Health and Environment Alliance - Parliamentary event on endometriosis, Brussels, 28 March

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Parliamentary event on endometriosis, Brussels, 28 March

On 28 March, the World Endometriosis Society is organising an event in the European Parliament to raise awareness and urge action of MEPs on endometriosis, one of the most common causes of pelvic pain and infertility in women.

Professor Thomas D’Hooghe from Leuven University Hospital, Belgium, will present data, which confirms the socio-economic impact of endometriosis and the struggle researchers face due to lack of funding. Professor D’Hooghe chairs the Special Interest Group on Endometriosis within the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE).

Italian Senator, Laura Bianconi, will provide an overview of the actions, which have been undertaken by the Italian Senate - the first in Europe to recognise endometriosis as a social disease. The Italian Senate has produced a five-year plan to improve treatments for those with endometriosis and Senator Bianconi calls upon her colleagues across Europe to be inspired to do the same.

Lone Hummelshoj, Secretary General of the World Endometriosis Society and Co-Coordinator of the European Endometriosis Alliance, will present recent developments within this field and the areas where attention, action, and investment is needed.

On the day, the World Endometriosis Research Foundation will also be formally lanched; a joint initiative between the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and the World Endometriosis Society (WES).

For more information, see the event programme.

Endometriosis is a disease in which tissue similar to the inner lining of the uterus, called the endometrium, is present in locations in the body outside of the uterus. The misplaced tissue may be on the ovaries, the surface of the uterus, fallopian tubes, intestines, bladder, bowel, or peritoneum (the thin lining of the abdominal cavity). Occasionally endometrium is present in even more distant sites outside of the abdomen, like, for example, the lung or a limb. Endometriosis is a dynamic disease with periods of development, progression, and even regression.

The cause of endometriosis is still unknown. It is generally accepted, however, that endometriosis is the result of a complex series of events that may link genetic susceptibility with environmental factors.

Written on 23rd March 2007.