Thomas D'Hooghe

Endometriosis is a chronic oestrogen-dependent gynaecological disease present in approximately 10% of women of reproductive age and up to 30–50% of women with infertility and/or pain. It is defined as the presence of endometrial-like tissue…

STUDY QUESTION: Can the Endometriosis Fertility Index (EFI) be estimated accurately before surgery? SUMMARY ANSWER: The EFI can be estimated accurately based on mere clinical/ultrasound information, with some improvement after adding data f…

STUDY QUESTION: Does the GnRH antagonist, ASP1707, reduce endometriosis-associated pelvic pain? SUMMARY ANSWER: ASP1707 significantly reduced endometriosis-associated pelvic pain in a dose-related manner. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: GnRH agonist…

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is a common disorder that affects 6-10% of reproductive age women. In a previous study, we demonstrated that a polymorphism in let-7 microRNA-binding site in the 3' untranslated region of the KRAS gene was found in…

Endometrial disorders represent a major gynaecological burden. Current research models fail to recapitulate the nature and heterogeneity of these diseases, thereby hampering scientific and clinical progress. Here we developed long-term expa…

STUDY QUESTION: Can plasma miRNAs be used for the non-invasive diagnosis of endometriosis in infertile women? SUMMARY ANSWER: miRNA-based diagnostic models for endometriosis failed the test of independent validation. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: …

Object:\nTo assess the impact of endometriosis on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and work productivity.\n\nDesign:\nMulticentre cross-sectional study with prospective recruitment.\n\nSetting:\nSixteen clinical centers in ten countri…

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the reproducibility of the Endometriosis Fertility Index (EFI). DESIGN: Single-cohort prospective observational study. SETTING: University hospital. POPULATION: Women undergoing laparoscopic resection of any rASRM-sta…

OBJECTIVE: To compare the value of using one-stop magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) vs standard radiological imaging as a supplement to transvaginal ultrasonography (TVS) for the preoperative assessment of patients with endometriosis referre…

Background: Clinical management of endometriomas, prior to starting treatment with assisted reproductive technologies (ART), has since long been a matter of debate. Whereas cystectomy has been advocated in the past, recently more evidence h…

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To present a detailed description of a modified natural orifice specimen extraction (NOSE) colectomy technique. We also report the postoperative outcomes of our prospective case series when compared with conventional laparo…

Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have identified 19 independent common risk loci for endometriosis. Most of the GWA variants are non-coding and the genes responsible for the association signals have not been identified. Herein, we aime…

Myeloperoxidase (MPO) is a proinflammatory enzyme and a marker for neutrophil activation and oxidative stress. Since oxidative stress and inflammation are linked to the pathogenesis of endometriosis, we hypothesized that the total, active, …

Endometriosis is a heritable hormone-dependent gynecological disorder, associated with severe pelvic pain and reduced fertility; however, its molecular mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here we perform a meta-analysis of 11 genome-wide ass…

UNLABELLED: This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of symptoms related to the menstrual cycle and their impact on social activities in young teenage girls. Between March and June 2009, all girls born in 1996 who were residents …

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis in adolescent girls is often diagnosed after a long delay. This diagnostic delay can be associated with more advanced stages of endometriosis and with a higher likelihood of fertility problems at a later age. MATER…

For the last 20 years, Thomas D'Hooghe has been coordinator of the Leuven University Fertility Center at Leuven University Hospitals, Belgium, one of the largest teaching hospitals in Europe. Since 1995, he has also been Professor of Reprod…

Multiplex immunoassays range from small-scaled multiplex sandwich ELISAs in a planar or bead-based format to the more expanded antibody arrays employing direct sample labeling. The plethora of data generated from these arrays could be of gr…

Background: Endometriosis in adolescent girls is often diagnosed after a long delay. This diagnostic delay can be associated with more advanced stages of endometriosis and with a higher likelihood of fertility problems at a later age. Mater…