Background: Uterine Adenomyosis (Ut-Ad) is a condition in which the endometrial glands and stroma invade extensively into the uterine myometrium, causing the uterus to enlarge and leading to treatment-resistant infertility. In this study, we diagnosed Ut-Ad in the absence of concomitant ovarian endometriosis using ultrasound and conducted assisted reproductive technology (ART) on 126 patients desiring pregnancy. We report our clinical outcomes and discuss potential future treatments. Methods: Ut-Ad was diagnosed independently, without concurrent external endometriosis. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical pregnancy, live birth, and miscarriage rates of 126 patients with Ut-Ad who underwent ART at our clinic, comparing them with 2,472 non-Ut-Ad individuals as controls. Additionally, we examined CA-125 levels and assessed the severity of dysmenorrhea. Results: The Ut-Ad group exhibited significantly lower pregnancy and live birth rates, along with lower gestational age and birth weight, compared to the non-Ut-Ad group. However, embryonic development until embryo transfer was comparable between the Ut-Ad and non-Ut-Ad groups. Notably, the miscarriage rate in the Ut-Ad group was significantly higher than that in the control group. Conclusions: Historically, clinical outcomes for Ut-Ad have been suboptimal, even with the use of modern ART treatments, resulting in low pregnancy rates. While the exact cause of Ut-Ad remains elusive, recent ultrasound findings suggest that minor disruptions in the uterine endometrium may contribute to adenomyosis development in young women with symptoms. Continuous monitoring via transvaginal ultrasound could facilitate early diagnosis and treatment, potentially offering substantial benefits for Ut-Ad management in the future.
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Yamaguchi et al. (2024) studied this question.
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