Endometriosis

Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory condition where tissue fragments with similar properties to the womb lining attach to other organs and grow into lesions outside the uterus.

The lesions remain responsive to female reproductive hormones that trigger menstruation, and as a result may bleed during menstruation, causing debilitating symptoms including back pain, heavy menstrual bleeding, bladder problems, bowel problems and infertility.

Download the Hudson Institute fact sheet to learn more.

What is adenomyosis?

Adenomyosis is a condition affecting an estimated two per cent of women, where cells that normally line the uterus also grow in the muscle wall of the uterus. Symptoms include abnormal or heavy menstrual bleeding and painful periods.

Endometriosis symptoms

Endometriosis can cause severe symptoms including pelvic and back pain, heavy menstrual bleeding, bladder problems, nausea, bowel problems, pain during sex and infertility.  Read about Nicole’s story.

Stages of endometriosis

Endometriosis is often classified as minimal, mild, moderate or severe, or from stage I to stage IV. There is no early detection test for endometriosis.

The cause of endometriosis is a key question facing endometriosis researchers today. Hudson Institute researchers are working on the hypothesis that endometriosis is caused by retrograde menstruation, where menstrual fluid containing cells that initiate endometriosis flows backward through the uterus, out the fallopian tubes and into the pelvic cavity. These cells somehow evade the immune system, attach to organs and form lesions.

How common is endometriosis?

Endometriosis affects around 1 in 9 women, making it as common in women as asthma or diabetes.

Hudson Institute researchers are working towards finding the cause of endometriosis to improve treatment, management and diagnosis for the 176 million women worldwide and 560,000 in Australia who have endometriosis.

There is often a long delay in diagnosing endometriosis, and women with endometriosis can wait 7 to 10 years to receive a correct diagnosis. A keyhole surgical procedure called a laparoscopy is the main method used to diagnose endometriosis. However, some types of endometriosis may be diagnosed through an ultrasound or MRI.

There is no cure and no effective treatment for endometriosis. Current treatment and management options include hormonal therapies and surgery to remove lesions to reduce pain and improve fertility.

Hormonal treatments (oral contraceptive pill, or progestins such as an intrauterine device [IUD]) may be used to suppress the growth of endometrial tissue and stop irregular bleeding.

Lesion excision, performed via laparoscopy, may be required to remove endometriosis lesions.

In some cases, a hysterectomy may be required to remove severe endometriosis. Pain and anti-inflammatory medication may be prescribed or used to treat and reduce pain and symptoms. Consult your medical professional for advice on treating and managing endometriosis.

Around one third of women with endometriosis will have trouble falling pregnant.

Endometriosis symptoms don’t always correlate with the severity of the disease. This means some women with endometriosis are asymptomatic and may only be diagnosed with endometriosis incidentally when they start trying to have children.

Importantly, not all women with endometriosis experience infertility, and many women with endometriosis have children either before or after their diagnosis.

Infertility in endometriosis can be caused by scarring and distortion of the fallopian tubes and ovaries, reduced egg quantity and quality caused by damage to eggs in the ovaries, damage to or blockage of the fallopian tubes, or lesions that become adherent to the uterus, bowel or pelvic wall.