Endometriosis or ‘endo’, as it is commonly known, affects 1 in every 10 people (assigned female at birth) which is over 800,000 people in Australia alone. Despite affecting similar numbers to asthma and diabetes, it is still something of a mystery disease.
The symptoms can be debilitating as they include: pelvic pain and cramping, heavy bleeding, pain during or after bowel motions, nausea, lower back pain, fatigue and painful intercourse. Many of these symptoms overlap with other gynaecological conditions, which leads to the difficulty of diagnosis.
There is often a 7 to 12-year delay between the onset of symptoms and diagnosis because of the variable nature of the symptoms plus a lack of awareness and education around the condition.
Like many complex diseases, the contributing environmental and genetic risk factors are like a giant jigsaw puzzle. IMB researchers, Professor Grant Montgomery and Dr Sally Mortlock, are focused on finding and connecting the pieces, to help affected women.
“The Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) is leading the global race to understand the causes of endometriosis and has made significant progress in understanding how genetic risk factors increase the risk of disease," Dr Mortlock said.
During March, endometriosis awareness month, IMB partnered with QENDO, Australia’s leading endometriosis charity, to raise awareness around endo and to highlight the current research in this area. The activities included a special online ‘in-conversation’ with both IMB’s researchers, called ‘Aiming to End Endo’.
Professor Montgomery has dedicated over 20 years to this subject and there is so much which is unknown. His work can only continue with support from the community. You can donate directly to IMB to become an endo champion.