No Surgery in New Endometriosis Test

A test that does not require surgery can be used to diagnose endometriosis, a study finds. This condition can be painful and cause infertility. It occurs when cells from the uterus lining (endometrium) grow outside the uterus. The new test looks for nerve fibers in the endometrium through a biopsy. Researchers inserted a device through the vagina and took tissue samples from 99 women. The women also had surgery through a small cut (laparoscopy). This is the standard way to diagnose endometriosis now. The surgery found disease in 64 women. The biopsy found nerve fibers in all but one sample from this group. The surgery found no disease in the other 35 women. Biopsy samples showed no nerve fibers for 29 of these women. A second study found that nerve fibers are 14 times more common in the uterus lining among women with endometriosis.