Is the baboon model appropriate for endometriosis studies?

OBJECTIVE

To determinethe prevalence of spontaneous endometriosis andthe incidence of induced endometriosis after endocervical canal resection in baboons.

DESIGN

Induction and follow-up of endometriosis in baboons, which is one of the primate species that develop spontaneous endometriosis. Forty-one baboons were checked for the presence of spontaneous endometriosis. We then attempted to induce endometriosis in 30 of them by endocervical canal resection.

SETTING

Institute of Primate Research, Nairobi, Kenya, and Catholic University of Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.

ANIMAL(S): Forty-one baboons were checked for spontaneous endometriosis and 30 of them were used to develop a model of induced endometriosis.

INTERVENTION(S): A total of 41 baboons underwent diagnostic laparoscopy for 10 months. In a first step, 30 of this number subsequently underwent endocervical canal resection. In a second step, 20 of the 30 underwent uterine horn resection.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Follow-up by laparoscopy.

RESULT(S): Two of the 41 baboons were diagnosed with spontaneous endometriosis (4.8%). Twelve months after the surgical procedure to induce endometriosis, 8 of 29 animals presented with endometriotic lesions diagnosed by using laparoscopy and confirmed by histologic examination. The incidence of induced endometriosis in our model was thus 27.6%. In 2 baboons, endometriosis disappeared over time, resulting in a final rate of 20.7% (6/29).

CONCLUSION(S): The rate of spontaneous endometriosis is very low (4.8%). Endometriosis can be induced (with a rate of just 27.6%) by endocervical canal resection to stimulate retrograde menstruation.