Endometriosis is a situation of abnormal growth of endometrial tissue outside its usual site, the endometrium.
Translated. The endometrium is located around the uterus (inside) and is what protects the fetus in the event of a pregnancy. In cases where there is endometriosis, this endometrial tissue is located in unusual places, such as in the ovaries, the fallopian tubes and the tissue that lines the pelvis (although in exceptional cases, endometriosis can appear in other organs more away).
Endometriosis generates these tissues outside the uterus, which are usually benign cysts, but the problem is that they cause a lot of pain throughout the woman's hormonal cycle, and that, in 30% of cases, can lead to infertility.
how to cure endometriosis
Despite the fact that many women suffer from endometriosis (according to data from 2017, it is estimated that 1 in 10 women suffers from it), there is no known cure in conventional medicine. What is done is to treat the symptoms that this alteration causes. The different current approaches to treat endometriosis are:
Hormonal alteration of the woman.
Artificially, women with endometriosis are treated with artificial hormones, in order to limit the growth of the endometrium. This solution has the disadvantage that it implies clear consequences on the woman's fertility, due to the alteration in the hormonal balance necessary to achieve pregnancy.
Treatment with analgesics and anti-inflammatories.
This vision of the treatment of endometriosis makes it possible to mitigate the painful symptoms (although not their cause), but it implies long-term consequences on the stomach, liver and kidney.
Surgery to remove the cysts.
This is the most radical solution. The problem is that, like the other two solutions, it fails to cure the root problem, which is the abnormal growth of endometrial tissue. Therefore, removal works as long as the body does not regrow endometrial cysts. And the reality is that, on some occasions, growths of endometrial tissue reappear outside the uterus, and the symptoms are reproduced.
Everything in the body is subject to the meticulous workings of hormones and enzymes, working in unison to make life possible. The hormonal cycle and endometrial growth are no exception.
The female cycle and endometriosis
To understand how and why endometriosis is a problem for female fertility, it's worth reviewing how the female reproductive cycle works, and some basic concepts.
What is the endometrium and what is its relationship to the female reproductive cycle?
The endometrium is the inner layer that lines the uterus and is very sensitive to a woman's hormonal cycle. Thus, the endometrium grows as the menstrual cycle progresses.
In case of fertilization, the endometrium is the tissue in which the fertilized egg will be nested, to protect it. If there is no implantation, the endometrium will shed, producing menstrual bleeding. With each new cycle, a new endometrium is generated.
Hormonal balance in the female cycle
In the early part of the female reproductive cycle, hormone production estrogen It is the trigger for the proliferation of endometrial tissue.
In the second part of the cycle, it is the hormone progesterone which is responsible for the maturation and maintenance of said tissue. That is, the Estrogens are generally proliferative hormoness (generating endometrial tissue).
By contrast, the progesterone is a hormone that compensates adequately that proliferative function of estrogens on the one hand, and on the other, is capable of maintaining this enlarged tissue long enough to favor a possible nesting of a fertilized egg.
The imbalance in endometriosis
In cases of endometriosis, there are cells of endometriotic tissue out of place, that is, outside the interior of the uterus. And these tissues are hormonally sensitive to the monthly dance of women's hormones, growing just like the endometrium does, but without the possibility of being expelled during menstruation.
The consequence of this imbalance is the creation of endometriomas or chocolate cysts, usually benign, but that can generate many adverse symptoms and even infertility by 30-40% of the cases.
Three possible causes at the base of endometriosis
All the reasons why these endometrial cells are located outside their original place is a mystery Even for science.
There are different theories but none has been able to give a satisfactory answer to the number of cases that occur, which unfortunately is increasing.
It is currently believed that the problem may be in the patient's own immune system or in a sustained hormonal disorder.
There is talk of three ingredients for the cocktail of endometriosis to occur.
Ectopic endometrium or out of its original place.
There is evidence that 90% of women suffer from what is called retrograde menstruation, whereby menstruation residues can travel up the tubes and colonize areas of the pelvic cavity, ovaries and other tissues.
This was the theory that explained endometriosis until a few years ago, however, this theory would not explain the rare cases of intestinal or even pulmonary endometriosis.
In addition, in the vast majority of cases, this delocalized endometrium is reabsorbed without problems by the body.
In fact, that is why we speak of a “cocktail” of ingredients. Because by itself, the fact that endometrial tissue is located in unusual areas should not be a problem: the immune system should do its job, identify these foreign cells and help eliminate them.
So, What does seem clear is that for endometriosis to occur, the immune system must also stop doing its job well..
In addition, this ectopic or out of place tissue, constantly growing in each cycle, generates a situation of abnormal inflammation that continuously activates the immune system.
immunological alteration.
This new theory is the one that is gaining more prominence today. We have already commented on how the immune system does not seem to be able to induce the programmed cell death of these cells that are where they do not belong.
And we have seen how this situation provokes a situation of continued struggle without a solution, of slight but constant inflammation, maintained over time.
The consequences of this situation are very negative for the functioning of the organism. A continuously stressed immune system is not efficient in its functionsendangering the health of the organism. The pathologies that can develop once this situation is given can be very varied and depend on the peculiar characteristics and weak points of each person.
Hormonal alteration due to excess estrogen
A sustained imbalance in the reproductive cycle of women, in which excess estrogens end up prevailing, usually degenerates into some type of tissue proliferative disorder: fibroids, cysts, tumors, adenomyomas and yes, also endometriosis.
These estrogens, in addition to promoting the growth of the "normal" endometrial tissue itself, also stimulate the endometrial tissue located out of its place, thus favoring the chronification of the disease and the constant activation of the immune system.
The hormonal imbalance also favors the chronic inflammatory reaction in the ectopic endometrial tissue (the one outside the uterus).
Causes of excess estrogen that can cause endometriosis
The causes to reach an estrogenic excess are varied:
excess of the hormone insulin
If this excess insulin is maintained over time, it will favor the production of estrogen from the body's natural androgens.
Stressful situations
Stress, in its proper measure, is good for the body, in fact, our body is prepared to tolerate certain amounts of stress. But if it is maintained over time, it causes the adrenal glands to produce hormones… among them, an excess of estrogens.
poor elimination of estrogen
If liver function does not work 100% and does not carry out the "normal" liver detox, the amount of estrogen skyrockets and can lead to endometriosis.
Now that we know exactly what endometriosis is, its possible causes, and its effects on fertility, we are going to give you algunos tips to prevent and improve endometriosis in case it has already been manifested.
You may be interested:
Some references that may interest you:
- What is endometriosis: https://www.endoinfo.org/que-es-endometriosis/
- Web: https://www.endoinfo.org
- DOSSIER ON ENDOMETRIOSIS 2017. Endomadrid.org
- Cocharne Systematic Review: Acupuncture for pain management in endometriosishttps://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD007864.pub2/abstract/en
- Japanese-Style Acupuncture for Endometriosis-Related Pelvic Pain in Adolescents and Young Women: Results of a Randomized Sham-Controlled Trial: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1083318807002574
- Is There a Role for Acupuncture in Endometriosis Pain, Or 'endometrialgia'? https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1136/aim.26.2.94