Endometriosis: The often overlooked cause of pain in millions of women
Endometriosis: The often overlooked cause of pain in millions of women
Pain-sensitive nerves and immune cells work together to chaos at Endometriosis to cause a painful illness that affects 190 million women and girls of borny age. However, a study of mice indicates a way to use this interaction to treat the disorder 1 .
The research published on November 6th in Science Translational Medicine shows a decisive molecular path that not only the Pain sensations , which are caused by endometriosis, promotes, but also worsens the disease. Medicines that inhibit this path are already used to treat migraines - the knowledge of the study suggests that these therapies could also be useful in the treatment of endometriosis.
"This is a new perspective on how we could change the pain in endometriosis," explains Louise Hull, a researcher who examines endometriosis at the University of Adelaide in Australia.
restricted treatment options
endometriosis occurs when cells that are similar to the tissue of the uterine mucosa grow outside the organ, which occasionally causes pain, infertility and strong menstrual bleeding. Current treatment options are limited. Hormonal drugs can alleviate symptoms in some people, but not everyone can endure the side effects, and they are not helpful for those who want to get pregnant. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used for pain relief, but long-term use of liver and kidneys can damage. The advantages of surgical treatments to remove endometrium deposits are often only of short duration.
Rogers was drawn into this research field by a member of his church, whose family was severely affected by endometriosis. She asked him every one or two months: "She would say: 'Mike, you really have to start working on this disease.'"
Finally she convinced him. Rogers began to pursue research in this area and developed the animal models he needed about nine years ago to examine the disease.
Up to this point, researchers had already found that immune cells that are called macrophages are likely to contribute to endometriosis and that pain-sensitive nerves are also involved 2 . Rogers and his colleagues found that deactivating these nerves in mice with a state that resembles endometriosis not only reduced the pain, as the behavior of the animals showed, but also the size of the lesions that contained endometrium cells. "This strongly indicated that the pain -sensitive nerves not only perceive pain, but also actively help to grow," says co -author of the study, Victor Fattori, a pharmacologist at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Interactions
The team decided whether a protein called CGRP, which supports communication between the nervous system and macrophages, could also play a role in endometriosis. Several drugs that block CGRP have already been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for other diseases, and the researchers administered four of them on mice that represent an endometriosis model.
Here too they observed a decline in pain. Two of the medication significantly reduced the size of the lesions, and it is possible that even higher doses of the other two medication would have had a similar effect, according to Rogers.
clinical studies are necessary to determine whether the same approach could be effective in humans. Rogers is optimistic that such studies could begin soon: the medication is already on the market and are considered relatively safe.
Nevertheless, it will be particularly important to demonstrate that you are safe for women who may want to get pregnant while taking the medication, says Hull.
If it turns out that they are safe and effective, CGRP-inhibiting medication could close a gap in treatment for people with endometriosis, says Erin Greaves, who examines the disease at the University of Warwick, UK, and works with Rogers. "New non-hormonal treatments for endometriosis are urgently needed."
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Fattori, V. et al. Sci. Transl. Med. 16, EADK8230 (2024).
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Garcia, J.M.G., et al. Reprod. Sci. 30, 1453-1461 (2023).