Criteria that are commonly used to establish a diagnosis include pelvic pain, infertility, surgical assessment, and in some cases, magnetic resonance imaging. An ultrasound can identify large clumps of tissue as potential endometriosis lesions and ovarian cysts but it is not effective for all patients, especially in cases with smaller, superficial lesions.These studies suggest that endometriosis affects approximately 11% of women in the general population. Endometriosis is most common in those in their thirties and forties; however, it can begin as early as 8 years old. Endometriosis is estimated to affect over 190 million women in their reproductive years.It chiefly affects adults from premenarche to postmenopause, regardless of race or ethnicity or whether or not they have had children. It is primarily a disease of the reproductive years. Incidences of endometriosis have occurred in postmenopausal individuals, and in less common cases, individuals may have had endometriosis symptoms before they even reach menarche.The rate of recurrence of endometriosis is estimated to be 40-50% for adults over a 5-year period. The rate of recurrence has been shown to increase with time from surgery and is not associated with the stage of the disease, initial site, surgical method used, or post-surgical treatment. History
Endometriosis was first discovered microscopically by Karl von Rokitansky in 1860, although the earliest antecedents may have stemmed from concepts published almost 4,000 years ago. The Hippocratic Corpus outlines symptoms similar to endometriosis, including uterine ulcers, adhesions, and infertility.
Diencephalic syndrome, or Russells syndrome, is a rare neurological disorder seen in infants and children and characterised by failure to thrive and severe emaciation despite normal or slightly decreased caloric intake. Classically there is also locomotor hyperactivity and euphoria. Less commonly diencephalic syndrome may involve skin pallor without anaemia, hypoglycaemia, and hypotension. The syndrome is a rare but potentially fatal cause of failure to thrive in children. Failure to thrive presents on average at seven months of age. Of note the syndrome is not associated with developmental delay. There may be associated hydrocephalus.Diencephalic syndrome was first described by Dr. A. Russell in 1951. It is usually caused by a brain tumor such as a low-grade glioma or astrocytoma located in the hypothalamic-optic chiasmatic region. It is not yet understood how diencephalic syndrome causes the effects on appetite and metabolism which are seen, though inappropriately high growth hormone release has been proposed, as has excessive β-lipotropin secretion and overall increased metabolic demand. It is treated with nutritional optimisation while the underlying lesion is treated with chemotherapy, surgery or radiotherapy. == References ==