new technique for laparoscopic management of ovarian endometriosis.
By Selma Oransay
To cause a minimal hazardous effect on ovarian reserve during laparoscopic surgery of endometriomas is always a great concern for clinicians. Shaltout et al. from Cairo University, Egypt, examined the effect of "Surgicel" on preventing the recurrence of endometriomas and…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis and the quality of life
By Selma Oransay
Recent developments of technics and improvement of skill in the laparoscopic field increased the courage of clinicians to attempt early and multiple diagnostic operations on endometriotic patients. Vanuccini et al. from NEUROFARBA, University of Florence, Florence, Italy recently published their…
Key Points Lay Summary
How Long Does it Take to Be Diagnosed with Endometriosis?
By Özge Özkaya
It takes a median of eight years to reach a diagnosis of endometriosis from when the symptoms of the condition first appear confirmed a new British study. Interestingly, it seems that the earlier the symptoms appear, the later the disease…
Key Points Lay Summary
Patients preferences for the treatment of endometriosis-associated pain
By Hale Goksever Celik
Endometriosis is defined as the location of endometrial stroma and glands outside the uterine cavity. The most common presenting complaints are mainly dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, chronic pelvic pain, and infertility, most of which relate to the menstrual period. Those women affected…
Key Points Lay Summary
Clinical trial for the use of oral lactobacillus on endometriosis pain severity
By Yu Yu
The standard treatment of endometriosis consists of surgery and hormonal based treatment. There is evidence for the efficacy of these types of treatment, although their side effects remain a critical consideration for women. Based on molecular studies, changes in the…
Key Points Lay Summary
DNA repair defects and Endometriosis
By Dr. Youngran Park
Endometriosis is a hormone-dependent disorder and highly associated with inflammation. It is well suggested that endometriosis increases the risks of developing cancers such as ovarian, breast, endocrine, and colorectal cancers. Compared to cancer, there are many similarities in endometriosis. Well-known characteristics…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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 &…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
A study about adnexial torsion doubts in patients with endometriosis.
By Selma Oransay
Endometrioma is the presence of endometriosis cysts in the ovary, and is one of the most common forms of endometriosis, with unknown pathophysiology. Adnexal torsion results in twisting ovarian tissues resulting in a decreased blood flow. The causes for adnexal torsion due…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
Behavioral Symptoms in an Animal Model of Endometriosis
By Yu Yu
Recent studies suggest that there is a relationship between endometriosis and some behavioral symptoms. Prolonged pelvic pain and the other endometriosis symptoms can often affect psychological and social functioning, resulting in issues with social relationships, sexuality, and even mental health.…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
Nutraceuticals may help for endometriosis pain
By Nasuhi Engin Aydin
Dysmenorrhea and chronic pelvic pain occur in endometriosis patients in a significant percentage. Anti-inflammatory medications and lifestyle changes including diet form the integrated approach in this regard. However, the medications can be used only for the short term. Natural substances with anti-inflammatory…
Key Points Lay Summary
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.…
Key Points Lay Summary
Assistive Reproduction a Suitable Option for the Treatment of Endometriosis-Associated Infertility
By Özge Özkaya
Assistive reproductive techniques do not lead to a worsening in quality of life and only cause a slight worsening of pelvic pain, according to a study published in the scientific journal Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica. This is the case…
Key Points Lay Summary
Women with Persistent Pelvic Pain Have a Lower Pain Threshold
By Özge Özkaya
Women with persistent pelvic pain, whether this is caused by endometriosis or other reason, have a significantly reduced pain threshold compared to women without persistent pelvic pain. This is according to a study by researchers in Sweden, which was published…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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.…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
Pain Education or Cognitive Therapy Could Help Women with Endometriosis
By Özge Özkaya
Women with endometriosis have a significantly lower pain tolerance regardless of the intensity of the pain they experience or the severity of their disease, according to a study published in the scientific journal Fertility and Sterility. Although pain is the…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
Factors related to delay in endometriosis diagnosis
By Nasuhi 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…
Key Points Lay Summary
Sexual distress, metacognitive beliefs, and endometriosis
By Deniz Kocas
In this study, researchers from the University of Bergamo in Italy investigated the link between sexual distress and psychological and cognitive factors in women with endometriosis. Compared to the general female population, women with endometriosis have a nine-fold increased risk…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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,…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
An overlooked symptom of endometriosis: Fatigue
By Timur Seckin
A majority of endometriosis patients experience fatigue. This is according to a multicenter study conducted by a group of researchers from Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. Fatigue, and feeling spoonie, may be a symptom of endometriosis affecting the daily activities and…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
Will Getting Pregnant Make My Pain Go Away?
By Özge Özkaya
Pregnancy can relieve the symptoms of endometriosis, according to a new study published in the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology. However, for most women, the pain usually returns like in the case of hormonal therapy. This…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis, Pain and Quality of Life
By Deniz Kocas
Although studies show that pain in endometriosis is associated with decreased health-related quality of life (HRQoL), details as to which pain symptoms contribute to such a decline have not been explored. For the first time in this study, researchers from…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis Surgery Reduces Pain and Improves Quality of Life
By Özge Özkaya
Endometriosis surgery improves pelvic and sexual pain according to a study published in the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology. This improvement stays stable over time meaning that the benefits of surgery last for years. In order to assess the effect…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
Comparing opioid and nonopioid therapy for chronic pain
By Deniz Kocas
Over the last few decades, North-America and Europe show continued increase in prescription rates of opioids. Evidence shows significant pain reduction with opioids in the short term compared to placebo, however whether opioids are superior to non-opioids even in the…
Key Points Lay Summary
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,…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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.…
Key Points Lay Summary
N-acetyl cysteine, alpha lipoic acid and bromelain improved endometriosis-associated pelvic pain
By Yu Yu
Oxidative stress has been implicated in many processes that lead to the development and progression of endometriosis. Typically, women with endometriosis have to endure pelvic pain which negatively impacts their quality of life. Pelvic pain can be chronic and related…
Key Points Lay Summary
Detecting endometriosis using peripheral blood
By Yu Yu
Laparoscopic visualization of endometriotic lesions with histological confirmation is the gold standard for the diagnosis of endometriosis. However, this diagnostic procedure, due to the need for laparoscopy and variability of disease/symptoms, can have a major delay up to 8-10 years…
Key Points Lay Summary
Pain catastrophizing, perceived injustice, and pain intensity impair life satisfaction
By Deniz Kocas
Cognitive appraisals have been shown to have an effect on the experience of pain. Notably, perceived injustice and pain catastrophizing have been shown to play a role, but are rarely examined together. In addition, variability in appraisal processes has been…
Key Points Lay Summary
By Kasthuri NairAlternative Solutions: Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation for Endometriosis Pain
By Kasthuri Nair
Bi and Xie, researchers from The Yan’an People’s Hospital, recently published the results of their retrospective study titled “Effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation for endometriosis-associated pain” in Medicine. The study hoped to elucidate the effects of using a complementary and…
Key Points Lay Summary
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’…
Key Points Lay Summary
Oral Contraceptives and Low-Cost Progestins to Reduce Endometriosis-Associated Pain
By Özge Özkaya
Most women with endometriosis-associated pain did not feel the need to use expensive progestin or undergo surgery. Instead, they were satisfied with a low-cost progestin to treat their symptoms. This is according to a study published in the journal Fertility…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
Could Gabapentin Make my Pain Go Away?
By Özge Özkaya
Gabapentin could effectively reduce endometriosis-associated pain, according to a new study published in the Journal of Pain Research. The study that was conducted in mice and endometriotic tissues from patients suggests that certain proteins present on the surface of cells…
Key Points Lay Summary
Potential Study: Can Omega-3 purified Fatty Acids Treat Endometriosis Pain?
By Kasthuri Nair
Abokhrais et al. published a paper titled “A pilot randomized double-blind controlled trial of the efficacy of purified fatty acids for the treatment of women with endometriosis-associated pain (PurFECT): study protocol” in Pilot and Feasibility Studies. The aforementioned authors are…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
Coping with vulvovaginal pain in intimate situations
By Deniz Kocas
Chronic vulvovaginal pain has a serious impact on women’s lives, affecting daily activities including sexual activities. Avoiding sexual activity has been shown to be a central coping strategy in other pain populations and has also been seen in women with…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
HOXA10: A Culprit in Endometriosis Disease Progression
By Kasthuri Nair
Zheng et al., a group of authors from the Aerospace Center Hospital in Bejing and from the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University in Wenzhou, recently published a paper in Reproductive Sciences entitled “Decreased Expression of HOXA10 May Activate the…
Key Points Lay Summary
How Does Endometriosis Affect the Sexual Satisfaction of Men?
By Özge Özkaya
Although the majority of men whose partner has endometriosis are satisfied or very satisfied with their sexual relationship, the proportion of men who are not sexually satisfied is higher among those whose partner has endometriosis compared to those whose partner…
Key Points Lay Summary
Stem cell therapy for the premature ovarian failure
By Dr. Youngran Park
Premature ovarian failure (POF) is one of the common disorders found in women. The cause of POF is not fully known, but various factors have been suggested. In genetically, X and autosomes chromosome abnormalities could result in some POF. The…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
Adolescents with Endometriosis are More Susceptible to Migraines
By Kasthuri Nair
Miller et al. recently published an article titled “The prevalence of migraines in adolescents with endometriosis” in Fertility and Sterility. The main purpose of the study was to determine if adolescents with endometriosis experience more migraines than those without endometriosis.…
Key Points Lay Summary
"New Pain Dairy" Could Help Better Evaluate the Impact of Endometriosis on Women’s Daily Lives
By Özge Özkaya
Researchers developed a new patient-reported endometriosis pain daily diary. The diary can help evaluate endometriosis-related pain and the impacts this can have on patients' lives as well as be used in clinical trials to assess patients’ response to treatment. “The…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
The Long-Term Effect of Endometriosis
By Özge Özkaya
Women with endometriosis have a decreased pain tolerance even after fertile age and therefore require long-term treatment and psychological support Endometriosis has a long-term effect on the pain tolerance of women, suggests a study published in The Journal of Pain.…
Key Points Lay Summary
An Unusual Case "Free Floating Omental Endometrioma"
By Kasthuri Nair
Capaccione et al. published an article in Radiology Case Reports titled “Massive endometrioma presenting with dyspnea and abdominal symptoms.” This publication is centered around a particularly unique case report of a woman who was ultimately diagnosed with endometriosis. The patient…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
Irritable bowel syndrome and endometriosis.
By Dr. Youngran Park
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and endometriosis are two diseases affecting a significant part of the female population, either together or individually, with remarkable consequences in the quality of life. Several studies suggest an epidemiological association between them. Their association may…
Key Points Lay Summary
The Challenging Path to Diagnosis
By Kasthuri Nair
Kallia O. Wright, a professor at Illinois College, recently published her essay titled “You have Endometriosis”: Making Menstruation Related Pain Legitimate in a Biomedical World” in Health Communication. This essay delineates the author’s experience with endometriosis. The author started experiencing…
Key Points Lay Summary
Hair Cortisol Levels are Higher in Women Suffering from Endometriosis
By Kasthuri Nair
Aken et al. recently published a piece in Psychoneuroendocrinology titled “Hair cortisol and the relationship with chronic pain and quality of life in endometriosis patients.” This publication discussed a study that analyzed hair cortisol levels in women with and without endometriosis. Hair cortisol levels…
Key Points Lay Summary
Switching to a Low-Cost Progestin May Help Reduce Endo Pain When Oral Contraceptives Won’t Work
By Özge Özkaya
The majority of women with endometriosis-associated pain were satisfied to have switched to a treatment with norethisterone acetate or NETA, a synthetic, orally active progestin, when their oral contraceptive was ineffective, found a study published in the journal Reproductive Sciences.…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis “Changes” the Brain
By Özge Özkaya
Endometriosis changes the electrical properties of the brain as well as gene expression, according to a study by Yale researchers. These changes increase sensitivity to pain, anxiety, and depression. “While medications can be used to treat endometriosis directly, the effects…
Key Points Lay Summary
O6-Methylguanine-DNA Methyltransferase Plays a Role in Endometriosis Development
By Kasthuri Nair
Shchegolev et al. recently published a paper in Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine that explores the localization and behavior of O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase, otherwise known as MGMT, a protein that repairs DNA and could potentially possess therapeutic properties. Their paper…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis Impacts Many Aspects of a Woman’s Life
By Özge Özkaya
Endometriosis has a severe negative impact not only on the physical health of a woman but also on other aspects of her life including optimism and self-esteem. This is according to an Australian study published in the Journal Healthcare for…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
A Novel Questionnaire-based Approach for Assessing Endometriosis Pain
By Kasthuri Nair
Fauconnier et al. recently published a paper in the Journal of Gynecology Obstetrics and Human Reproduction titled “A self-administered questionnaire to measure the painful symptoms of endometriosis: Results of a modified DELPHI survey of patients and physicians” that seeks to…
Key Points Lay Summary
Dienogest Use Over A Prolonged Period of Time
By Kasthuri Nair
There are not a lot of treatments on the market for endometriosis; however, Dienogest (DNG), a progestin that has high selective progesterone activity along with low androgenic activity, has been found to reduce endometriosis-associated pain. Lee et al. recently published…
Key Points Lay Summary
Stress affects endometriosis negatively
By Demet Candaş Green
Stress contributes to many chronic health problems – endometriosis is one of them. Given that women with endometriosis are under more stress and pain, often with the added stress of infertility, it is important to understand the relationship between stress…
Key Points Lay Summary
Increased Period Pain in Endometriosis Is Linked to Estrogen
By Özge Özkaya
Researchers in China shed light on the mechanism of how the female sex hormone estrogen may be linked to increased period pain in women with endometriosis. A better understanding of the biological mechanism leading to pelvic pain in endometriosis could…
Key Points Lay Summary
A Combination Treatment of Psychotherapy With Somatosensory Stimulation for Pain Reduction
By Kasthuri Nair
Women suffering from endometriosis often cite pelvic pain, anxiety, and depression as some of the worst core symptoms experienced due to the disease; however, emerging research has shown these signs, specifically pelvic pain, may be influenced by psychological trauma. In…
Key Points Lay Summary
What is the role of hormones on the function and development of the brain?
By Murat Osman
Dr. Sarah L. Berga, Professor, and Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology Wake Forest School of Medicine aim to talk about the effects of sex hormones such as estrogens and progestins on brain health with an emphasis on the neuroprotective characteristics…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis May Be Causing Women to Become More Sensitive to Pain
By Özge Özkaya
Inflammation caused by endometriosis may be changing the way a woman perceives pain, found a new study published in the journal Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine. According to Dr. Neziri Alban at University Hospital of Bern, Switzerland and the co-authors…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
A New VAS-based Diagnostic Tool for Interpreting Pain
By Kasthuri Nair
The visual analog scale (VAS) is a diagnostic tool used by health care providers to evaluate chronic pain in women with endometriosis. In their publication titled “Minimal clinically important difference for pain on the VAS scale and the relation to…
Key Points Lay Summary
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,…
Key Points Lay Summary
Pain Cognition Impacts Health Related Quality of Life in Women with Endometriosis
By Özge Özkaya
The cognition of pain is an important factor influencing health-related quality of life in women with endometriosis, suggests a study published in the scientific journal Fertility and Sterility. This finding is important because it can help doctors treat pain in…
Key Points Lay Summary
A New Treatment Time-Table for Controlling Endometriosis-Associated Pelvic Pain
By Kasthuri Nair
It is no secret that Endometriosis is an extremely painful disease. Unfortunately, science has yet to determine a treatment that can effectively treat the disease or the associated pain. In their paper titled “Ethinylestradiol 20 mg/drospirenone 3 mg in a…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis and Psychological Health: Butterflies from Deep Wounds
By Kasthuri Nair
Endometriosis is a grueling disease in every sense of the word; however, most of the discussions center on the physical manifestations of the disease. Facchin et al. veer from the beaten path and examine the impact endometriosis have on a…
Key Points Lay Summary
Cohort study on outcomes of laparoscopic endometriosis surgery
By Yu Yu
Laparoscopic surgery followed by histological confirmation is considered a standard for diagnosis, staging, and treatment of endometriosis. Radical and conservative surgical approaches are often required for the removal of endometriotic lesions in the case of vaginal or rectal wall deep…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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;…
Key Points Lay Summary
Endometriosis : A Whole Body Disease
By Kasthuri Nair
Endometriosis is a disease that impacts multiple parts of an individual’s body. Seminars in Reproductive Medicine recently published a paper by Alderman III et al. entitled “The Systemic Effects of Endometriosis” explores the various comorbidities that can affect individuals suffering…
Key Points Lay Summary
Reduced vascularization in ovarian endometriomas associated with less pain
By Yu Yu
Angiogenesis, i.e., the development of new blood vessels is believed to play an important role in endometriosis pathogenesis and symptoms. Endometriosis is associated and requires neovascularization to proliferate, invade surrounding normal structure in order to establish an endometriotic lesion. Ovarian…
Key Points Lay Summary
Combo Therapy of Micronized palmitoylethanolamide/trans-polydatin for Endometriosis Pain
By Kasthuri Nair
Endometriosis is a painful illness and many researchers in the field work to offer women with the disease some form of respite from the suffering. Indraccolo, Indraccolo, and Mignini are three such researchers and they recently published a paper titled…
Key Points Lay Summary
Sexual Pain in Endometriosis
By Yu Yu
Pelvic pain during sexual intercourse (deep dyspareunia) is a major concern for women with endometriosis. As many as half of women with endometriosis experience deep dyspareunia and has been shown to have a detrimental impact on quality of life. The…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points Lay Summary
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,…
Key Points Lay Summary
By Asli Bahadirli TalbottInhibition 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…
Key Points Lay Summary
The Symptomatic Impact of Endometriosis
By Kasthuri Nair
Endometriosis is a painful illness that affects the lives of many women around the world. A recent article published in Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology titled “The burden of endometriosis symptoms on health-related quality of life in women in…
Key Points Lay Summary
How Endometriosis Affects a Partner
By Kasthuri Nair
Endometriosis can significantly impact the life of the woman who has the disease as well as the life of those who support and care for her. Ameratunga et al. recently published a study titled “Exploring the impact of endometriosis on…
Key Points Lay Summary
Treatment of Endometriosis-Associated Pain with Elagolix, an Oral GnRH Antagonist.
By Yu Yu
Taylor et al. presented an exciting recent study in The New England Journal of Medicine. This article reported the results from a multicentre, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled phase 3 trials of elagolix for the treatment of endometriosis-associated pain. As women with…
Key Points Lay Summary
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…
Key Points 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…
Key Points 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…
Key Points Lay Summary
Does laparoscopic excision or laparoscopic ablation offer the best long-term pain relief from endometriosis?
By Murat Osman
This systematic and meta-analysis of several studies aimed to compile data regarding the reduction of dysmenorrhea (menstrual pain), dyschezia (difficult defecation), dyspareunia (painful sexual intercourse), chronic pelvic pain and Endometriosis Health Profile (EHP-30) score 2-12 months after treatment. Visual analog scale (VAS)…
Key Points Lay Summary
By Ezio RosatoNew 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…
Lay Summary
Elagolix (ABT-620) for endometriosis pain?
By Yu Yu
Elagolix is an orally active gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist that has just recently completed Phase 3 clinical trial for endometriosis-associated pain (NCT01931670). The review article by Alessandro et al in Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics summarized the current research findings on…
Key Points Lay Summary