- A new study has found gut microbiota may play a pivotal role in the progression of endometriosis in an animal model.
- Uterine microbiota, on the other hand, did not seem to affect the progression of endometriosis in mice.
- Researchers found microbiota-derived metabolites—or products made by microbes—were significantly altered in the feces of mice with endometriosis.
- The research suggests studying microbiota metabolites in human stool samples may serve as a diagnostic tool for endometriosis.
A poorly understood disease, endometriosis causes tissue similar to the lining of the uterus to grow outside the uterus, which can result in terrible pain, infertility, and a range of other symptoms.
About 10% of people who menstruate have endometriosis, according to the
The gut microbiota, a collection of microbes present in the gastrointestinal tract, is
Recently, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine looked at how altered gut microbiota may play a role in how endometriosis progresses.
Their study is published in
One widely accepted theory is that endometriosis may be caused by retrograde menstruation, where shed endometrial tissue moves through the fallopian tubes and enters the pelvic cavity, where it implants on surrounding tissue such as the intestine. However,
“So we thought there is in those women with endometriosis probably their peritoneal cavity, which is where the gut is [t]hat there’s something wrong,” Ramakrishna Kommagani, principal investigator and associate professor of immunology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, told Medical News Today.
The researchers also considered, according to Kommagani, how many people with endometriosis experience GI problems, such as irritable bowel syndrome.
Several other studies, including this one from 2021, have suggested a link between microbiota…
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