Scientists have developed a powerful new approach to detecting endometriosis – already attracting attention from leading pharmaceutical players – which is set to transform how the disease is researched, diagnosed and treated.
Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the uterine lining grows in other parts of the body. It affects approximately one in 10 women and causes pain, fatigue and infertility, yet diagnosis takes an average seven to 10 years.
In a world-first clinical study, published in Nature Communications Medicine in May, scientists led by endogene.bio tested a pioneering diagnostic process which involves directly isolating menstrual blood-derived stem cells (MenSCs) from menstrual blood samples for analysis, rather than analyzing cultured cells.
Scientists believe MenSCs are the cells that drive lesion formation in endometriosis. Culturing the cells (i.e. removing them from a patient and growing them in a lab) alters their make-up; whereas freshly isolating the cells without culturing preserves their molecular integrity, enabling a deeper and more direct view into how endometriosis behaves than ever before.
In this landmark study, scientists were the first to analyse freshly isolated MenSCs using a process called DNA methylation profiling, which is already widely used to diagnose cancer. They achieved an accuracy rate of 81% and were clearly able to distinguish participants with endometrios