Simple test good news for women with painful condition

Published on Tuesday 18 August 2009 21:29

EXPERTS are recommending a new simple test for endometriosis which can detect the condition with almost 100 per cent accuracy.

The test does not require surgery and offers the patient a speedy diagnosis.

Around one in seven women worldwide suffer from the painful condition, which occurs when the cells that usually line the womb are found elsewhere in the body.

There are around two million sufferers of the condition, which can cause infertility, in the UK, most of whom will have been diagnosed between the ages of 25 and 40.

Now researchers from Australia and Jordan have tested a new tool to replace laparoscopy – an invasive surgical procedure usually carried out through the belly button and performed under general anaesthetic.

Their findings, published in the journal Human Reproduction, showed that a sample of the lining of the uterus (endometrium) can be removed during a biopsy.

The sample can then be tested for the presence of nerve fibres which predict endometriosis, with almost 100 per cent accuracy.

The researchers said: "There is still a substantial delay in the diagnosis of endometriosis in most countries.

"The length of time from the onset of symptoms to the definite diagnosis is often quite long, with an average of six to ten years in many centres.

"This delay is even longer in young age patients and in severe cases."

The researchers' study was carried out using 99 samples of tissue.

It noted a "benefit for patients is that most endometrial biopsies can be performed without local or general anaesthesia, and good biopsies can easily be obtained without the use of anaesthetic".