Repeated miscarriages could be prevented in thousands of women, with a pill that only costs £1 a month.
Researchers have discovered new evidence that a third of unexplained miscarriages may be caused by an overactive immune system.
They believe treatment with a common steroid can curb the immune response and protect an unborn baby in those vital early weeks of pregnancy.
Every year about 9,000 women, in The UK alone, have unexplained miscarriages..
In early trials, nearly threequarters of women who had a history of miscarriages had successful pregnancies after taking the steroid.
Dr Siobhan Quenby at Liverpool University, is now beginning a larger trial to make sure the results are not simply down to the placebo effect. She also hopes to develop a test that could screen women for miscarriage risk before they become pregnant. This would ultimately replace the 30 or more blood tests that patients currently undergo to determine what may have caused them to lose their baby.
Dr Quenby said: ‘There are thousands of people who are desperate because they keep miscarrying and there’s no treatment. I am inundated with emails from women and there is a massive, desperate need.’
Previously, she has shown that a third of women who suffer recurrent miscarriages have an abnormally high number of ‘natural killer’ cells in their uterus.
Dr Quenby took biopsy samples from 120 women who had suffered repeated miscarriages. She found high levels of NK cells increased the number of blood vessels in the uterus in the early stages of pregnancy. These blood vessels increase the amount of oxygen in the womb – at a time when a newly conceived embryo needs low levels to implant itself in the womb lining.
By giving pregnant women prednisolone, Dr Quenby believes she can reduce oxygen levels and increase the chances of a baby surviving. Prednisolone’s side effects include mood swings and increased appetite. However, most women would need to take it for just three months.
In early trials of the drug, 30 out of 40 women suffering from repeated miscarriages, who also had high NK levels, went on to have successful pregnancies. One had suffered 22 miscarriages.
Professor Susan Wray of Liverpool University said: ‘There’s real hope that in five to ten years this could have a significant impact. It’s really terrific.’
September 2008
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