Mechanisms of and Novel Treatments for Visceral Pain in Endometriosis

About this Research Topic

The underlying causes of chronic pelvic pain (CPP) associated with endometriosis are poorly understood, with the majority of the research focused on endometriotic lesions and their inflammatory environment. Paradoxically, pain symptoms and severity have been found to poorly correlate with lesion characteristics. This disconnect is further highlighted by the observation that endometriosis patients frequently suffer from several clinical comorbidities, suggesting a more complex pathophysiology for endometriosis-related CPP that cannot be explained by endometriotic lesions alone.

The first step in the pain pathway is the sensory neurons that project from peripheral tissues to the central nervous system. How sensory neurons detect/transmit pain from pelvic organs, affected by endometriosis, is unknown, providing a limiting factor for developing treatments for endometriosis-related CPP.

To fill this gap in knowledge, the objective of the research topic proposed is to request manuscripts that:

- Examine changes in the peripheral and central sensory neural pathways occurring in endometriosis.

- Explore novel approaches to relieve endometriosis-related CPP.

- Investigate cross organ sensitization mechanisms in preclinical models of endometriosis and humans were possible.

Keywords: Endometriosis, Chronic Pelvic Pain, Peripheral Sensory Remodelling, Central Sensory Remodeling, Visceral Organ Cross-Talk

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.