The files of millions of patients in UC health centers have found correlations between endometriosis, one of the most common diseases in women and a generosity of other diseases.
UCSF scientists have discovered that endometriosis – a painful chronic disease affecting 10% of women who are often not diagnosed – often occurs in parallel with conditions such as cancer, Crohn’s disease and migraine.
Research could improve the way in which endometriosis is diagnosed and, ultimately, how it is treated; And he paints the clearest portrait to date of a condition as mysterious as they are prevailing.
The study, which appeared in Cell reports medicine On July 31, used calculation methods developed at the UCSF to analyze the anonymized files of patients collected in the six health centers of the University of California.
We now have the tools and data to make a difference for the enormous population that suffers from endometriosis. We hope this can stimulate a sea change in the way we approach this disorder. “”
Marina Sirota, PHD, temporary director of the UCSF Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute (BCHSI), pediatric professor, and principal author of the newspaper
UC health data provides number
Endometriosis, often called “endo”, occurs when the endometrium, the bloody tissues that develop in the uterus before being expelled each month during menstruation, spreads to other neighboring organs. It causes chronic pain and infertility. It is estimated that nearly 200 million women in the world are suffering from it.
“Endo is extremely debilitating,” said Linda Giudice, MD, PHD, MSC, doctor-scientific in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the UCSF and co-author of the article. “The impact on the life of patients is enormous, from their interpersonal relationships to the possibility of holding a job, having a family and maintaining psychological well-being. »»
The gold stallion to diagnose endometriosis is surgery to find endometrial tissues outside the uterus, and is mainly treated with hormones to remove the menstrual cycle, or surgery to remove excess tissue.
But not everyone responds to hormone therapy, which can have debilitating side effects. Even after surgery, the condition can be transformed. The elimination of the uterus is a last -up measurement which is generally reserved for elderly women; But some women continue to feel pain even after hysterectomy.
Giudice has teamed up with Sirota to take advantage of anonymized data from anonymized patients from the UC health system against Endo, which can vary from patient to patient. Giudice and Sirota are both main researchers from the Center of Endometriosis of the UCSF-Stanford for discovery, innovation, training and community engagement (ENACT).
“These data are messy; They have not been collected for research, but with the real and human purpose to help women who need care, “said Sirota. “We had the rare chances of rigorously assessing how endometriosis is presented through the population of UCSF patients, then asking us if these observations were true with patients seen in other UC health centers. »»
The data connects points to understand endometriosis
By using algorithms developed for the task, Umair Khan, a student graduated in bioinformatics in the Sirota laboratory and the first author of the article, chased connections connecting endometriosis to the rest of the health history of each patient.
He compared Endo patients with patients who had not had it and classified patients with endo in groups according to shared health history. He has mapped his conclusions from UCSF data against the rest of the UC health data to see if they have resisted California.
“We have found more than 600 correlations between endometriosis and other conditions,” said Khan. “These were going from what we knew or already suspected, such as infertility, autoimmune diseases and acid reflux, with unexpected cancers, such as certain cancers, asthma and eye-related diseases. »»
Some patients have had migraines, strengthening previous studies suggesting that migraine drugs could help treat endometriosis.
“In the past, studies like this would have been almost impossible,” said Tomiko Oskotsky, MD, an investigator at Effective, an associate professor at UCSF BCHSI and co-author of the newspaper. “Only 12 years ago, identified electronic health files became available on this scale. »»
The study supports the growing understanding of endometriosis as a “multi-system” disorder-a disease resulting from a dysfunction throughout the body.
“This is the type of data we need to move the needle, which has not changed for decades,” said Giudice. “We finally get closer to a faster diagnosis and, ultimately, we hope, a treatment adapted to millions of women suffering from endometriosis. »»