ENDO Messages for July, 2000: Re: Does Endometriosis run in families?/What are the odds?

Re: Does Endometriosis run in families?/What are the odds?

From: Stacey (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Sun Jul 30 23:30:57 2000

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Reply: Jessica: "Re: Does Endometriosis run in families?/What are the odds?"

Jessi,

I have been quietly following several of the posts on the link between genetics and Endometriosis. I'm a Biomedical Engeneering student and my family in I participated in the OXYGENE study run out of Oxford University on finding the gene responsible for Endometriosis. I was fortunate enough to be a part of the karyotyping (mapping) of my own genetic make-up. (VERY cool :) To answer your question appropriately would be nothing short of a lesson in basic genetics, but here goes :) :

1) Endometriosis is hereditary (it can run in families.)

2) Just because you carry a gene, doesn't mean that you "express" the gene. (ie about 85% of people with the Breast Cancer gene actually GET Breast Cancer.)

3) Many people have asymptomatic Endometriosis or very small ammounts of Endometriosis which can go unnoticed surgically. Also, since Endometriosis can only be diagnosed surgically, a lot of people live their lives undiagnosed. So it is hard to make a pattern in a lot of cases. For example, in some families the Grandmother may have had Endometriosis, the mother may NOT have had it, and her daughter might have the disease. This can happen for a couple of reasons 1) the mother could have had Endo but not show symptoms 2) the mother could have simply not had Endo or 3) the mother may carry the gene for endo, but not have endometriosis. Because of this, Endo is difficult to "map."

You see, your genes work like a 100 page manual. 95 pages are instructions on how to work the other 5 pages. Your genetics is a complex system of genes and instructions. To use a crude example: when you feed a lab rat carcinigens, that carcinigen sets off "switches" in the rats "instruction genes." Some scientists at Oxford believe that they have found a link between dioxin (a popular industrial bleaching agent) and Endometriosis. Dioxin may be an "Endo switch."

Whew! I hope that this was clearer than what I think that it is! Thanks for your time!

"Praise the Lord for we are wonderfully and beautifully made." Psalm (I forget the chapter/verse. Forgive me, for I am Lupronized :)

At Sun, 30 Jul 2000, Jessica wrote: >
>Was there ever a study done on sisters, mother/daughters with
>Endometriosis? My sister and I have it and doing genealogy we had a
>great aunt that didn't have children and we both wondered if she had it
>too. Jessi

--
Stacey-Michelle

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