do does not equal infertility," Patzkowsky says. Women with endo often find that support groups are helpful, and there's even an app (or two) to help. One advocacy group has organized a worldwide endo march to raise awareness of the disease and promote research.
10. NEW ENDO RESEARCH IS FOCUSED ON IDENTIFYING BIOMARKERS.
Future endo research is focused on not only furthering understanding of the causes and other aspects of the disease, but also on developing non-hormonal therapies to aid in treatment and identifying biomarkers—indicators in blood or easily accessible tissue samples—that can speed diagnosis. Some scientists liken endo to cancer because it has different subtypes that may have different causes, requiring an integrated approach to understanding the genetic, hormonal, metabolic, and molecular factors that influence endo development and progression.