Fine mapping of a significant linkage region for endometriosis

Funded Activity Summary

Endometriosis is a common disorder affecting up to 10% of women. In this condition, a special type of tissue that normally lines the inside of the womb (the 'endometrium') starts to grow outside the womb, mostly in the pelvis (lower abdomen). Common symptoms are severe pelvic pain, menstrual problems and infertility. The disease has a major impact on women's health, relationships, productivity and life choices. The mechanisms that cause endometriosis are not well understood. Genetic factors influence a woman's risk of developing endometriosis and finding genes and pathways leading to this disease would be a major advance. This will help design better approaches for the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of endometriosis. Since 1996, nearly 4,000 women with endometriosis plus their families have joined our genetic study. This includes around 1,000 families with two or more sisters who both have the disease. We have looked at the DNA from these sisters and found significant evidence for a gene or genes affecting endometriosis on one chromosome. No one else has linked this location with endometriosis. We are now focusing our efforts in the laboratory on this area, which contains approximately 250 genes. The aim of our new project is to study genes in the region in more detail to pinpoint the gene or genes responsible for risk of endometriosis.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2005

End Date: 01-01-2007

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $518,250.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Genetics

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

Affected Sister Pairs (ASPs) | Association studies | Endometriosis | Endometriosis risk factors | Gene Discovery | Genetic Epidemiology | Infertility | Linkage region

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