News
Comment: Why progress in endometriosis research is urgently needed
By Dr. Zahid Khan, a consultant gynaecologist working in the UAE and CEO of femtech firm, My ANNA Health.
Endometriosis affects an estimated one in 10 women of reproductive age globally—approximately 190 million women. Yet, despite its prevalence, research into this condition has been grossly underfunded and underprioritised.
Recent statistics suggest that only 2 percent of medical research funding is spent on pregnancy, childbirth, and female reproductive health. This is despite one in three women reporting a reproductive or gynaecological health problem.
It is under-researched and underfunded compared to other chronic conditions, contributing to poor diagnostic tools and treatment options. For example, in the U.S., the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world’s largest source of biomedical research funding, allocated US$41.7bn in 2022.
Despite this, only US$16m – or 0.038 per cent of the NIH budget – was designated for endometriosis research.
Given that endometriosis affects around 11 per cent of US women over their lifetime, this equates to just US$2 per patient per year. In stark contrast, diabetes, which impacts 12 per cent of US women, receives over 1,500 per cent more funding per woman, with an estimated US$31.30 allocated per female patient.
This disparity in funding not only limits our understanding of the disease but also delays the development of effective treatments and diagnostic tools.
An encouraging advancement in the battle against endometriosis is the creation of new AI tools like ANNA (Artificial Narrow Neural Assistant). Designed to aid early diagnosis and reduce the long wait times associated with specialist consultations, ANNA is an AI-driven platform that is being trialled in primary care settings in the UK.
Unlike traditional diagnostic methods that rely on invasive procedures like laparoscopy, ANNA uses a sophisticated algorithm to analyze symptoms and suggest the likelihood of endometriosis. ANNA has been tested with over 160 patients, showing a 100 percent agreement with specialist diagnoses, a clear indicator of its potential in revolutionizing early diagnosis.
ANNA is multilingual and designed with a culturally sensitive avatar, breaking down language barriers and providing healthcare access to women from diverse backgrounds. It can be used independently by patients or in consultation with healthcare professionals, guiding them on when to seek specialist help and offering pain management strategies. By integrating ANNA into primary care, the timeline for diagnosis can be significantly shortened, allowing women to receive timely treatment and improve their quality of life.
Research into and adoption of non-invasive diagnostic tools, like ANNA, is critical to reducing the years of suffering that many women endure. Beyond diagnosis, we need to focus on better treatment options that go beyond hormonal therapies and surgery.
These treatments often have severe side effects, and in many cases, they aren’t curative. Research into the causes of endometriosis—whether genetic, hormonal-, or immunological—will pave the way for more targeted therapies that address the disease at its source.
The importance of awareness cannot be overstated. Primary care providers need to be better trained to recognise the symptoms of endometriosis early on. Public health campaigns should inform women about what constitutes normal menstruation and when they should seek help. Too many women suffer in silence, told by doctors that their pain is “normal” or dismissed with misdiagnoses.
Abu Dhabi is investing in making real changes, developing these cutting-edge surgical techniques for endometriosis and setting up efficient specialized care centers. At our Centre of Excellence, we perform six to seven endometriosis surgeries a week, with recurrence rates below 9 percent.
These are promising advancements, but the next challenge is scaling up these technologies and advancements, ensuring that they are accessible to women worldwide.
Ovarian cancer cells quickly activate survival responses after PARP inhibitor treatment, and a lung cancer drug could help block this, research suggests.
PARP inhibitors are a common treatment for ovarian cancer, particularly in tumours with faulty DNA repair. They stop cancer cells fixing DNA damage, which leads to cell death, but many tumours later stop responding.
Researchers identified a way cancer cells may survive PARP inhibitor treatment from the outset, pointing to a potential way to block that response. A Mayo Clinic team found ovarian cancer cells rapidly switch on a pro-survival programme after exposure to PARP inhibitors. A key driver is FRA1, a transcription factor (a protein that turns genes on and off) that helps cancer cells adapt and avoid death.
The team then tested whether brigatinib, a drug approved for certain lung cancers, could block this response and boost the effect of PARP inhibitors. Brigatinib was chosen because it inhibits multiple signalling pathways involved in cancer cell survival.
In laboratory studies, combining brigatinib with a PARP inhibitor was more effective than either treatment alone. Notably, the effect was seen in cancer cells but not normal cells, suggesting a more targeted approach.
Brigatinib also appeared to act in an unexpected way. Rather than working through the usual DNA repair routes, it shut down two signalling molecules, FAK and EPHA2, that aggressive ovarian cancer cells rely on. FAK and EPHA2 are proteins that relay survival signals inside cells. Blocking both at once weakened the cells’ ability to adapt and resist treatment, making them more vulnerable to PARP inhibitors.
Tumours with higher levels of FAK and EPHA2 responded better to the drug combination. Other data link high levels of these molecules to more aggressive disease, pointing to potential benefit in harder-to-treat cases.
Arun Kanakkanthara, an oncology investigator at Mayo Clinic and a senior author of the study, said: “This work shows that drug resistance does not always emerge slowly over time; cancer cells can activate survival programmes very early after treatment begins.”
John Weroha, a medical oncologist at Mayo Clinic and a senior author of the study, said: “From a clinical perspective, resistance remains one of the biggest challenges in treating ovarian cancer. By combining mechanistic insights from Dr Kanakkanthara’s laboratory with my clinical experience, this preclinical work supports the strategy of targeting resistance early, before it has a chance to take hold. This strategy could improve patient outcomes.”
Nighttime temperatures during pregnancy may be linked to a higher chance of an autism diagnosis in children, a recent study suggests.
The research tracked nearly 295,000 mother-child pairs in Southern California from 2001 to 2014 and linked warmer overnight temperatures with higher risk in early and late pregnancy.
Children of mothers exposed to higher than typical nighttime temperatures during weeks one to 10 of pregnancy had a 15 per cent higher risk of an autism diagnosis.
Exposure during weeks 30 to 37 was linked to a 13 per cent higher risk.
Lead author David Luglio, a post-doctoral fellow at Tulane University, said: “A key takeaway is that we identified specific windows when a mother and her developing child can be most affected by exposures to higher nighttime temperatures.
“This is critical and hopefully can help mothers prepare accordingly.”
The study is described as the first to examine how temperature may affect fetal neurodevelopment, the process by which a baby’s brain and nervous system form during pregnancy.
Extreme temperatures linked to increased risk were classified as above the 90th percentile, meaning 3.6°F hotter than average, and the 99th percentile, 5.6°F above average.
The association held even after researchers accounted for factors such as neighbourhood conditions, vegetation and fine-particle air pollution.
The study could not account for other factors such as access to air conditioning. Researchers did not find the same association with daytime temperatures, potentially because people spend more time away from home during the day.
“Heat waves are becoming more frequent, and people may only think of the dangers of daytime heat exposure,” said Mostafijur Rahman, assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Tulane University.
“These results indicate a strong association between high nighttime temperatures during pregnancy and autism risk in children and show that we need to think about exposure to heat around the clock.”
The study did not examine how higher temperatures at night might affect prenatal development, though Luglio said it is possible that warmer nights disrupt sleep for pregnant mothers.
Previous research has suggested insufficient sleep during pregnancy may be linked to a higher risk of neurocognitive delays in children.
“Extreme heat exposure during pregnancy has been linked to a range of adverse health outcomes, including prenatal neurodevelopment delays and complications with an embryo’s development of a central nervous system,” Luglio said.
“The goal of our study was to specifically explore the link between prenatal heat exposure and autism diagnoses for the first time.”
Kindbody has launched a fertility platform integrating AI with clinical care and patient support for employers and health plans.
The platform will enter a pilot with select Kindbody employer clients in 2026, covering over three million lives, ahead of wider availability in 2027.
Building on the company’s clinical model, the platform aims to improve outcomes and cost efficiency across family-building journeys. It connects Kindbody-owned clinics, partner clinics and an integrated clinical app.
The app offers virtual care across conception, pregnancy and reproductive health, extending through the menopause transition.
Launch features include updates in medication management, third-party reproduction, adoption, pregnancy, men’s health and global programme design.
David Stern, chief executive of Kindbody, said: “With our next-generation fertility platform, Kindbody is redefining what comprehensive, intelligent and affordable family-building care looks like for employers, health plans and patients.
“By unifying best-in-class clinical care, AI-driven intelligence and whole-person support, we are making it easier and more cost-effective for more people to build the families they envision.”
Kindbody has expanded access via its national network of IVF centres, including IVIRMA, Inception Fertility and Ivy Fertility.
A new Fertility Medication Portal is designed to streamline authorisations so medicines can be dispensed on time, giving patients visibility from prescription to coverage, pharmacy fulfilment and delivery tracking.
Through KindMan, men’s health education, digital resources and integrated clinical care are expanding, including hormone management programmes.
Services cover andropause (age-related testosterone decline), erectile dysfunction, low testosterone and other male reproductive conditions.
Specialist fertility care includes semen analysis, diagnostic testing, male hormone panels, genetic testing, surgical sperm extraction and sperm cryopreservation.
Launching in the second quarter, a pregnancy support app will act as a digital companion for expecting and new parents, with resources, interactive tools and clinical assessments to identify social drivers of health and mental health needs during pregnancy and beyond.
Kindbody’s physician-led menopause programme provides consultations with board-certified obstetricians and gynaecologists to diagnose, treat and manage menopausal symptoms, including hormone replacement therapy where appropriate, with support from nutritionists, mental health therapists and pelvic floor specialists.
AI and analytics will be embedded across the care journey. An AI care navigator will guide employees from benefit activation through intake, triage and scheduling.
Tools will track benefits and treatment plans, showing coverage and expected out-of-pocket costs at each step.
AI-supported scribing will assist clinicians with documentation, and a predictor tool will estimate a patient’s likelihood of having a baby across different treatment paths.
In 2027, Kindbody plans a savings model for eligible large employers that it says will guarantee lower total fertility spend while improving clinical efficiency and patient experience.
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