Human Reproduction

BACKGROUND: Endometriotic cells display invasive characteristics, despite their benign histological appearance. Recently, the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, in which epithelial cells acquire mesenchymal and migratory properties, has att…

BACKGROUND: There is a growing consensus that ovarian endometriomas should not be systematically removed in women selected for IVF. However, some recent evidence suggested that the presence of these cysts may negatively affect the course of…

The transvaginal access for exploration of tubo-ovarian function in women with unexplained infertility has been revived since transvaginal hydrolaparoscopy (THL) was introduced in 1998. One prospective double-blind trial and several reviews…

BACKGROUND: Deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) is a complex disease that impairs the quality of life and the fertility of women. Since a medical approach is often insufficient, a minimally invasive approach is considered the gold standar…

STUDY QUESTION: Can prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) in menstrual and peritoneal fluid (PF) promote bacterial growth in women with endometriosis? SUMMARY ANSWER: PGE(2) promotes bacterial growth in women with endometriosis. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREA…

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic segmental resection as a treatment for intestinal endometriosis can be supported by favorable clinical outcomes, but carries a high risk of major complications. The purpose of this study is to evaluate histopatholog…

BACKGROUND: Interleukin 33 (IL-33) is a cytokine involved in fibrotic disorders. We have analyzed IL-33 levels in the sera and peritoneal fluids of women with various forms of endometriosis and investigated the correlation with disease acti…

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is characterized by ectopic implantation of endometrial cells, which show increased proliferation and migration. Somatostatin (SST) and its analogues inhibit normal and cancer cell growth and motility through the S…

STUDY QUESTION: Does surgical or medical treatment for endometriosis-associated severe deep dyspareunia achieve better results in terms of patients' satisfaction (main study outcome), variation of coital pain and frequency of intercourse? …

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to calculate costs and health-related quality of life of women with endometriosis-associated symptoms treated in referral centres. METHODS: A prospective, multi-centre, questionnaire-based survey measured costs…

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the appropriate measures for diagnosing and treating perineal endometriosis (PEM) with anal sphincter involvement. METHODS: Between January 1992 and April 2011, the clinical features, di…

STUDY QUESTION: How patient-centered are two included specialized endometriosis clinics relative to each other and how can they improve the patient-centeredness of their care? SUMMARY ANSWER: The validated ENDOCARE questionnaire (ECQ) reli…

BACKGROUND: Mounting evidence shows that nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) plays an important role in endometriosis. We therefore evaluated the therapeutic potential of andrographolide, an NF-κB inhibitor. METHODS: Primary cell cultures were perfo…

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis, which is characterized by the growth of endometrial tissue at ectopic locations as well as vascular development and inflammation, is still an unmet clinical need since an optimal drug that allows for both pain and…

STUDY QUESTION: What is the accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the diagnosis of parametrial endometriosis in comparison with surgicopathological findings? SUMMARY ANSWER: MRI displayed an accuracy of 96.4% in the preoperative …

STUDY QUESTION: What are the psychometric properties in mainland China of the 30-item Endometriosis Health Profile (EHP-30) translated into simplified Chinese? SUMMARY ANSWER: The simplified Chinese version of the EHP-30 is a valid, reliab…

STUDY QUESTION: Does the presence of ultrasound diagnosed adenomyosis interfere with successful implantation in patients undergoing IVF treatment with GnRH antagonist ovarian stimulation? SUMMARY ANSWER: The presence of ultrasound diagnose…

BACKGROUND: Recently, proteomic technologies have demonstrated that several proteins are differently expressed in various body fluids of patients with endometriosis compared with those without this condition. The aim of this study was to in…

BACKGROUND: Xanthohumol is a prenylated flavonoid isolated from hops, which is known to act as a pleiotropic cancer chemopreventive agent owing to its anti-proliferative, anti-inflammatory and anti-angiogenic properties. In the present stud…

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is a metastatic disease without obvious tumorigenesis. Expression of S100P, S100A4, osteopontin (OPN) or anterior gradient homologue 2 (AGR2) proteins can induce metastasis but fail to induce tumorigenesis per se. …

BACKGROUND Enhanced proliferation and survival of eutopic endometrial cells from patients with endometriosis compared with healthy women is associated with abnormal activation of extra-cellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2). Giv…

BACKGROUND: Adiponectin (Adipoq), a protein secreted by adipocytes in inverse proportion to the adipose mass present, modulates energy homeostasis and increases insulin sensitivity. Tissue Adipoq signaling decreases in settings of maternal …

BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidence suggests that various epigenetic aberrations play definite roles in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. We investigated the histone acetylation status in endometriosis and the application of the histone deac…

BACKGROUND: Catamenial pneumothorax and thoracic endometriosis (TE) are still under diagnosed. The purpose of this study is to increase the diagnostic accuracy for these conditions in patients with spontaneous pneumothorax and to identify t…