Chronic disease that affects the uterus can also affect fertility. Despite the high incidence, there are still many unanswered questions regarding adenomyosis.
This disease, which, if you are a woman, can suffer from even without having heard of it, can be asymptomatic (about a third of women do not experience it), but can also cause unbearable pain in the uterus.
You can also affect fertilityfurther aggravating the risk of miscarriage, premature birth, pre-eclampsia and postpartum hemorrhage. But, after all, what disease is this?
The endometrium is the inner layer where embryos implant. If the woman does not get pregnant, this layer is eliminated during menstruation, starting by explaining the .
The myometrium is the muscular layer of the uterus, which expands throughout pregnancy and is responsible for contractions. In people with adenomyosis, endometrial-like cells are found in the wrong placethat is, in the myometrium (in the uterus, these are the two fundamental layers).
A adenomiose is different from, although many women who have it also suffer . As the publication reminds us, endometriosis also causes cells similar to the endometrium to be found in the wrong place, but in this case, outside the uterus.
Furthermore, this disease is difficult to diagnose. Still, in recent years there has been an increase in diagnoses with the development of imaging technologies such as MRI and detailed pelvic ultrasound. However, doctors are still working to develop a more “standardized” method of diagnosis.
This is why it is still not known exactly how many women suffer from adenomyosis. However, one dating back to 2006 revealed that around 20% of women undergoing hysterectomies for reasons other than suspicion of adenomyosis present evidence of this disease.
It is not yet known exactly what causes this disease, although there is evidence that prevalence increases with age. It is believed that “the region between the endometrium and myometrium is damaged, either due to the natural processes of the menstrual cycle, pregnancy and childbirth, or due to medical procedures”, writes in Science Alert the researcher from the University of Oxford Just Southcombe.
In terms of treatment, this can be done hormonally (with oral contraceptives, progesterone pills, the insertion of a progesterone-releasing coil or even a medication, GnRHa, which stops the natural production of sex hormones), but also in a non-hormonal way with e.g. tranexamic acid.
The researcher concludes that “there is also a lack of knowledge and awareness about adenomyosis by many health professionals and the general public. This situation must change so that we can improve our understanding of the disease, diagnosis and treatment options.”
