Category: Endometriosis News & Updates

Non-Hormonal Drug Shows Promise in Relieving Endometriosis Pain

A clinical trial involving 100 women in Edinburgh and London is testing whether dichloroacetate, a drug licensed for the treatment of childhood metabolic disorders and some cancers, can relieve the chronic pain and other symptoms of endometriosis. The disease affects around one in 10 women of reproductive age and occurs when tissue similar to the womb lining grows elsewhere in the body, causing inflammation, pain, and scarring. Current treatments, including hormone-based drugs and surgery, have side effects and are not suitable for all patients. Dichloroacetate would be the first non-hormonal, non-surgical treatment for endometriosis if the trial is successful.

The clinical trial, which is funded by the Scottish government and the women’s health charity Wellbeing of Women, follows previous research that showed cells from the pelvic wall of women with endometriosis produced higher amounts of lactate. Dichloroacetate was found to reduce lactate production and the size of endometriosis lesions in lab and mouse experiments. The trial will assess whether the drug can alleviate pain and other symptoms of endometriosis, which affects 1.5 million women in the UK alone. The hope is that the trial will confirm dichloroacetate’s effectiveness, paving the way for the first new class of endometriosis drug in 40 years.

[Source: The Guardian] (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/mar/08/endometriosis-new-treatment-non-hormonal-drug-dichloroacetate)

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Pesticides linked to increased risk of Endometriosis.

Recently published research from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have indicated a link between endometriosis risk and pesticide use.  The study published in Environmental Health Perspectives consisted of over 250 women with surgically confirmed Endometriosis (the only reliable way to confirm a diagnosis of Endometriosis) and a control group of 538 women between the years of 1996 and 2001.

Within the context of past studies of organochloride pesticides indicating estrogenic properties, this indicated a potential to increase the risk of conditions such as Endometriosis which are estrogen driven, until now larger scale studies have not examined the potential risk in relation to exposure to any great depth.

The study concludes

“In our case–control study of women enrolled in a large health care system in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, serum concentrations of β-HCH and mirex were positively associated with endometriosis. Extensive past use of environmentally persistent OCPs in the United States or present use in other countries may affect the health of reproductive-age women.”

 

Mirex pesticides have been banned in many countries, for example the United States banned it in 1976, prior to this it was in widespread use in order to prevent the spead of fire ants.

β-HCH or  beta-Hexachlorocyclohexane is a byproduct of lindane also a banned pesiticde since at least 1985 – however studies as recent as 2009 have found that the chemical still exists in water and soil across used areas.  it is also foudn pesent in many people with tentative links to Parkinsons and Alzheimers  (Medscape Medical News – July 2009).  With its long life and prolonged existence in the environment this is of ongoing concern for women with an increased risk of Endometriosis.

 

Endometriosis and Cancer Link – new research shows

New research undertaken by researchers in Sweden have found a indicative link to an increased risk of some cancers.  After examining the records of 65,000 patents, along with data from the National Swedish Cancer Registry the researchers found that women with Endometriosis were  more likely to develop ovarian cancer, brain tumors, endocrine tumors, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

The researchers also concluded that there was a decrease in risk for cervical cancer across the study group.   The study found that the actual increase in risk was minor, it may prompt further research from other nations, such studies, if a link is found – may be able to indicate new treatment and research paths for further treatment and diagnosis.

Other studies.

It’s worth noting another study in April 2013 indicated that the risk of ovarian cancer was reduced in women with Endometriosis who underwent excision surgery to remove and clean-out the endometriosis.

 

We hope that studies such as these will help researchers and consultants treat patients in the future.

Endometriosis sufferers have a higher risk of Crohn’s disease.

A study, done over 10 years, consisting of over 35,000 Danish women who had been hospitalised due to endometriosis has found that there is a significantly higher risk of Crohn’s disease.

 

The study concludes that where Endometriosis has been surgically verified, the risk of having Crohn’s disease is 80% higher than those without.  Where the diagnosis had not been confirmed surgically (symptom only diagnosis) the risk was 50% higher than the normal population.  The study was undertaken from 1997 to 2007, the women were then followed up for up to 13 years, 320 of the women developed Inflammatory Bowel Disease and 92 with Crohn’s disease.

Crohn’s disease generally causes complications within the gastrointestinal tract, including diarrhoea, vomiting and weight loss.

The study was led by Dr. Tine Jess and a team of researchers at the Statens Serum Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark.

BMJ journal Gut article:

Drinking Red Wine May slow Endometriosis

A paper that was presented at the American Collage of Obstetricians and Gynaecologist’s Annual Clinical Meeting this year has said that Drinking Red Wine may be good for health and may help to prevent Endometriosis.

The research in the paper has shown that mice with endometriosis were given doses of compunds found in soy and red wine the activity and growth rate of the tissue was decresed and the size also was reduced.

In conclusion Sharai C. Amaya of Greenville Hospital in South Carolina along with her co-authors say “Further studies are required in humans to investigate the role of dietary compunds such as soy (geninstein) or red wine (resveratol) on both gynecologic health and disease”.

 

Story gleaned from Endometriosis News & Demo-research.

New drug is approved for endometriosis pain..

This relates to our U.S. readers only at present as far as we are aware – if anyone has other info let us know.

First new treatment to be approved for Endometriosis in 15 years.  

Depo subQ provera 104 (yes it’s a mouthful – a form of Depo Provera) has been approved for treatment – the drug is made by Pfeizer and contains 104 mg medroxyprogesterone acetate and can treat endometriosis pain as effectively as leuprolide acetate, but is associated with significantly less bone loss over the course of treatment.

It also has fewer side effects also associated with prior treatments.  

 

Hopefully this will benefit many sufferers as one of the major problems with previous treatments, as our readers will know, is the bone density loss, which if not monitored has led to problems for people in later life, along with some very severe side-effects to sensitive people.  

Anyone who has treatment from this new drug please get in touch with us and let us know by emailing info@endosupp.com .

Radical Hysterectomy for cancer more complicated with Endometriosis

Just spotted this little snippet on the bbc:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7612083.stm

With Jade Goody set to undergo a hysterectomy after being diagnosed with cervical cancer. Earlier this month there have been a few articles about the treatment of cervical cancer and hysterectomy’s, in this BBC article a mention is made to Endometriosis, which apparently makes such surgery more difficult.

It doesn’t go into detail, however we suspect it’s due to the presence of scar tissue where operations have been undertaken previously, along with, in extreme cases, acute adhesions which can distort and weld the organs together making such work difficult, if anyone can point us to any information about increased risk or difficulties due to Endo in this sort of treatment let us know.

 

when it comes to cancer, a hysterectomy is not as straightforward as it can be when done for other conditions.

“With a simple hysterectomy the cervix and the womb are removed and it could take less than an hour,” Kehoe explains.

“But for cancer we do a radical hysterectomy where we remove the womb, cervix, some of the vagina and the lymph nodes in the pelvis to make sure the disease hasn’t spread.”

This more major surgery is more likely to take two to three hours or even much longer if there are complications.

“You might find the disease has spread to other areas that you hadn’t anticipated or you might get technical difficulties for example if the woman has endometriosis,” he says.

Doctors Try New Approach To Treating Endometriosis

From http://wjz.com/local/doctors.endometriosis.treatment.2.815382.html 

This article talks about a new approach being tried to treat the pain of Endometriosis, by combining aromatase inhibitors with the drug Lupron.  This appears to be successful for some women – though of course the side effects and as documented on this site – sometimes the permanent long-lasting side-effects.

The strongest pain medications like narcotics may take care of it for two to three hours, but the pain still comes back.

Now doctors have found a way to relieve the pain with a pill. They’re combining aromatase inhibitors with the endometriosis drug Lupron. 

“When you use the combination of these two drugs, you have a better chance,” Dr. Barrueto said.

Dr. Barrueto says aromatase inhibitors block the production of estrogen which suppresses the growth of endometriosis and reduces inflammation.

But the drugs are not without side effects.  Some of the most common ones are hot flashes, mood swings and reduced libido.

…

Dr. Barrueto says 60 percent of patients who use this combined therapy will experience a significant reduction in their pain.

Aromatase inhibitors have been well established in the treatment of breast cancer, a therapy discovered by a Baltimore scientist.

We hope this treatment does lead to increased pain relief, but also hope that doctors continue to do proper tests on items such as bone density tests and monitoring reactions to the drugs.

National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week, September 8-14, 2008

Chronically Ill Enthusiastically Anticipate Virtual Internet Conference Sept 8-12

 

Press Release posted on http://www.sbwire.com/news/view/21215 – some excerpts are below for your reading pleasure as normal…

Traveling expenses, hard beds, peers wearing too much perfume, long treks to conference rooms, and exhausting days make up the typical conference–all which make it nearly impossible for the chronically ill to attend events where they can find encouragement and education. National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week’s “virtual” conference online is more than just practical. It’s necessary

 

One of the ways to meet the needs of the chronically ill is to provide the type of forum where they can learn, connect with others and interact with professionals. For the chronically ill, who typically have difficulty sleeping, extreme fatigue, trouble walking and sitting, and even chemical sensitivities, a virtual conference, where people can stay comfortable, attend free and avoid traveling is the perfect fit. 

Four seminars per day, Monday through Friday, September 8-12, are available at www.invisibleillness.com and all will be recorded and archived. 

Hundreds of people are also blogging for awareness about invisible illness issues on September 8, 2008. For more information see http://www.invisibleillnessblog.com 

 

Media Relations Contact

Lisa Copen Email Contact 
Director
National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week
858-486-4685
http://www.invisibleillness.com

 

At last this seems to be a step in the right direction for people who suffer badly from diseases like Endometriosis, it will be intresting to see if any post awareness week articles and press releases give us some info on how successful it was.

Neurocrine reports positive results in latest Endometriosis Drug Trials

Neurocrine studied 252 patients, with a confirmed diagnosis of endometriosis. The company split the group into 3 sets for treatment over 6 months.

  • elagolix 150mg once daily  (new drug)
  • elagolix 75mg twice daily  (new drug)
  • depo provera 104 (DMPA)  (common treatment)
Elagolix showed an improvement of endometriosis symptoms following treatment.
An Improvement in endometriosis symptoms was documented against different pain scales commonly used to rate symptons of sufferers.
In addition the impact on bone density loss was statistically less than on other treatments.
Also on the news the companies shares of course edged higher.

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