Overview
This Nutrients open-label pilot study from the Sapienza University Rome consortium (Translational and Precision Medicine + Gynecology, Obstetrics, and Urology) is the foundational link between nickel sensitivity and endometriosis. The hypothesis: gynecological and intestinal symptoms in endometriosis may depend on nickel allergic contact mucositis (Ni ACM), and a 3-month low-Ni diet should improve both intestinal and gynecological endpoints. The findings are remarkable: 90.3 percent of endometriosis patients with GI symptoms have positive Ni omPT (nickel oral mucosa patch test), and the 3-month low-Ni diet significantly improves all 15 GI symptoms, all 7 extra-intestinal symptoms, and gynecological symptoms (dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, pelvic pain). The paper proposes nickel as a metalloestrogen contributing to endometriosis-tissue proliferation, providing a mechanistic frame beyond the GI symptom relief.
Key numbers
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Endometriosis patients with GI symptoms; Ni ACM prevalence | 90.3 percent positive Ni omPT |
| Low-Ni diet improvement: GI symptoms | All 15 symptoms significantly improved |
| Low-Ni diet improvement: extra-intestinal symptoms | All 7 symptoms significantly improved |
| Low-Ni diet improvement: gynecological symptoms | Dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, pelvic pain all significantly improved |
| Diet duration | 3 months |
Methods (brief)
Open-label pilot study at Sapienza University Rome. Inclusion: endometriosis with IBS-like or extra-intestinal symptoms. Diagnostic: nickel-oral-mucosa patch test (Ni omPT) to detect allergic contact mucositis. Intervention: 3-month low-Ni diet. Outcomes: standardized GI, extra-intestinal, and gynecological symptom scales.
Implications
- Certification: Establishes a direct clinical link between dietary nickel and endometriosis symptoms. The metalloestrogen framework expands the HMTc Ni-threshold rationale to include estrogen-receptor-binding endpoints beyond the EFSA reproductive/developmental TDI. Vulnerable-population scoping should include endometriosis patients.
- Microbiome / mucosal immunology: Ni ACM as a distinct entity from contact dermatitis — same type IV hypersensitivity machinery, different anatomical site. TLR4-dependent innate immunity also implicated in companion literature.
- Courses: Standard reference for the nickel-endometriosis link.
Wiki pages updated on ingest
Update history
The five most recent substantive edits to this page, classified major (evidence or structure moved), correction (a published value or statement was wrong and has been fixed), or minor (narrative rewritten without changing the underlying evidence). Each description is derived from what the edit did to this page; the linked commit is the authoritative record, routine regeneration passes are excluded, and the full version history lives in git. When DOI minting comes online (see schema docs), each entry below will also link to a version-pinned DataCite DOI.
| Commit | Date | Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| a8052bb | 2026-08-09 | major | 6 sections added; narrative text revised |