Is Neonatal Uterine Bleeding Involved in Early-Onset Endometriosis?

Marwan Habiba, Sun‐Wei Guo, Giuseppe Benagiano
Biomolecules · 2024 · vol. 14(5) , pp. 549 · doi:10.3390/biom14050549 · PMID:38785956 · W4396617125
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

This literature review explores the plausible, though challenging to evidence, link between neonatal uterine bleeding and early-onset endometriosis by examining pathogenetic theories and factors arguing against their connection.

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: There has been considerable progress in our understanding of endometriosis, but its pathophysiology remains uncertain. Uncovering the underlying mechanism of the rare instances of endometriosis reported in early postmenarcheal years and in girls before menarche can have wide implications. METHODS: We conducted a literature review of all relevant articles on Medline. RESULTS: In the review, we explore the pathogenetic theories of premenarcheal endometriosis, the role of retrograde menstruation in the adult and its potential role in early-onset disease, as well as the factors that argue against the existence of a link between early-onset endometriosis (EOE) and neonatal uterine bleeding (NUB). CONCLUSIONS: As with endometriosis in adult women, the pathogenesis of early-onset disease remains unclear. A link between NUB and EOE is plausible, but there are considerable challenges to collating supporting evidence. The state of our understanding of early uterine development and of the pathophysiology of NUB leaves many unknowns that need exploration. These include proof of the existence of viable endometrial cells or endometrial mesenchymal stem cells in NUB, their passage to the pelvic cavity, their possible response to steroids, and whether they can reside within the pelvic cavity and remain dormant till menarche.

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Condition tags

mesh:D004715endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Uterine Hemorrhage Uterine Hemorrhage Uterine Hemorrhage Uterine Hemorrhage Uterine Hemorrhage Uterine Hemorrhage Uterine Hemorrhage Uterine Hemorrhage Age of Onset Age of Onset Age of Onset

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (68)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-06-04T01:30:01.192114+00:00
openalex
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pubmed
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License: CC0 · commercial use OK