Swiss-Australian researchers develop endometriosis test

Endometriosis apparently affects 10% to 15% of girls and women of childbearing age. Keystone/Annette Riedl

A team of researchers from the Swiss university hospital of Bern, together with Australian scientists, has come up with the basis for tests for a disease of the female reproductive system.

The researchers identified cells that are predominantly found in the endometrium of women with endometriosis, the Inselspital announced on Wednesday.

Endometriosis, a disease characterised by the presence of tissue resembling endometrium outside the uterus.

It affects 10% to 15% of girls and women of childbearing age. Typical symptoms are severe abdominal pain and reduced fertility. Around a quarter of women who do not become pregnant suffer from endometriosis.

In this disease, cells of the uterine lining settle outside the uterus, for example in the abdominal cavity. The intestine or lungs can also be affected. How this happens has not yet been clarified in all details.

An abdominal endoscopy (laparoscopy) is currently the most common method for detecting endometriosis without a doubt. This examination is performed under general anaesthesia and, like any surgical procedure, carries certain risks.

Now, a scientific study in which the Bern university hospital played a major role could lead to the development of a quick, non-invasive endometriosis test. In the study, tissue samples of the endometrium of ten women with endometriosis and nine women without endometriosis were analysed.