.webp)
Beyond the Symptoms | An Expert Interview Series by LUF | Live UTI Free
Beyond the Symptoms is an interview series by Live UTI Free (LUF) that explores the science, solutions, and stories behind pelvic health, UTIs, and chronic urinary infections.
Host Melissa Kramer engages in deep conversations with leading medical experts, researchers, and healthcare innovators who share breakthrough insights beyond conventional diagnoses and treatments.
Each episode uncovers cutting-edge research on biofilms, embedded infections, antibiotic resistance, and innovative diagnostic approaches while examining how these conditions impact quality of life. Whether you're a patient navigating recurrent UTIs, interstitial cystitis, or chronic pelvic pain, a healthcare practitioner seeking evidence-based approaches, or a curious mind interested in women's health advocacy, this podcast provides actionable information about complex pelvic health conditions.
Episodes feature world-renowned urologists, urogynecologists, researchers, and patient advocates sharing clinical insights and practical strategies.
Explore our comprehensive resources at liveutifree.com, find additional studies at linktr.ee/liveutifree, watch video interviews on YouTube (@LiveUTIFree), and join our supportive community on Instagram (@liveutifree).
Beyond the Symptoms | An Expert Interview Series by LUF | Live UTI Free
Endometriosis and UTI: Inflammation, Infection and the Uterine Microbiome | Christine Metz, PhD, with Live UTI Free (LUF)
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Painful urination and pain during sex can signal endometriosis or a urinary tract infection, and the two are often mistaken for one another. In this episode of the LUF Podcast, host Melissa Kramer, PhD, speaks with Christine Metz, PhD, a professor at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell Health and co-director of the ROSE (Research OutSmarts Endometriosis) study.
Dr. Metz explains how menstrual effluent, which she calls a “natural biopsy,” is revealing new signs of chronic inflammation, immune imbalance, and “zombie” senescent cells in endometriosis. They also discuss the uterine microbiome, chronic endometritis, early research on quercetin, possible biological links between endometriosis and recurrent UTIs, and progress toward a non-invasive endometriosis test. People in the US can join the ROSE study online. Find more UTI and pelvic health research at liveutifree.com.
Christine N. Metz, PhD, is a professor at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell Health and the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. She holds BS and MS degrees from Cornell University and MS and PhD degrees in Immunology/Pathology from New York University.
Key Takeaways
- Endometriosis and UTI may be connected. Overlapping symptoms, bladder lesions, and chronic inflammation may leave people with endometriosis “more vulnerable to infections,” Dr. Metz explains.
- Your uterus has a microbiome too. Chronic endometritis, a rarely diagnosed inflammation of the uterine lining, may be linked to a two to three-fold higher risk of endometriosis.
- Menstrual blood could replace surgery for diagnosis. Dr. Metz hopes a non-invasive test could be available “in the next couple of years.”
Links and Resources
