Mario Vignali

SEVERAL MILLION WOMEN from different ethnic and social groups suffer from pelvic endometriosis, which is a complex disorder characterized by the presence of endometrial tissue in ectopic sites outside the uterus. Endometriosis is a chronic …

Recent evidence suggested that periovulatory treatment with an immunomodulatory agent such as verapamil might be an effective alternative to conventional treatment for endometriosis-associated subfertility. In particular, it has been report…

ObjectiveA genetic variation in the androgen receptor (AR) has been associated with the risk of developing endometriosis. The AR gene is located on the X chromosome and contains a highly polymorphic trinucleotide repeat (cytosine, adenine, …

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested recently that deep endometriosis and the other forms of the disease do not share a common pathogenetic mechanism. In this study, we hypothesize that, if this is true, deep peritoneal endometriosis and the o…

Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) is a ligand for the integrins lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1) and complement receptor-3 (Mac-1), making it an important partic-ipant in many immune and inflammatory processes. Prev…

ObjectiveTo discuss current ideas about therapy for endometriosis derived from new observations generated by using molecular biology techniques and in vivo animal models of disease.Method(s)The MEDLINE database was reviewed for English-lang…

It has been recently reported that serum concentrations of the adipocyte-derived hormone leptin are increased in patients affected by endometriosis. On the basis of these findings, the present study was undertaken to evaluate whether the pr…

Gynecologic and obstetric pathologies may be associated with the presence of a cavitate rudimentary horn such as hematometra, chronic pelvic pain, severe dysmenorhea, increased risk of endometriosis, uterine rupture in pregnancy when implan…

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the hypothesis that soluble intercellular adhesions molecule-1 (sICAM-1) may be used as a new serum marker of endometriosis. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: An academic department specializing in gynec…

ObjectiveTo test the possibility of using transgenic knockout mice in the study of endometriosis and to investigate specific immunologic aspects of the disease.DesignExperimental blinded study.SettingAcademic research center.Animal(s)Thirty…

In Brief Objective To relate endometrial release of the soluble form of intercellular adhesion molecule 1 with extent of endometriosis. Methods Samples of endometrium were collected from 23 women with endometriosis. Soluble intercellular ad…

The present study was conducted to investigate whether GnRH-receptor (GnRH-R) gene is expressed in endometriosis ovarian implants and whether a GnRH-analogue (GnRH-a) may exert an effect on endometriosis cell proliferation in vitro. The pre…

The mechanisms leading to the occurrence and progression of endometriosis are far from being completely understood. After implantation or differentiation of ectopic endometrium, further proliferation of the endometriosis implants will depen…

Our objective was to study the anatomic features, associated pelvic and urologie abnormalities, and histologic endometrial patterns of women with unicornuate uterus. We reviewed the clinical records of women with unicornuate uterus who unde…

PROBLEM: Development and progression of endometriosis have been suggested to be related to a defect of NK cells in the ability to eliminate endometrial fragments regurgitated with menstrual debris in ectopic sites. However, it has not been …

Previous studies have localized basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and its mRNA in normal and neoplastic endometrium but the expression of bGFG mRNA in endometriosis cells is virtually unknown. Our purpose was to investigate the presence…

Clinical and experimental evidence supports the hypothesis that some steroidal drugs with androgenic effects might influence the immune system. The present study investigated whether gestrinone is able to affect macrophage and lymphocyte ac…

Danazol is an effective drug in the treatment of endometriosis. Previous reports suggest that it can act by influencing the immune system. Thus, in this study we evaluated whether danazol is able to affect the expression of natural and acti…