Antibiotics have been found to be beneficial in women with endometriosis, which can reduce the inflammation caused by the disease and, accordingly, relieve the severe pain caused by it. Endometriosis is a chronic disease that occurs in about 10% of women. It is incurable and the existing treatments can only relieve the symptoms, which in many cases with achronic pain. In endometriosis, tissue that is normally found only in the uterus also forms outside of it in other parts of the female reproductive system. They can irritate and inflame other tissues there and cause excruciating pain and menstrual problems. Hormonal treatment or surgery is used depending on the pain of the disease. A certain bacteria called Fusobacterium may have a direct link to endometriosis, scientists have found. Their research found that in over 60% of endometriosis cases, this bacteria is present in high levels in the uterine tissue. Another finding was that cases of high levels of the bacteria were associated with the formation of more lesions on the tissue outside the uterus. This is why the scientists who did the scientific work turned their attention to antibiotic treatment – their goal is to eliminate the bacteria. It was found that endometriosis symptoms after taking certain antibiotics decreased significantly after taking the drug – and far fewer lesions were observed than before, further supporting the theory that the bacteria has a link to the disease. A certain gene called transgelin also has an impact on the development of endometriosis because it is responsible for processes such as cell replication. When a bacterium such as fusobacterium causes inflammation, this gene can begin to misregulate cell replication and thus promote the formation of lesions in tissues outside the uterus. Retrograde menstruation is thought to be one possible cause of endometriosis. This is a process of menstruation where the blood does not leave the body, but returns to the pelvic cavity. The scientific paper found no connection between retrograde menstruation and fusobacterium. The antibiotics used in the study are called metronidazole and chloramphenicol, and they could open the door to a new type of endometriosis treatment that reduces inflammation caused by tissue lesions in the female reproductive system. References: Kondo, Y. (2023, June 14) Fusobacterium infection facilitates the development of endometriosis through the phenotypic transition of endometrial fibroblasts. Retrieved 2023, June 23 from https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.add1531