eBusiness Weekly
Melbourne. — Melbourne scientists have discovered a new way to find a crucial stem cell in the lining of a woman’s womb.
The world-first finding will drive desperately needed research into endometriosis, a common health condition in which cells that line the uterus are found in other parts of the body, causing pelvic and back pain, difficult menstrual cycles, and infertility.
One in 10 women of reproductive age suffers it, many in silence thanks to a lack of awareness about how painful and debilitating it can be.
Professor Caroline Gargett and her team at the Hudson Institute of Medical Research found a marker for a type of adult stem cell in the uterus. The marker is a protein that is expressed by the endometrial epithelial progenitor cells.
“I think this is a breakthrough . . . we know exactly where these cells are, we can isolate them and study them,” said Prof Gargett, who heads the endometrial stem cell biology research group at The Ritchie Centre.
“We think these stem cells are being abnormally shed in the pelvic cavity, causing this difficult and painful condition.”
The cells are important in growing the glands in the endometrium each month, which help feed an embryo in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy before the placenta takes over. The discovery was made using endometrial tissue samples from 74 women. The research was published in the journal, Human Reproduction.
An Australian study estimated the cost of endometriosis to be $7,7 billion a year from lost productivity and healthcare expenditure.
What really is endometriosis?
Endometriosis is a painful chronic condition, where the tissues outlining the uterus from outside (usually found in the ovaries, fallopian tubes and ligaments supporting the uterus) rupture and lead to internal bleeding and inflammation.
This can cause pain, infertility, scar tissue formation, adhesions, and bowel problems. Symptoms of endometriosis include pain before and during periods, pain with sex, infertility, fatigue, painful urination during periods, painful bowel movements during periods and other gastrointestinal upsets such as diarrhoea, constipation, nausea. Although the actual cause for endometriosis is unknown, several theories indicate it could be caused due to hormonal problems, abnormal tissue growth and exposure to toxic chemicals such as dioxin.
Endometriosis Association of US has estimated that close to seven million females of reproductive age group suffer from the disorder only in North America.
The actual number could be much larger as many patient refrain from opting for treatments. In less developed economies, the indication is still virgin signalling a green field opportunity for drug manufacturers.
Endometriosis is the number one cause of infertility in the US with an incidence rate of over 10 percent in 2016, the economic cost of endometriosis is staggering.
In this regard, World Endometriosis Research Foundation (WERF) has conducted and published a prospective study of the direct and indirect costs associated with endometriosis in women over 10 different countries.
The study notes that average cost of treatment per woman per year is around US$ 12,000 and overall cost of this health hazard is approximately $85 billion per year, assuming an incidence rate of 10 percent among women of reproductive age group.
Endometriosis is a very painful condition and often leads to infertility. In order to avoid such condition, women prefer to undergo possible treatments including surgery.
In endometriosis the quality of life for patients also gets severely impacted, which provokes them to take up treatment as soon as possible.
Increasing awareness for the disease, growing population of females in reproductive age group and availability of better symptom control medications are factors fuelling core research and direct disease management.
Restraints of the market include the large time framework required to diagnose the disease. Researchers have noted that on an average a seven to nine year framework is required to diagnose the disease. Availability of trial subjects based on phases of disease progression often gets blocked.
There are no non-invasive diagnostic tests available for endometriosis. While an integrative treatment plan could suit a patient suffering from endometriosis at large, there are not many physicians, who recognise the benefits of such plans in most parts of the world. As such the treatment for this disease is a largely under-served domain. — Wires.
