An injectable antibody treatment that reduced signs of endometriosis in monkeys is now being tested in a Phase 1 clinical trial in people.
Endometriosis is s common long-term painful condition
An experimental treatment for endometriosis, a painful gynecological disease that affects some 190 million people worldwide, may one day offer new hope for easing symptoms.
Monthly antibody injections reversed telltale signs of endometriosis in monkeys, researchers report in Science Translational Medicine recently. The antibody targets IL-8, a molecule that whips up inflammation inside the scattered, sometimes bleeding lesions that mark the disease. After neutralizing IL-8, those hallmark lesions shrink, the team found.
The new treatment is “pretty potent,” says Philippa Saunders, a reproductive scientist at the University of Edinburgh who was not involved with work. The study’s authors haven’t reported a cure, she points out, but their antibody does seem to have an impact. “I think it’s really very promising,” she says.
Reference
A long-acting anti–IL-8 antibody improves inflammation and fibrosis in endometriosis. Nishimoto-Kakiuchi A et al. Sci Trans Med. 22 Feb 2023 Vol 15, Issue 684.
Other resource
MyHSN has a related article.
10 endometriosis facts
