Hilary Critchley

Advanced maternal age increases the risk of pregnancy complications due, in part, to changes in the uterine environment. Here, we show that uterine aging in mice is associated with a progressive increase in transcriptional variation, accomp…

Abstract Women have reported both menstrual disruption following SARS-CoV-2 infection and that long COVID symptoms change across the menstrual cycle. Yet there is a lack of female-specific research on COVID and menstruation. We aimed to de…

We previously published the DexFEM trial, which showed that in women with heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB), oral dexamethasone reduces menstrual blood loss. Here, we report a pharmacodynamic analysis exploring the likely mechanism for this ef…

Women have reported menstrual changes following SARS-CoV-2 infection and variation in long COVID symptoms across the menstrual cycle. We examined (i) whether COVID is linked to abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB), (ii) if long COVID symptoms va…

This group was formed out of the conviction that endometriosis research has not progressed at a pace in proportion to disease severity and the negative impact on women's quality of life. Furthermore, advancement in our understanding of this…

Structured Abstract Introduction Adenomyosis is an under-recognised condition in which definitive diagnosis is only possible via histology after hysterectomy, an unacceptable option for those wishing to preserve fertility. Recent cellular/m…

Iron deficiency (ID) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) are very common in women during their reproductive life, but often these conditions remain unrecognized and left untreated, particularly in low/ middle income countries (LMICs). Heavy me…

CONTEXT: Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) is common and debilitating, but the precise endometrial mechanisms causing increased menstrual blood loss (MBL) remain undefined. We have previously identified a role for hypoxia in endometrial repair…

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis affects 1 in 10 women, many of whom have surgery for persistent pain. Recurrence of symptoms following an operation is common. Although hormonal treatment can reduce this risk, there is uncertainty about the best o…

Abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) is common, often debilitating, and may affect over 50% of reproductive-aged women and girls. Whereas AUB is a collection of symptoms that include intermenstrual bleeding and abnormalities in period duration, …

STUDY QUESTION: Does application of an unbiased method for analysis of magnetic resonance (MR) images reveal any effect on uterine or fibroid volume from treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) with three 12-week courses of the selectiv…

Abstract Study question Does HIF-2α play a key role in pre-menstrual conditioning of the non-pregnant endometrium to optimise menstrual breakdown/repair and prevent heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB)? Summary answer HIF-2 was higher in secretor…

BackgroundHeavy menstrual bleeding affects one in four women and negatively impacts quality of life. The levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system is an effective long-term treatment but is discontinued by many due to unpredictable bleed…

Menstruation is defined as monthly uterine bleeding, regarded as a sign of reproductive health. When characterized by excessive bleeding (heavy menstrual bleeding [HMB]), it may act as a useful clinical marker for diagnosis of reproductive …

Background: Contraceptive-induced menstrual changes (CIMCs) can affect family planning (FP) users' lives in both positive and negative ways, resulting in both opportunities and consequences. Despite this, and despite the important links bet…

Purpose: To investigate how the extent of fibrosis in adenomyosis lesions contributes to heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB). Methods: We recruited 57 women with histologically confirmed adenomyosis, 29 of whom reported moderate/heavy bleeding (…

Abnormal Uterine Bleeding (AUB) is a common debilitating condition that significantly reduces quality of life of women across the reproductive age span. AUB creates significant morbidity, medical, social, and economic problems for women, th…

Menstruation is a physiological process that is typically uncomplicated. However, up to one third of women globally will be affected by abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) at some point in their reproductive years. Menstruation (that is, endome…

Background: The symptom of heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) diminishes quality-of-life for many mid-age women and imposes substantial societal burden. We investigated our hypothesis that HMB reflects impaired endometrial vasoconstriction due …

STUDY QUESTION: Can markers of human endometrial hypoxia be detected at menstruation in vivo? SUMMARY ANSWER: Our in vivo data support the presence of hypoxia in menstrual endometrium of women during physiological menstruation. WHAT IS KNOW…

Heavy menstrual bleeding is common and debilitating but the causes remain ill defined. Rates of obesity in women are increasing and its impact on menstrual blood loss (MBL) is unknown. Therefore, we quantified BMI and MBL in women not takin…

ObjectiveTo study the impact of the progesterone receptor modulator (PRM), ulipristal acetate (UPA), on endometrial morphology and function.DesignCross-sectional.SettingUniversity Research Institute.Patient(s)Endometrial biopsies from 16 pa…

Abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) is a chronic, debilitating and common condition affecting one in four women of reproductive age. Current treatments (conservative, medical and surgical) may be unsuitable, poorly tolerated or may result in lo…

Women's health concerns are generally underrepresented in basic and translational research, but reproductive health in particular has been hampered by a lack of understanding of basic uterine and menstrual physiology. Menstrual health is an…

The physiological functions of the uterine endometrium (uterine lining) are preparation for implantation, maintenance of pregnancy if implantation occurs, and menstruation in the absence of pregnancy. The endometrium thus plays a pivotal ro…