Scientists made a breakthrough in finding a cure for pregnancy sickness, Nature magazine reported. A recent research by the University of Cambridge found a hormone called GDF15 released by the foetus that causes some pregnant women to feel extremely nauseous and dizzy. Professor Sir Stephen O'Rahilly, from the University of Cambridge, told Nature, "The more sensitive a mother is to this hormone, the sicker she will become." Now that the cause has been found, scientists are certain that the cure for the sickness can be found soon too.
O'Rahilly said, "Knowing this gives us a clue as to how we might prevent this from happening." Close to three in 100 pregnancies are affected by pregnancy sickness, known as hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), according to experts. Some mothers report being sick at least 50 times a day, and it could be fatal to the foetus and women require intravenous fluid to avoid dehydration. “It is extremely disabling,” said O’Rahilly.
Hormone From Foetus Linked To Pregnancy Sickness
The new research published in Nature is a collaboration of scientists from Scotland, Sri Lanka, the USA, and the University of Cambridge, England. Although previous studies had proven the involvement of GDF15 from the foetus in causing HG, scientists said that "full mechanistic understanding was lacking."
“For the first time, hyperemesis gravidarum could be addressed at the root cause, rather than merely alleviating its symptoms,” said Tito Borner, a physiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, as reported by Nature. The study was conducted on women at the Rosie Maternity Hospital in Cambridge and found that the degree of sickness was related to the amount of the hormone produced in the womb versus prior exposure.
By analysing genetic data from more than 18,000 people, scientists found that higher levels of GDF15 before pregnancy, caused by a blood disorder called beta thalassemia, reduced the risk of HG in women if they did become pregnant; While those with a genetic variant exposed to lower levels of the hormone before pregnancy put them at a greater risk of HG.
Preventing the hormone from accessing its "highly specific receptor in the mother's brain" will "ultimately form the basis for an effective and safe way of treating this disorder," said O'Rahilly, who is the director of the Medical Research Council, Metabolic Diseases unit at the University of Cambridge.
O'Rahily said that women who have generally low levels of GDF15 before pregnancy could be given increasingly high doses of the hormone while trying to conceive, to desensitize them to it and reduce their chances of experiencing HG when they get pregnant. He added that women could also be given antibodies that block GDF15 or its receptors, to reduce nausea and vomiting. At least two antibodies against GDF15 are being tested in clinical trials, Nature reported.
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