Steroid May Prevent Recurrent Miscarriages
June 21, 2005 -- A commonly used steroid medication may help women who suffer from frequent miscarriages.
A small new study shows that the steroid prednisolone reduces the amount of a type of cell linked to recurrent miscarriages. Researchers say that if further studies confirm these results, the findings may open up new avenues for treating and possibly preventing recurrent miscarriages.
"There are many unanswered questions at present, and we hope that randomized, controlled trials will shed more light on the mechanisms involved and whether the use of prednisolone may, in fact, represent a new and effective treatment for recurrent miscarriages," researcher Siobhan Quenby, senior lecturer and honorary consultant in the department of developmental and reproductive medicine at the University of Liverpool, says in a news release.
Quenby says her study is preliminary and she does not want women to be given false or premature hopes. "This is very exciting data, but the research is at a preliminary stage, so I cannot recommend it to patients without a proper trial. It is important that, in the excitement of new hope for these poor women for whom there is no treatment currently available, neither myself nor the media overexaggerate the results," Quenby says in the news release.
The study was presented this week at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Recurrent miscarriages, defined as three or more miscarriages, affect about two in every 100 women of reproductive age. There are no effective treatments available for the condition.
Prednisolone is a steroid that is commonly used to reduce inflammation caused by a variety of conditions, including asthma, skin conditions, and arthritis.
Women with recurrent miscarriages have elevated levels of cells called uterine natural killer (uNK) cells. These infection-fighting white cells are found in high numbers in the uterus and the lining of the uterus that develops during pregnancy.
Recent studies have also shown that these uNK cells have steroid receptors on their surface. In the study, researchers looked at whether giving women with recurrent miscarriages the steroid prednisolone could reduce the elevated uNK levels in their endometrium (uterine lining).
A small new study shows that the steroid prednisolone reduces the amount of a type of cell linked to recurrent miscarriages. Researchers say that if further studies confirm these results, the findings may open up new avenues for treating and possibly preventing recurrent miscarriages.
"There are many unanswered questions at present, and we hope that randomized, controlled trials will shed more light on the mechanisms involved and whether the use of prednisolone may, in fact, represent a new and effective treatment for recurrent miscarriages," researcher Siobhan Quenby, senior lecturer and honorary consultant in the department of developmental and reproductive medicine at the University of Liverpool, says in a news release.
Quenby says her study is preliminary and she does not want women to be given false or premature hopes. "This is very exciting data, but the research is at a preliminary stage, so I cannot recommend it to patients without a proper trial. It is important that, in the excitement of new hope for these poor women for whom there is no treatment currently available, neither myself nor the media overexaggerate the results," Quenby says in the news release.
The study was presented this week at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Recurrent miscarriages, defined as three or more miscarriages, affect about two in every 100 women of reproductive age. There are no effective treatments available for the condition.
Prednisolone is a steroid that is commonly used to reduce inflammation caused by a variety of conditions, including asthma, skin conditions, and arthritis.
Prednisolone May Prevent Miscarriages
Women with recurrent miscarriages have elevated levels of cells called uterine natural killer (uNK) cells. These infection-fighting white cells are found in high numbers in the uterus and the lining of the uterus that develops during pregnancy.
Recent studies have also shown that these uNK cells have steroid receptors on their surface. In the study, researchers looked at whether giving women with recurrent miscarriages the steroid prednisolone could reduce the elevated uNK levels in their endometrium (uterine lining).