Unveiled: the game -changing new test that can recognize a serious state that is endured early by millions of women – and they save from years of pain

It influences one in ten women, causes serious pain and can reduce the chance of a child.

And yet it can take years for endometriosis – where tissue is comparable to the lining of the uterus in other parts of the body – to be diagnosed; Some women suffer almost a decade before it is identified.

This is partly because the standard way to accurately diagnose endometriosis is by a laparoscopy, small surgery where a camera is inserted to inspect the pelvic area and take a biopsy.

“One of the most important problems with this is the diagnostic test that it contributes to the delay in the diagnosis,” said Christine Metz, a professor at the Institute of Molecular Medicine at Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in the US, to Good Health.

‘Patients, especially younger adults, hesitate to undergo such an invasive surgical test [which requires recovery time]. It is also expensive and lacks the diagnoses in 10 to 20 percent of the cases. ‘

That could change soon, because various research groups, including professor Metzs, develop diagnostic tests more simply.

Researchers from the University of Oxford recently presented results of a clinical study for a potentially playing test in which the patient is injected with a means that relieves endometriosis under a spect-CT scanner (widely used in hospitals).

The agent, 99MTC-Maraciclatide, binds to a protein that is seen when new blood vessels forms the endometrial tissue forms new blood vessels so that it can survive and grow. This medicine emits radioactive rays that are detected by a spect-CT, which can reveal whether there is endometriosis and exactly where it is.

The results of the latest study, presented at the World Congress on endometriosis in Sydney last month, showed that the enlightened dye was just as accurate as laparoscopy in detecting endometriosis.

“The results of the Oxford study suggest that Maraciclatide can visualize the very early stage of endometriosis that demonstrates the size, location and stage of diseases that is currently only visible in an operation,” a spokeswoman forlded Serac Healthcare, to Good Health.

“It has the potential to eliminate the delays of up to nine years in the diagnosis that women experience and to allow them to prevent surgery.” It could be available within three years.

Another test that should be available soon is Promarkendo, a blood test that detects the presence of ten proteins associated with endometriosis.

A study from 2024 of 805 women, published in the Human Reproduction magazine, showed that it was able to distinguish those with severe endometriosis with more than 99 percent accuracy and that with endometriosis at an early stage with 85 percent accuracy.

Professor Christine Metz, from the Institute of Molecular Medicine

It is planned to launch in Australia later this year and costs £ 455 to £ 720; It is not yet known when it will reach the UK.

In the meantime, Professor Metz and colleagues compare menstruation ‘effluent’ (the period of the woman, which also contains endometrial tissues, thrown by the womb) of thousands of women with and without endometriosis looking for differences to change into a diagnostic test.

The advantage is that menstrual effects can be collected at home in a non-invasive (and cheap) at home and can be collected on treatment both during the diagnosis and assessment of patients.

The first published study showed that menstruation -effluent of women with endometriosis had different stromal cells (connective tissue cells of the womb) and more inflammation.

In a new test, the American team will register women who have symptoms of endometriosis considering an operation to get a diagnosis. Professor Metz hopes that this diagnostic test will be available on a large scale within five years.

The need for better diagnostic tests is clear. “A long -term waiting for diagnosis means a delay in access to treatment, where the disease can progress, which leads to deteriorating symptoms and a risk of permanent organ damage,” Faye Farthing, head of campaigns and communication at Endometriosis UK.

“It can also have a huge impact on mental health, which may influence relationships, career and education.”

Mild to moderate endometriosis can be treated with anti -inflammatory painkillers, such as ibuprofen, as well as contraceptives to suppress the release of estrogen that can promote tissue growth.

In more serious cases, women can be offered surgery to remove the tissue, but in 50 percent of the cases the symptoms return within five years. There is no remedy.

Earlier this year, the National Institute for Care Excellence approved a daily pill, Relugolix-Stradiol-Norethisteron (brand name: Ryeqo) for patients where surgical and other medical interventions have not worked.

It blocks hormones that contribute to endometriosis and offering hormone replacement to protect bone density and reduce other effects, because the medicine brings the body into artificial menopause.

Linzagolix (brand name: yselty) was approved in May. It works by blocking specific hormones to stop the development of endometriosis, but patients must take individual hormone replacement therapy.