Test could identify women at increased risk of miscarriage
British scientists have developed a test that detects abnormalities in the womb lining, which could help identify women with an increased risk of suffering a miscarriage. It is hoped it will pave the way for more treatments to prevent repeated pregnancy losses.
About one in six pregnancies are lost and the majority of these happen before 12 weeks. Each miscarriage increases the risk of another occurring. Charities said that the findings could help to provide an explanation for repeated miscarriages. According to the team from Warwick University, in some women the womb lining does not react as it should during pregnancy. The test they developed can measure signs of a healthy or defective reaction in the womb lining. It is now being piloted to help more than a thousand patients at Tommy's National Centre for Miscarriage Research at University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire (UHCW).Dr Jo Muter, the lead author of the study and a researcher at Warwick Medical School, told the BBC: 'Many women are told they've just had 'bad luck', but our findings show that the womb itself may be setting the stage for pregnancy loss, even before conception takes place.'Much of the research in this area has focused on the embryo, rather than the womb hosting it. The womb lining during pregnancy undergoes a reaction, which converts the cells to a more supportive state. In cases where this does not happen or this reaction is faulty, the risk of bleeding and pregnancy loss increases. When a faulty reaction occurs, it is more likely to occur again, according to the research team.
Dr Jyotsna Vohra, director of research at Tommy's, said that care and treatment for those who experienced pregnancy or baby loss varied unacceptably across the UK.
'There should be no barriers to accessing any test or treatment that has been proven to make a difference.
'We hope NHS decision-makers will look carefully at the results of the Coventry pilot project and consider rolling this test out nationwide, so that everyone who might benefit has that opportunity.'
Vohra said that women suffering trauma after recurrent miscarriages were often 'left without answers', and that the test could offer some consolation by explaining the cause.
The Warwick team analysed around 1,500 biopsies from more than 1,300 women for the study.
Abnormal responses in the menstrual lining recurred across menstrual cycles for some women, suggesting a consistent cause of miscarriage risk which could be prevented.
One of the women offered the new test, Holly Milkouris, said that it was 'life-changing' after she suffered five miscarriages.
After the problems affecting her womb lining were detected and treated, Milkouris and her husband had two healthy children, now aged three and 17 months.
Milkouris told The Guardian: 'We felt lost and were beginning to accept that I might never successfully carry a pregnancy.
'The treatments that typically can help women who have experienced miscarriages hadn't worked for us and each time we tried again we felt like we were rolling a dice with the baby's life.
'For the first time the results of my biopsy were normal, and we went on to have not one, but two successful pregnancies.'Muter said that the next step would be to use the test to assess potential drug treatments.
Sitagliptin, a drug usually used to treat diabetes, is currently the go-to option for problems with the womb lining but Muter said that other existing drugs could be repurposed. Only 20 per cent of potential drugs are currently tested on pregnant women.
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