The New Treatments for Endometriosis documentary, aired by Arte TV, featuring research from the Nuffield Department of Women’s & Reproductive Health, explores patients’ journeys and highlights the challenges in diagnosis, management, and treatment. It also examines emerging global research, showing how awareness and attitudes towards the disease are beginning to shift.
Key insights from the documentary
What is Endometriosis?
Endometriosis is a chronic condition in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. This can cause inflammation, scarring, and adhesions, leading to significant pain.
Symptoms can vary, but may include:
- Chronic pelvic pain
- Heavy or painful periods
- Pain during sex
- Fatigue
- Fertility issues
- Painful bowel movements
- Constipation or diarrhoea
- Iron deficiency
- Pain in other areas of the body
Why does diagnosis take so long?
Despite growing awareness, it typically takes 7–10 years from symptom onset to receive a diagnosis.
This delay is often due to the normalisation or trivialisation of symptoms, alongside limitations in current diagnostic methods. Laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery remains the most reliable way to confirm endometriosis, but it is invasive.
Imaging techniques such as ultrasound and MRI can help identify abnormalities, but they are not always able to detect the disease.
Why does it cause so much pain?
Endometriosis tissue behaves like the lining of the uterus, responding to monthly hormonal changes. It can swell and bleed during the menstrual cycle, but unlike the uterine lining, it has no way to leave the body.
Over time, this can lead to:
- Chronic inflammation
- Scar tissue (adhesions)
- Organs sticking together
Adenomyosis vs Endometriosis
Adenomyosis and endometriosis are related but distinct conditions.
Adenomyosis occurs when endometrial tissue grows into the muscular wall of the uterus, causing thickening. In contrast, endometriosis involves tissue growth outside the uterus, such as on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and pelvic lining.
What are the current treatment options?
Although treatment options remain limited, a range of approaches can help manage symptoms and slow disease progression, including:
- Psychological support
- Exercise programmes
- Dietary changes
- Hormonal treatments
- Pain relief medication
- Laparoscopic surgery
What causes Endometriosis?
The largest genetic study to date, involving Professor Krina Zondervan and international collaborators, has identified a genetic component to the disease.
By comparing the genetic data of over 60,000 women with endometriosis and more than 700,000 without, researchers identified 42 regions of DNA associated with increased risk.
Importantly, many of these genes are also linked to other pain and inflammatory conditions, such as migraines, chronic back pain, asthma, and osteoarthritis. This raises the possibility that existing treatments for these conditions could be repurposed for endometriosis.
This is very attractive because those drugs have already gone through testing, and we understand the side effects.
- Professor Krina Zondervan
What’s changing: the hope for quicker diagnosis
Researchers at the Nuffield Department of Women’s & Reproductive Health are developing a non-invasive scan to diagnose endometriosis. This has the potential to significantly reduce diagnostic delays and remove the need for invasive procedures.
Faster diagnosis would allow treatment options to be explored much earlier, improving patient outcomes.
Globally, research is also exploring new diagnostic approaches using menstrual blood, saliva, and technologies such as High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU).
As awareness grows and research advances, there is increasing optimism for earlier diagnosis and more effective management of endometriosis, improving the quality of life for women across the globe.
Acknowledgements
We thank all those involved in the documentary, and especially the patients for sharing their stories.
Watch the documentary below.
Visit our EndoCaRe Research Centre webpages here