2023-06-16 12:43:16
June 16, 2023
Currently, it is a laparoscopy that makes it possible to make the diagnosis of endometriosis. The effectiveness of a simple saliva test, developed by a French start-up, has however just been demonstrated in a study.
In patients who suffer from endometriosis, the diagnostic delay can last 8 years on average. If it keeps its promises, this non-invasive saliva test might be a game-changer. A study published on June 9 in the New England Journal of Medecine validates the effectiveness of the Endotest, developed by the Lyon start-up Ziwig.
What is it regarding ? The test requires a simple saliva sample via a self-sampling kit. The sample is sent to the laboratory in order to analyze the micro-RNAs. Extracted from saliva, they are then sequenced via next-generation sequencing (NGS). State-of-the-art molecular technology that allows “the simultaneous acquisition of data relating to millions of DNA or RNA fragments “, specifies Ziwig in a press release. It is then the artificial intelligence that takes care of analyzing this high-throughput sequencing.
What are microRNAs?
Already in 2022, the start-up announced the discovery of a salivary signature of endometriosis via microRNAs. In the interim study presented in the NEJM, saliva tests were performed on 200 patients, aged 18 to 43, who had previously been diagnosed with endometriosis. In 96.2% of cases, microRNAs, biomarkers of the disease, might be detected by the AI.
« MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs: unlike messenger RNAs, they are not translated into proteins by the cellular machinery. Their role is on the contrary to repress the expression of genes: when a miRNA binds to its target, a specific messenger RNA, it blocks its translation into proteins and/or induces its degradation”. explained the start-up in 2022.
Available in France by the end of 2023?
Discovered regarding twenty years ago, micro-RNAs are found in varying quantities in most bodily fluids, blood, saliva, urine, etc. “Over the past few years, evidence has accumulated in favor of their involvement in the pathophysiological mechanisms of endometriosis. A direct link between the deregulation of certain miRNAs and the development of endometriotic lesions has been demonstrated,” continues Ziwig. 109 of them have been identified and now constitute the signature of the disease.
Until then, it was a laparoscopy, invasive and under general anesthesia, which made it possible to make a diagnosis. This saliva test, already available in several European countries but also in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, might prove valuable in improving patient care. Ziwig hopes to see it available in France by the end of 2023.
To note : endometriosis affects one in ten women of childbearing age. Without knowing the precise causes, the disease is characterized by the presence outside the uterus of tissue similar to the uterine lining. Endometriosis is a chronic disease that causes many symptoms – including pelvic pain, infertility in some women – sometimes very debilitating.
Source : The New england journal of medecine, 9 juin 2023 – Ziwig.com
Written by: Dorothée Duchemin – edited by Emmanuel Ducreuzet
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