Neurogenic Inflammation in the Context of Endometriosis-What Do We Know?

ABSTRACT: Endometriosis (EM) is an estrogen-dependent disease characterized by the presence of epithelial, stromal, and smooth muscle cells outside the uterine cavity. It is a chronic and debilitating condition affecting ~10% of women. EM is characterized by infertility and pain, such as dysmenorrhea, chronic pelvic pain, dyspareunia, dysuria, and dyschezia. Although EM was first described in 1860, its aetiology and pathogenesis remain uncertain. Recent evidence demonstrates that the peripheral nervous system plays an important role in the pathophysiology of this disease. Sensory nerves, which surround and innervate endometriotic lesions, not only drive the chronic and debilitating pain associated with EM but also contribute to a growth phenotype by secreting neurotrophic factors and interacting wit

SUBMITTER: Velho RV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8658724 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature