Potential mechanisms of postmenopausal endometriosis

Endometriosis is a chronic gynaecological disorder, the cause of which remains a subject of controversy. Oestrogen dependence is considered central to development and progression, and endometriosis is widely viewed as a disease of the premenopausal years, which normally regresses during the menopause. Increasingly however, reports of cases of postmenopausal endometriosis challenge our current understanding of the pathophysiology and raise further questions concerning the processes involved. Exploring the limited evidence available on postmenopausal disease we attempt to draw comparisons with premenopausal endometriosis, and in doing so to propose mechanisms for postmenopausal disease that are compatible with our current general understanding of the condition. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.