For decades, endometriosis has remained a mysterious, painful disease, often ignored by medical research. But a recent study by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), brings new major light: based on the massive analysis of medical records, researchers show that endometriosis is much more than a simple gynecological disorder. It is part of a complex set of symptoms affecting the entire body.
A widespread disease, but misunderstood
Endometriosis concerns around 10 % of women of childbearing age worldwide, or nearly 200 million people. However, it is still largely largely underdiagnosed today. The disease manifests itself when the tissue of the endometrium – normally located inside the uterus – migrates to other organs, causing chronic, sometimes very disabling pain, and infertility problems.
Despite its magnitude, the diagnostic route is often long, painful, and is based on invasive methods. On average, it takes several years before a patient received a formal diagnosis, generally after exploratory surgery. This delay is partly explained by the variability of symptoms, but also by a lack of awareness, including within the medical profession.
An advance made possible by data power
It is in this context that the study published by the Marina Sirota team, researcher at the UCSF, is part of the UCSF team. By analyzing millions of health data from six major hospital centers from the University of California, researchers have used bioinformatics algorithms to bring out correlations so far ignored.
By comparing the files of patients with endometriosis to those of a control group, they have identified more than 600 significant links between this disease and other disorders. Certain associations were expected-infertility, digestive disorders or autoimmune diseases-but others were more surprising, such as possible links with certain types of cancers, migraines, asthma or even eye pathologies.
This approach, made possible by the development of anonymized electronic medical records, opens the way to a much finer understanding of the disease, taking into account its systemic complexity.
Credit: ISTOCK
Crédits : Mohammed Hanefna Nizamudeen/Istock
Endometriosis, multisystem disease
One of the major contributions of the study is to confirm what many clinicians suspected: endometriosis is not a localized disease, but a disorder that seems to affect the whole organism. This observation questions the exclusively gynecological approach which has dominated so far.
By classifying patients according to their medical profiles, the researchers highlighted sub-groups with specific combinations of symptoms. This stratification could ultimately make it possible to adapt the treatments according to the profile of each patient, rather than proposing uniform solutions.
To faster diagnosis and better targeted treatments
Currently, endometriosis treatments are mainly based on hormone therapy – which temporarily removes symptoms – or surgery. But these options are far from satisfactory for all patients. Some do not tolerate hormonal side effects well; Others see their pains reappear after an operation.
By identifying frequent co-morbidities and recurring medical patterns, this study could facilitate a faster and less invasive diagnosis, by identifying early alert signals. It also opens the door to more personalized medicine, which would take into account the interactions between endometriosis and other pathologies.
A turning point for women’s health research
This work of the UCSF, hailed as a breakthrough, is part of a broader dynamic aimed at better understanding the pathologies long neglected, in particular those affecting mainly women. It also shows the potential of digital health technologies and artificial intelligence to bring out new knowledge from already existing data.
« We now have the tools to move the lines “Explains Marina Sirota. “” The objective is not only to better understand the disease, but also to concretely improve the lives of the millions of women who suffer from it. »
