(My initial post on endometriosis can be found at: http://drhellengreenblatt.info/archives/1448)
Endometriosis is a painful, chronic (long-lasting) condition from which over 5 million girls and women suffer. This is a condition in which the lining of the uterus, called the endometrium, overgrows itself, and actually starts to spread and grow outside of the uterus. These endometrial growths or lesions can end up in the abdomen, in other organs, or as part of abdominal scars after surgery.
Follows a Menstrual Cycle/Infertility
Oddly enough, the misplaced tissue continues to follow a menstrual cycle. As these cells are under the influence of female hormones, each month the cell cluster gets larger and sheds blood and tissue and then shrinks again. The shed blood and tissues trigger inflammation resulting in pain, scar tissue, and adhesions, tissues that stick to one another and neighboring organs. Thirty-40% of women who have endometriosis are unable to have children. (This rate is 2-3 times the rate of infertility of the general population.)
Inflammatory Environment
Excruciating pain, sometimes far from the source, is a major issue for women suffering with endometriosis. Endometriosis appears to create an inflammatory environment that stimulates nerve fibers close to the endometrial lesions and other parts of the nervous system.
Genetics
Genetically, there is a seven-fold increased risk of disease in patients with a family history of the disease and the cells in the endometrial growths have damaged chromosomes.
Toxic Chemicals Implicated
The causes of endometriosis have been under study for decades, but one factor may be toxic chemicals. For example, dioxins are a group of highly toxic environmental chemicals that accumulate in the water and the food chain. They are absorbed by fat tissues and stay in the body for decades. Dioxins appear to cause developmental problems for children, interfere with hormone production, and negatively affect the immune system.
In the test tube, dioxin-like chemicals affect the production of inflammatory cytokines, immune cell factors. In one case, 79% of monkeys exposed to dioxin developed endometriosis, and the greater their exposure, the more severe their disease. Further study suggested that these monkeys had similar immune issues as did women with endometriosis.
Immune Homeostasis: A Balanced Immune System
The immune system strives to maintain a fine balance between protecting the body from the damaging consequences of toxic chemicals and “over-reacting” by causing too much of an inflammatory response.
Endometriosis is an inflammatory condition. Women with endometriosis may experience significant quality of life changes when they approach immune homeostasis.
On a personal note, (modified from the previous post http://drhellengreenblatt.info/archives/1448):
Over a decade ago, a young female researcher from West Virginia reported that a large number of women in her West Virginia community had been diagnosed with endometriosis. She was researching this problem, and unfortunately, she herself had endometriosis. She reported that her quality of life improved dramatically when she began to return to immune inflammatory homeostasis. [Unfortunately, she lost contact with the scientist.]
Dr. Hellen is available to work with individuals who wish to enhance their quality of life. She can be contacted at: 302.265.3870 (ET), DrHellen@DrHellenGreenblatt.info, or by using the contact form: http://drhellengreenblatt.info/contact-dr-hellen.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25528731
www.endometriosisassn.org/endo.html
www.cwhn.ca/en/node/39753
genomemedicine.com/content/2/10/75
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25465987
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25433332
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15731321
researchpub.org/journal/bmbn/number/vol1-no2/vol1-no2-2.pdf
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16101534
