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- What is endometriosis?
- Symptoms of endometriosis
- Causes of endometriosis
- Prevention of endometriosis
- Risk factors for endometriosis
- Complications of endometriosis
- When to see a doctor about endometriosis
- Diagnosis of endometriosis
- Conventional treatment of endometriosis
- Alternative/complementary treatment of endometriosis
- Living with endometriosis
- Caring for someone with endometriosis
While science is not sure why endometriosis occurs, there are a number of possible theories that have been identified and it could be that endometriosis is caused by a combination of these:
Eostrogen sensitivity
One theory about endometriosis is that some women with have an increased sensitivity to eostrogen and their bodies react in an abnormal to produce the uterine tissue implants outside the uterus. Experts think that these women's bodies react in a different way to the eostrogen to cause the uterine tissue to be implanted on other tissues and organs outside the uterus, instead of it being expelled through the monthly bleeding out of the body. In addition to this, the eostrogen then makes the extra-uterine tissue behave as if it were inside the uterus and it bleeds on a cyclic basis (as if it was menstruating, but out of the uterus and into the pelvic cavity). This causes inflammation and all the symptoms associated with endometriosis.
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Nutrient deficiencies
Endometriosis is an inflammatory condition and women who have this condition may have lower than normal levels of certain nutrients which mediate the body's inflammatory response and allow the immune system to get rid of any extra-uterine (abnormal) tissue and reduce risk of endometriosis.
The nutrients mostly responsible for regulating the inflammatory processes (and cytokines) in the body and reducing likelihood of endometrial tissue implanting outside the uterus are those with potent antioxidant or anti-inflammatory properties:
Retrograde menstruation
Another theory about the cause of endometriosis proposed is that some of the lining of the endometrium, instead of flowing out of the uterus and outside the body (bleeding of menstruation), they may actually flow backwards up the fallopian tubes and towards the ovaries and into the pelvic and abdominal cavities and this may be the reason there are endometrial implants on the tissues and organs outside the endometrium. This is called retrograde menstruation.
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