DNA microarray suggests two forms of endometriosis.(News)

INDIAN WELLS, CALIF. -- DNA microarray technology has identified a simple set of markers that may differentiate two distinct types of endometriosis, Kathleen Cook, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the Pacific Coast Reproductive Society.

The particular microarray used in a study conducted by Dr. Cook and her colleagues measured the differential expression of 8,500 genes in endometrial biopsy samples from 10 infertile women with endometriosis and 5 control women who did not have endometriosis.

The investigators found insulin-like growth factor (IGF) binding protein 1 was down-regulated in the endometriosis samples at a level 30 times lower than in the healthy control tissue. They also found that a number of matrix metal-loproteinases were 10-30 times down-regulated relative to controls, but only in the five individuals who had American Society for Reproductive Medicine stage I and II endometriosis.

In those 5 of the 10 patients with stage III or IV endometriosis, the levels of gene expression were no different.

Clearly, the results indicate that there are two different gene profiles for what may be different conditions, said Dr. Cook of Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, N.C.

And because so ...