Miguel Vizoso, an expert in the treatment of endometriosis: "It is not a minor disease and in many cases it incapacitates women."

The researcher affiliated with the Aragon Health Research Institute seeks to form a working group in the Aragonese capital to study the causes of this disease

That women's health The fact that it has been "abandoned" for a large part of history is a reality to which researcher Miguel Vizoso refers, indicating that "it has been ten or fifteen years since The focus has begun to shift to women's health“But what there are few studies on,” the scientist explains, “is endometriosis, which is the growth of endometrial tissue outside the uterus, causing inflammation, intense pain, and infertility. And this is precisely the line of research of Vizoso, an emerging Ramón y Cajal researcher (Spanish State Research Agency) attached to the Aragon Health Research Institute (IISA), who is forming his working group in…” Zaragoza.

Vizoso reports that endometriosis is largely unknown to many, admitting that it was also unknown to him before he began his research nearly two years ago, and is often considered benign because it doesn't pose a risk to women's lives. "But that's not true, because if you start digging, listening and reading, you discover that it incapacitates many women in their daily lives, preventing them from doing activities, and the pain can even cause fainting," he points out. Therefore, he asserts, "it's not a minor illness." Especially when, he notes, It affects 10% of women worldwide"They far exceed the number of those who suffer from cancer. There are so many," she emphasizes.

Nevertheless, and with the United Kingdom as an exception, "in almost all of Europe Endometriosis is neglected at the institutional and research level.Since there are hardly any studies on endometriosis, although the scientist assures that those that exist are "top-notch." Specifically, the group led by Vizoso is focused on understanding the etiology of the disease, that is, the causes that trigger it, and what role the immune system plays, since, according to the researcher, "some data suggest that it is involved in the development of the disease."

Vizoso explains that his research group has launched projects in which they collect samples from both healthy individuals and those affected by the disease to analyze them and try to find a therapeutic target, which is the exact location where a drug acts to produce a cellular response, with the ultimate goal of being able to Develop therapies to treat the disease that are not invasive and are not focused on hormonal treatments. 

The professional explains that hormonal treatments exist today to treat endometriosis because it is a hormone-dependent disease, and more specifically, estrogen-dependent, as it thrives on it. "When estrogen is present, the lesions that have implanted in the abdominal cavity grow and continue to develop." female menstrual cycle. "There, the tissue bleeds, expands, and causes intense pain in the woman," he explains.

Current therapy blocks menstruation and reduces estrogen levels, and while it works well for those affected, it also "deprives women undergoing the treatment of the ability to have children." "The uterus is atrophied and non-functional," Vizoso explains. This is why it is considered an "invasive" therapy. The researcher adds that, should the treatment be ineffective, laparoscopy exists, a surgery to remove the harmful foci.

For all these reasons, Vizoso and other professionals have been studying possible new treatments for endometriosis for the past two years. He began his research in Sweden, where he lived, and is now continuing it in [location missing]. Zaragoza, where he now works in form a new research group. Currently, the projects involve top-tier external gynecological collaborators, such as Ana Cristina Lou Mercadé, a doctor at the Clinical Hospital of Zaragoza. He is also in contact with professionals in the field of gynecological clinical care at this hospital and the Miguel Servet Hospital, as well as with the Adaena association (Association of Women Affected by Endometriosis in Aragon), who have supported the research from the outset. The researcher emphasizes that institutional support and funding are needed to achieve further progress.

Source: The newspaper of Aragon