College of Human Medicine researchers have received a National Institutes of Health grant to study the connection between a gene important for normal cell survival and endometriosis, a painful disease which affects one in 10 women of reproductive age. The disease also has a significant economic impact, estimated at $95 billion annually in the U.S. in lost wages and medical expenses.
The gene called NOTCH1 is “needed for normal reproduction, but when it goes awry it has a significant role in endometriosis,” said Asgi Fazleabas, PhD, a University Distinguished Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology.
The disease typically is undiagnosed for 8-10 years, making it difficult to determine what triggered it.
“So many women go undiagnosed for so many years,” said Fazleabas, a world-renown expert on endometriosis. “As a result, their quality of life is badly affected.”
“For 100 years we’ve been trying to figure out the basic biology of this disease,” Fazleabas said.