Cheers to this initiative for trying to nip endometriosis in the bud. It is high time that this was introduced to the younger generation. Let’s hope other countries follow suit.
Canberra schoolgirls will follow a new method - described as the first of its type - to identify those who suffer from a debilitating condition that can cause infertility.
Melissa Parker, of the Canberra Endometriosis Clinic, says work is under way on a “self-screening tool” - a checklist - that will soon be tested among teenage girls.
Health Minister Katy Gallagher said the ACT was “leading the world” in developing the approach, which could indicate whether young women had endometriosis.
The idea came after Ms Parker and gynaecologist Anne Sneddon studied menstrual disorders among more than 1000 females aged 16 to 18 years living in the ACT.
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Here’s a study that investigated the need for additional surgery after laparoscopy or hysterectomy in the treatment of endometriosis. The information gathered may want you to think twice before you go under the knife to treat your condition.
Women treated with hysterectomy had significantly fewer postsurgical reoperations than women treated with “conservative” surgery, the team reports in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.
The failure rate was more than twofold higher with conservative local surgery in comparison with hysterectomy without removal of the ovaries. The failure rate was more than sixfold higher with conservative local surgery in comparison with hysterectomy with removal of the ovaries.
In comments to Reuters Health, Falcone said, “Endometriosis is a chronic disease with a high recurrence after laparoscopic surgery. We need better treatment.”
Among women who had local excision with ovarian preservation (at least one ovary was preserved), 79 percent were “reoperation-free” at 2 years. At 5 and 7 years, 53 percent and 45 percent, respectively, were reoperation-free.
Among women who had hysterectomy without ovary removal, the 2-, 5- and 7-year reoperation-free percentages were higher (96 percent, 87 percent, and 77 percent, respectively). Among women who underwent hysterectomy with removal of the ovaries, the reoperation-free percentages were 96 percent, 92 percent and 92 percent, respectively.
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This review of studies by a research team in the UK investigated the effectivity of Aromatase Inhibitors in the alleviation of endometriosis-associated pain. We may be looking at a new and more efficient drug in keeping endometriosi sufferers pain-free.
The team concluded the following:
There is evidence to support the efficacy of aromatase inhibitors in reduction of pain, reduction of lesions, and improvement in quality of life for women with endometriosis, but adequately powered randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings.
There is insufficient evidence to support an adverse effect of aromatase inhibitors on bone density of the spine and hip in women with endometriosis treated with aromatase inhibitors.
Click here to read the full article.
Popularity: 11% [?]
There is a new research which used lipiodol or poppy seed oil in increasing a woman’s chances in conceiving. People who have been struggling to conceive for years may drive them to try anything, including this one as it is low in cost as compared to other treatment methods. Rachel Grunwell tells more.
A fertility specialist says his latest research underlines the “drastically successful” effects of a cheaper, non-invasive alternative to IVF.
A trial led by Auckland University expert Dr Neil Johnson found that nine out of 12 women who had their uterus bathed with lipiodol, or poppy seed oil, became pregnant. All the women had a history of infertility and endometriosis, a problem with the womb lining that affects up to a third of women struggling to conceive.
Johnson believes the oil helps embryos stick to the endometrium, the mucous membrane lining the uterus, boosting chances of it implanting. “It’s a good value, low-cost alternative to other therapies that are being offered, like IVF,” said the associate professor in obstetrics and gynaecology. “It has a drastically successful effect but there’s an amazing hesitancy of the medical profession to take it on.”
Details of the nine-month trial were revealed at the World Congress on Endometriosis in Melbourne in March.
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The invention of plastics may have made our lives immensely convenient. However, with the recent findings on the level of toxicity that they may give us, maybe we should just go green and ditch the whole plastic idea when it comes to the containers that we use for our food. The following article from ABC tells us why:
Now a one-of-a-kind study being done at the University of Utah zeroes in on some of those toxins and their affect on a woman’s reproductive system.
A lot has changed since the 50’s and 60’s. Plastic instead of glass, polluted water, pesticides and processed foods. Some of it may be harmful, some of it may be harmless, and hundreds of Utah women are willing to help find those answers.
First it was baby bottles now it’s water bottles and just about everything plastic.
Dr C. Matthew Petersen, the chair of the University of Utah’s Obstetrics and Gynecology department, says this study is just the beginning; others will likely follow that could eventually change the way we live.
“We’re recognizing that some of these chemicals in very low doses actually cause some problems that can result in endometriosis or could even result in other types of problems,” said Dr. C Matthew Petersen.
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Infertility physician Jan Friberg has begun using a simple blood test to diagnose early and mild- to -moderate cases of endometriosis in his patients, thus eliminating the need for invasive diagnostic laparoscopy or even a biopsy.
[...]Other gynecologists and fertility doctors have expressed interested in the new blood test, but it has not yet been accepted as a mainstream practice in the medical world. The test measures the levels of inflammatory protein interleukin-6 in the blood stream,
“If we see a patient has elevated interleukin-6, we are fairly convinced we don’t need to do a laparoscopy (what’s typically done to diagnose endometriosis),” said Friberg, founder of Friberg Medical Associates in Glencoe and Chicago. “Laparoscopy is not a particularly pleasant procedure so it is nicer to be able to do testing this way.”
Friberg decided to offer the test last winter based on studies like one published in October 2006 in England’s Oxford Journals, in which Spanish researchers concluded that a blood test confirming elevated levels of the inflammatory protein interleukin-6 is a reliable marker for early-stage endometriosis. Since endometriosis is a common factor in infertility, Friberg comes across the disease often.
“This will soon become a routine treatment for women with unexplained fertility,” Friberg said. [...]
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This diagnostic test may save women from having to undergo unnecessary surgery. Though there is not enough evidence yet of its reliability, it still looks promising. I hope more research will be put into this.
Popularity: 52% [?]
There is a new research which suggests that malignant melanoma may be genetically linked to the painful condition of endometriosis. This study was presented during the recent World Congress of Endometriosis in Melbourne, Australia.
Researchers from France and Australia analysed the lifestyle and medical history of the women and found about 4000 of them had endometriosis, a disease where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus is found in abnormal parts of the body like the abdominal cavity.
“We have demonstrated that women with a higher number of moles or freckles, or a greater susceptibility to sunburn, have a higher risk of endometriosis,” said researcher Marina Kvaskoff.
Skin or hair colour had no bearing on risk, she said.
“There seem to be some common genetic links between melanoma and endometriosis, but this needs to be further investigated,” Ms Kvaskoff said.
More risk factors have also been revealed at the international conference, with a study by the Queensland Institute of Medical Research suggesting underweight teenagers may be more at risk of the disease than their heavier peers.
Researchers could not explain the link, but believed hormonal influences rather than dietary or exercise patterns were at play.
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Popularity: 58% [?]
