Targeting NGF but not VEGFR1 or BDNF signaling reduces endometriosis-associated pain in mice.

Introduction: Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects ∼10 % of women. A significant fraction of patients experience limited or no efficacy with current therapies. Tissue adjacent to endometriosis lesions often exhibits increased neurite and vascular density, suggesting that disease pathology involves neurotrophic activity and angiogenesis.

Endometriosis and Sjögren's syndrome: Bidirectional associations in population-based 15-year retrospective cohorts.

Introduction: Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is a chronic autoimmune disorder affecting salivary and lacrimal glands, while endometriosis involves uterine-like tissue growth outside the uterus, causing pelvic pain and infertility. Investigating their intricate relationship using real-world data is crucial due to limited research on their connection.

Material And Methods: This population-based cohort study included patients with endometriosis and controls without endometriosis.

Associations between common contraceptive use and circulating inflammatory biomarkers.

Ovarian cancer incidence has declined in recent decades, due in part to oral contraceptive (OC) use and tubal ligation. However, intrauterine device (IUD) use has increasingly replaced OC use. As ovarian cancer is an inflammation-related disease, we examined the association of OC use, IUD use, and tubal ligation with plasma levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin 6, and soluble tumor necrosis factor α receptor 2 in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and NHSII.

A prospective study of dietary patterns and the incidence of endometriosis diagnosis.

Background: Although endometriosis is a common condition-affecting ∼10% of premenopausal individuals-its etiology is unknown. Diet receives a lot of attention from patients, but studies of the role of diet are limited. Examining dietary patterns is essential to provide new insight.

Plasma microRNA expression in adolescents and young adults with endometriosis: the importance of hormone use.

Introduction: Prior studies have investigated the diagnostic potential of microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles for endometriosis. However, the vast majority of previous studies have only included adult women. Therefore, we sought to investigate differential expression of miRNAs among adolescents and young adults with endometriosis.

Subgroups of pelvic pain are differentially associated with endometriosis and inflammatory comorbidities: a latent class analysis.

Chronic pelvic pain is heterogeneous with potentially clinically informative subgroups. We aimed to identify subgroups of pelvic pain based on symptom patterns and investigate their associations with inflammatory and chronic pain-related comorbidities. Latent class analysis (LCA) identified subgroups of participants (n = 1255) from the Adolescence to Adulthood (A2A) cohort.

Pelvic pain symptoms and endometriosis characteristics in relation to oxidative stress among adolescents and adults with and without surgically-confirmed endometriosis.

While the majority of reproductive-aged females will experience pelvic pain during their lives, biological mechanisms underlying pelvic pain are not well understood. We investigated associations between pelvic pain symptoms and oxidative stress among people with and without surgically-confirmed endometriosis. Using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, we measured 8-Hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in urine samples and corrected for creatinine levels in 434 surgically-confirmed endometriosis participants compared to 605 participants never diagnosed with endometriosis.

Plasma proteins and persistent postsurgical pelvic pain among adolescents and young adults with endometriosis.

Background: Noninvasive biomarkers that predict surgical treatment response would inform personalized treatments and provide insight into potential biologic pathways underlying endometriosis-associated pain and symptom progression.

Objective: To use plasma proteins in relation to the persistence of pelvic pain following laparoscopic surgery in predominantly adolescents and young adults with endometriosis using a multiplex aptamer-based proteomics biomarker discovery platform.

Study Design: We conducted a prospective analysis including 142 participants with laparoscopically-confirmed endometriosis from the Women's Health Study: From Adolescence to Adulthood observational longitudinal cohort with study enrollment from 2012-2018.

Visualized peritoneal fluid variation in adolescents and young adults with endometriosis: is there more to it?

Background: Peritoneal fluid is a medium for endometriosis-associated biomarker discovery from which the local peritoneal environment and pathophysiologic pathways are often inferred. Therefore, we evaluated the associations between peritoneal fluid color and volume at time of endometriosis-related laparoscopic surgery with patient characteristics, endometriosis type and lesion location in adolescents and young adults with endometriosis.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis among 545 patients undergoing surgery for endometriosis who enrolled in the Women's Health Study: from Adolescence to Adulthood cohort study.

Global endometrial DNA methylation analysis reveals insights into mQTL regulation and associated endometriosis disease risk and endometrial function.

Endometriosis is a leading cause of pain and infertility affecting millions of women globally. Herein, we characterize variation in DNA methylation (DNAm) and its association with menstrual cycle phase, endometriosis, and genetic variants through analysis of genotype data and methylation in endometrial samples from 984 deeply-phenotyped participants. We estimate that 15.

Quantitative somatosensory testing of the abdomen: establishing initial reference values across developmental age and biological sex.

Abdominal pain is a common symptom of several debilitating conditions (eg, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and endometriosis) and affects individuals throughout their lifespan. Quantitative sensory testing (QST) reference values exist for many body sites but not the abdomen. Using a QST battery adapted from the German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain, we collected QST data on the upper and lower abdomen in 181 pain-free participants, ages 12 to 50 years, to establish reference values by age and biological sex.

Clinical profiling of specific diagnostic subgroups of women with chronic pelvic pain.

Introduction: Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) is a common condition affecting up to 26.6% of women, with many suffering for several years before diagnosis and/or treatment. Its clinical presentation is varied and there are frequently comorbid conditions both within and outside the pelvis.

Plasma proteomic profiles of pain subtypes in adolescents and young adults with endometriosis.

Study Question: What are the similarities and differences in the systemic proteomic profiles by endometriosis-associated pain subtypes among adolescents and young adults with endometriosis?

Summary Answer: Endometriosis-associated pain subtypes exhibited distinct plasma proteomic profiles.

What Is Known Already: Endometriosis patients, especially those diagnosed in adolescents and young adults, are often plagued by various pain symptoms. However, it is not clear what biological processes underlie this heterogeneity.

The genetic basis of endometriosis and comorbidity with other pain and inflammatory conditions.

Endometriosis is a common condition associated with debilitating pelvic pain and infertility. A genome-wide association study meta-analysis, including 60,674 cases and 701,926 controls of European and East Asian descent, identified 42 genome-wide significant loci comprising 49 distinct association signals. Effect sizes were largest for stage 3/4 disease, driven by ovarian endometriosis.

Trends in pelvic pain symptoms over 2 years of follow-up among adolescents and young adults with and without endometriosis.

We described trends in pelvic pain characteristics over 2 years of follow-up among adolescents and adults with and without endometriosis participating in the longitudinal observational cohort of the Women's Health Study: From Adolescence to Adulthood, using data reported at baseline and at years 1 and 2 of follow-up. Participants completed a questionnaire at baseline (between November 2012 and May 2019) and annually thereafter that included validated measures of severity, frequency, and life interference of dysmenorrhea, acyclic pelvic pain, and dyspareunia. Our study population included 620 participants with surgically confirmed endometriosis (rASRM stage I/II = 95%) and 671 community-based and hospital-based controls, with median age = 19 and 24 years, respectively.

Circulating proteomic profiles associated with endometriosis in adolescents and young adults.

Study Question: What are the systemic molecular profiles of endometriosis diagnosed in adolescents and young adults?

Summary Answer: Significant enrichment and increased activation of proteins related to angiogenesis and cell migration pathways were observed in endometriosis cases compared to controls (P-value < 2.4 × 10-8).

What Is Known Already: Little is known about the pathophysiology of adolescent endometriosis despite the fact that over 50% of adults with endometriosis report onset of severe pelvic pain during adolescence.

Cohort profile: The Endometriosis pain QUality aftEr Surgical Treatment (EndoQUEST) Study.

Endometriosis affects reproductive-aged females and varies considerably in terms of symptom presentation, morphologic features, and treatment response. Most studies investigating symptom recurrence after an endometriosis-related surgery have been conducted among adults. The Endometriosis pain QUality aftEr Surgical Treatment (EndoQUEST) Study was established to assess characteristics and biomarkers that are associated with pain remediation and improved quality of life after an endometriosis-related surgery among adolescents and young adults.

Impact of endometriosis on women's life decisions and goal attainment: a cross-sectional survey of members of an online patient community.

Objectives: To examine women's perceptions of endometriosis-associated disease burden and its impact on life decisions and goal attainment.

Design: An anonymous online survey was distributed in October 2018 through the social media network MyEndometriosisTeam.com.

Presurgical blood metabolites and risk of postsurgical pelvic pain in young patients with endometriosis.

Objective: To identify metabolites in presurgical blood associated with risk of persistent postsurgical pelvic pain 1 year after endometriosis surgery in adolescent and young adult patients.

Design: Prospective observational study within the Women's Health Study: From Adolescence to Adulthood, a US-based longitudinal cohort of adolescents and women enrolled from 2012-2018.

Setting: Two tertiary care hospitals.

Association between endometriosis and lower urinary tract symptoms.

Objective: To determine if women with endometriosis experience lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTSs) more often than those without.

Design: Cross-sectional analysis at enrollment in a longitudinal cohort.

Setting: Enrollment at 2 academic hospitals and from the local community.

Nonhormonal therapy for endometriosis: a randomized, placebo-controlled, pilot study of cabergoline versus norethindrone acetate.

Objective: To estimate the efficacy and safety of a novel nonhormonal therapeutic agent, cabergoline, compared with that of the standard clinical therapy, norethindrone acetate (NETA), for the treatment of endometriosis-associated pain in young women with endometriosis.

Design: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study.

Setting: Tertiary care center.