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The first step in treating a disease is recognizing it. This is especially true for diseases that have a wide range of symptoms that do not present in the same way for all people such as endometriosis.
Luckily, a team of researchers from the University of Melbourne, the Royal Women’s Hospital and a company called Proteomics International in Australia have found a new way to detect this painful and sometimes debilitating disease in its early stages, which may provide hope and relief for millions of patients.
Takes Years to Diagnose
According to Science Alert, endometriosis is an inflammatory disease in which tissue that is similar to the type of tissue that grows in the lining of the uterus begins to grow in other parts of the body. This causes very painful lesions.
Unfortunately, endometriosis is incredibly common. According to newsGP, one in nine people with uteruses suffer from the disease. One would think, then, given its prevalence, it would be easy to diagnose. And yet, according to Science Alert, it can often take up to an average of seven years before it is properly diagnosed. The reason for this is that the symptoms for it can be very variable, hard to describe, difficult to measure, and unpredictable, and sadly, they are often dismissed by doctors.
Now a new blood test developed by researchers from Australia could help doctors diagnose endometriosis earlier and thus bring relief to a huge number of women and girls.
Endometriosis Proteins
For years, scientists have been trying to find blood biomarkers for endometriosis. Like malignant tumors, endometriosis lesions often create their own blood supply with their own biomarkers. However, up until now researchers have not been successful in finding those blood biomarkers.
In the study the researchers combed through the bloodwork of 749 women who either had been diagnosed with endometriosis, or had symptoms similar to those common to endometriosis. They then used algorithms to figure out which proteins in the blood could be positively identified with the disease. In the end they found 10 biomarkers that are indications that a person may have endometriosis.
Dr. Richard Lipscome, the managing director of Proteomics International, told News gp that these biomarkers could be identified “from as early as when they [women] start having periods.”
Not only could this blood test save time, it can also save patients the trouble, burden, and pain of going through numerous invasive tests in order to receive a diagnosis. Currently, endometriosis is diagnosed via a slew of tests from laparoscopies to biopsies. With this blood test it could be diagnosed during one simple visit to a patient’s family doctor.
There is still a long way to go before endometriosis becomes a completely curable disease. However, the new blood test is a good first step in the process of helping those who suffer from this painful disease find relief.
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