Notes
from Maastricht
 |
Professor Hans Evers, president
of the World Congress on Endometriosis in Maastricht,
Professor Robert Shaw, past president of the
WES, and Professor Rodolphe Maheux, executive-secretary
and current president of the WES. |
-
Among the many
interesting news items to come out of Maastrich
was information about a new non-invasive diagnostic
test for endometriosis. Researchers at Vanderbilt
University have discovered an antigen and its
antibody which are common to women with endometriosis
but not found in healthy women. Based on this
Valeo Medical Inc has developed a simple blood
test and validated its assay on more than 600
human clinical samples.
-
Currently endometriosis
can only be diagnosed through surgery and recent
studies have indicated that it may take as long
as 8 years for a diagnosis to be established.
A study by Matsuzaki and Canis et al
examined the relationship between delay before
surgical diagnosis and severity of the disease
in patients with symptomatic deep infiltrating
endometriosis. It was concluded that delay between
onset of pain symptoms and surgical diagnosis
may be associated with the severity of disease
in patients with DIE.
-
Also of interest
were the findings reported by Sue Treloar et
al in a study of 3895 Australian women
that almost two thirds of the women who smoked
indicated that starting to smoke coincided with
the onset of endometriosis symptoms.
-
Previous studies
have linked exposure to dioxin with endometriosis.
A poster presentation by MS Sugamata et
al of Japan examined the link between endometriosis
and the common urban pollutant diesel fuel.
Findings concluded that diesel exhaust exposure
accelerates the development of endometriosis
in rats.
-
Finally, many
patients now turn to the internet for information
about medical problems. In Germany FS Suwandinata
et al developed a site where patients,
health workers and other interested individuals
could inform themselves and obtain counsel free
of charge about endometriosis-related symptoms.
By filling out a computerised questionnaire
called "Endotest" patients received
a computerised score indicating the likelihood
of endometriosis. Specific questions could also
be asked within a forum called “Expert
Consultation”.
From January 2002 to January 2005, 2627 consultations
were received; between July 2003 and January
2005, 14,829 questionnaires were filled out.
Additionally data collected from the website
provided valuable information for health insurances
companies, politicians and doctors. The findings
indicate that health care professionals must
be prepared to offer information about internet-related
resources.
Patrick Groothuis
presents Luca Fusi from the United Kingdom (left)
with the Best Abstract Award for "Therapeutic
targeting of steroid sulfatase activity in endometriosis",
and Melissa Parker from Australia (right) with the
Best Poster Award for "The prevalence of menstrual
disorders in teenagers".
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