Uterine Fibroids: Basics and Causes - from CompleatMother.com <meta NAME="keywords" CONTENT="metabolism"> <meta NAME="description" CONTENT="Learn more about uterine fibroids!" </head> </head> <body BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" link="blue" vlink="#3333333" rightborder="0"> <table width="100%" cellpadding="10"> <tr> <td width="20%" valign="top"> <font face="Trebuchet MS"> <table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" width="10%"> <tr> <td width="100%" bgcolor="#FDFECD"> <p align="center" style="border: 1 dashed #FF0000"><a href="http://www.nursingprogramsonline.com"><img border="0" src="http://www.compleatmother.com/womens-health/2nurses.jpg" width="88" height="92"></a><br> <a href="http://www.nursingprogramsonline.com"><b>Click Here</a> for information on Online Nursing Degree Programs</b></p> <p align="left" style="border: 1 dashed #FF0000"> </p> <td> </tr> </table></font> </td> <td width="80%" valign="top"> <h1><font face="Trebuchet MS"><b>Uterine Fibroids: Basics and Causes</b></font></h1> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Three out of four women have uterine fibroids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Surprised?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></font></span><font face="Trebuchet MS"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt">The vast majority of these females don't even know that they have them.<br> <br> In fact, many people still don't even know what a uterine fibroid is. Fibroids are non-cancerous growths on the uterus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>You might have heard them called fibromyomas, leiomyomas or even myomas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They often first appear during </span></font></p> <table border="0" align="left"> <tr> <td><font face="Trebuchet MS"><script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </font> </td> </table> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS">a woman's childbearing years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They aren't associated with any increased risk of uterine cancer. The growths, additionally, practically never develop into a cancerous growth.</font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Trebuchet MS"><br> <span style="font-size: 11.0pt">The vast majority of women who have fibroids, in fact, probably don't even realize they're affected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>For most women their appearance produces no symptoms and require no treatment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In fact, many women are diagnosed "accidentally".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They first learn of their fibroids when a doctor performs a routine pelvic exam or during a prenatal ultrasound.<br> <br> For women who experience problems with these growths, conventional medical science can shrink these and even remove them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In the rarest of occasions some women afflicted with fibroids may undergo emergency surgery when the growths cause sharp, sudden pains in the pelvic area.<o:p> </o:p> </span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS"> <o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Symptoms of fibroids include heavier bleeding than normal during your menstrual period, pain or pressure in the pelvic region as well as urinary incontinence or the need to urinate frequently. Additional symptoms include constipation, backache or aches in the legs.<o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS"> <o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS">On rare occasions a fibroid may cause severe, acute pain when it outgrows its blood supply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Because it's deprived of nourishment, the fibroid starts to die.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then the by-products from the dying growth can seep into the surrounding issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This not only causes the pain, but may also produce a fever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Moreover, a woman may experience pain associated with a fibroid if the growth is hanging by a stalk either inside or outside the uterus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This is caused a pedunculated fibroid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It triggers the pain when it twists on this stalk and its blood supply is cut off.<o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS"> <o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS">The exact location of your fibroids, moreover, is a determining factor in the types of symptoms you experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Medical experts believe that fibroids growing in the inner cavity of the uterus cause prolonged, heavy menstrual bleeding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>These are referred to as submucosal fibroids.<o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS"> <o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS">If the fibroid projects to the outside of the uterus, it's identified as a subserosal fibroid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This is the type that may press on your bladder, causing you to experience urinary symptoms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If these bulge from the back of your uterus, they can press on your rectum, which would cause constipation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They may also press on your spinal nerves, which would cause the symptoms of a backache.<o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Trebuchet MS"> </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Uterine Fibroids: Causes</font></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS"> <o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS">If so many women potentially have fibroids, just what causes them?</font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS"> <o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Good question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Fibroids develop initially from one, single cell from inside the smooth muscular tissue of the uterus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This cell reproduces repeatedly which eventually creates a pale mass of tissue distinct from its neighbors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This tissue is firm, but rubbery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Science has yet to answer why this happens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But, there are some theories being offered.<o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS"> <o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Many medical experts believe that fibroids are basically genetic alterations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They have discovered that many fibroids contain alterations in the genes that specifically code for uterine muscle cells.<o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS"> <o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Another theory on the cause of fibroids is that two hormones, estrogen and progesterone, stimulate the development of the lining of the uterus in preparation for an eventual pregnancy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Fibroids just contain more of these hormone receptors than normal uterine muscle cells.<o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS"> <o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS">These growths come in all sizes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They range in size from what is called a "seedling" not visible to the human eye to the bulky masses that have been known to distort and enlarge the uterus, causing physical pain.<o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS"> <o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS">A third theory revolves around chemical factors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Substances that help the body with tissue maintenance � like the insulin-like growth factor � may play a role in the growth of these fibroids.<o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS"> <o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Fibroids come in just about every size imaginable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Some are so small that they can't be detected unaided by the human eye.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Others are so large that they protrude from the uterus enlarging and distorting its size.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In some extreme cases, fibroids have been so large that it reached up to the rib cage.<o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS"> <o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Since potentially three quarters of the women already have developed fibroids, it might seem strange to talk about risk factors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It appears the only meaningful risk factor is being female.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But, indeed, beyond that there certainly are two conditions that increase the changes of her developing uterine fibroids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The first is heredity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If your mother or your sister had fibroids, you're definitely at increased risk for getting them yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS"> <o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS">If you're a black woman, then you'll more likely develop fibroids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In fact, research shows that black women not only develop these growths earlier in life, they're also more likely to have a greater number of them and for them to be larger in size.<o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS"> <o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Some studies additionally suggest that obese women are more likely to develop these non-cancerous growths than those of healthy weight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But the evidence here is still non-conclusive.<o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS"> <o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Another suggestion has been made that women who have taken oral contraceptives may have a decreased risk of fibroids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The same is said for women who are athletic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Again, in both of these instances there is not enough evidence to make any conclusions yet.<o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS"> <o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Since some believe the growths appear because of the stimulating effects of hormones which prepare the uterus for pregnancy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>For this reason, they suggest that pregnancy may provide a protective factor for women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Again, there is no evidence that this is so.<o:p> </o:p> </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Trebuchet MS"><br> Note: Some statements in this article may not be approved by the FDA. 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