Endometriosis

Subject : Science and technology

Section: Health

Concept :

Endometriosis

Endometriosis is a disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. It can cause severe pain in the pelvis and make it harder to get pregnant.
Endometriosis can start at a person’s first menstrual period and last until menopause.
With endometriosis, tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. This leads to inflammation and scar tissue forming in the pelvic region and (rarely) elsewhere in the body.
The cause of endometriosis is unknown.
There is no known way to prevent endometriosis. There is no cure, but its symptoms can be treated with medicines or, in some cases, surgery.
Endometriosis affects roughly 10% (190 million) of reproductive age women and girls globally.
It is a chronic disease associated with severe, life-impacting pain during periods, sexual intercourse, bowel movements and/or urination, chronic pelvic pain, abdominal bloating, nausea, fatigue, and sometimes depression, anxiety, and infertility.

Diagnosis Delay

A careful history of menstrual symptoms and chronic pelvic pain provides the basis for suspecting endometriosis.
Although several screening tools and tests have been proposed and tested, none are currently validated to accurately identify or predict individuals or populations that are most likely to have the disease.
Endometriosis can often present symptoms that mimic other conditions and contribute to a diagnostic delay.
Ovarian endometrioma, adhesions and deep nodular forms of disease often require ultrasonography or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect.
Histologic verification, usually following surgical/laparoscopic visualization, can be useful in confirming diagnosis, particularly for the most common superficial lesions.
The need for histologic/laparoscopic confirmation should not prevent the commencement of empirical medical treatment.