DeepSummary
The transcript is from a podcast episode about researchers studying menstrual fluid to potentially diagnose endometriosis, a painful disease where uterine tissue grows outside the uterus. Scientists Christine Metz and Peter Gregorson are leading a study called the Rose Study, which collects menstrual fluid samples from participants with and without endometriosis to look for cellular differences that could indicate the disease.
After years of overcoming challenges like figuring out how to properly collect and store the fluid samples, the researchers have identified patterns of cell types and behaviors that appear to be a signature of endometriosis in the menstrual fluid. They are now working to confirm that this signature can accurately predict which participants have the disease before surgery.
While finding a non-invasive diagnostic test for endometriosis would be very valuable, the researchers also hope studying menstrual fluid could provide insights into better treatments and understanding other uterine conditions like fibroids and cancer. However, the stigma around menstruation has made this research difficult to fund and pursue.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Researchers are studying menstrual fluid to develop a non-invasive way to diagnose endometriosis, a painful disease currently requiring surgery to detect.
- They have identified potential cellular signatures of endometriosis in menstrual fluid after years of work overcoming challenges in collecting and analyzing the samples.
- Understanding menstrual fluid could also provide insights into better treatments for endometriosis and shed light on other uterine conditions like fibroids and cancer.
- The stigma around menstruation has made this area of research difficult to fund and pursue, despite its promising potential benefits.
- The researchers aim to confirm their test's accuracy in predicting endometriosis ahead of surgery and make diagnosing the disease easier for millions of people.
- Studying menstrual fluid is pioneering since little prior research has explored its biological contents and clinical applications.
- Overcoming squeamishness and viewing menstrual fluid as a valuable sample rather than medical waste has been crucial to this work.
- The study's methods were carefully designed to enable collection from young teenagers and others for whom existing diagnostic procedures are highly invasive.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “We were kind of shocked because the uterus has been identified for a very long time yet to understand the uterus. No one has said, oh, well, we could study menstrual blood, and it was a shocking revelation.“ by Christine Metz
- “I think there's a big difference between annoying and shameful, right? I mean, we've missed so much, not just about periods, but about female and birthing bodies in general, because we have historically thought that they were disgusting and shameful.“ by Leah Hazard
- “Most people think of their menstrual blood as something that gets discarded, and that's how it has been viewed, something that should be discarded. But, in fact, we believe that it's a window into studying and understanding the uterus and that it's certainly a treasure, not trash, and that it holds a lot of information.“ by Christine Metz
- “We took it really, really seriously because we knew that we wanted to collect eventually from young teens and people with pelvic pain, and it had to be something that was usable and feasible for them.“ by Christine Metz
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3/20/24