Latest news with #DrJoanneMuter
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Test developed to identify women at increased risk of miscarriage
Scientists have developed a test to identify women with an increased risk of miscarriage, which could pave the way for new treatments to prevent pregnancy loss. About one in six of all pregnancies are lost, most before 12 weeks, and each miscarriage increases the risk of another one happening. Until now, most research in this area has focused on the quality of the embryo, with the secrets of the womb lining remaining a missing 'black box' in reproductive medicine. Now the largest study of its kind has discovered how an abnormal process in the womb lining could explain why some women experience miscarriage. The findings could open the door to new ways to help women avoid pregnancy loss. Scientists at the University of Warwick and the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS trust have discovered that in some women with a history of miscarriage, the womb lining does not react the way it should and become a supportive place for an embryo to implant. This represents 'a key piece of the miscarriage puzzle', they said, tracing miscarriage risk back to a problem with the womb lining before pregnancy which may also help explain why some women experience repeated pregnancy loss, even with healthy embryos. Using the findings from the study, the team developed a diagnostic test that can measure signs of a healthy or defective reaction in the womb lining. The lead author of the study, Dr Joanne Muter, a researcher at Warwick medical school whose work was funded by the baby loss charity Tommy's, said: 'This is about identifying preventable miscarriages. 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.' The team analysed about 1,500 biopsies from more than 1,300 women. They found that an essential biological process called the decidual reaction, which prepares the womb lining for pregnancy, often does not work properly in women with a history of miscarriage. When it does not fully activate, an unstable environment is created that, while still allowing embryos to implant, increases the risk of bleeding and early pregnancy loss, the researchers found. Crucially, this was not random. The abnormal response in the womb lining recurs across menstrual cycles for some women at a rate far greater than chance would predict. This suggested a consistent, measurable and potentially preventable cause of miscarriage risk, the researchers said. On the back of the research, the team developed a diagnostic test to measure the molecular signals of a healthy or dysfunctional decidual reaction. The test was piloted in Coventry, England, and has already supported the care of more than 1,000 patients. Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion One of the women offered the new test, Holly Milikouris, said the experience was 'lifechanging' after she had experienced five miscarriages. 'We felt lost and were beginning to accept that I might never successfully carry a pregnancy,' she said. '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.' The test revealed her womb lining prepared poorly for pregnancy. After treatment, she and her husband, Chris, had two healthy children, George, now three years old, and 17-month-old Heidi. 'Being given the opportunity to take part in this trial was lifechanging. For the first time the results of my biopsy were normal, and we went on to have not one, but two successful pregnancies,' Milikouris said. Dr Jyotsna Vohra, the director of research at Tommy's, said women experiencing the trauma and devastation of recurrent miscarriage were far too often 'left without answers'. The test could, she said, 'pave the way not only for an explanation in some cases but more importantly for treatments that could prevent future pregnancy losses'.
The Independent
10 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
New womb lining test can help women who have miscarriages, UK scientists say
A new test that reveals an abnormal womb lining can help women who have repeated unexplained miscarriages, UK scientists have said. They say the findings are set to pave the way for new treatments for some women who experience recurrent pregnancy loss. Researchers said they discovered that miscarriage risk can be traced back to a problem with the womb lining before pregnancy, after previous studies mostly focused on the quality of the embryo, overlooking the role of the womb. Around one in six pregnancies are lost, mostly before 12 weeks, and each miscarriage increases the risk of another pregnancy loss. Pregnancy and baby charity Tommy's said the discoveries are set to provide explanations for pregnancy loss as well as treatments to prevent the 'trauma and devastation of recurrent miscarriage'. Lead author Dr Joanne Muter said: 'This is about identifying preventable miscarriages. 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.' The study – led by the University of Warwick and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust with funding from pregnancy charity Tommy's – was published in Science Advances on Thursday, after over 1,500 biopsies from more than 1,300 women were analysed. The team found that an essential biological process called the 'decidual reaction', which prepares the womb lining for pregnancy each month, often does not progress properly in women with a history of miscarriage. This creates an unstable environment that, while still allowing embryos to implant, increases the risk of bleeding and early pregnancy loss. The scientists have consequently developed a test that can measure the womb lining response, which is being piloted to support more than 1,000 patients at Tommy's National Centre for Miscarriage Research at UHCW. Senior author Professor Jan Brosens said: 'It is well-established that chromosomal errors in embryos account for the rise in miscarriage rates in women older than 35 years. This study shows that each miscarriage increases the risk of an embryo implantation in an abnormal womb lining, regardless of age. 'Thus, the frequency of one of two events – abnormal embryo or abnormal decidual reaction – happening over hundreds of menstrual cycles determines the likelihood of miscarriage in each individual woman. Importantly, we now have the tools to screen for the risk of preventable miscarriage and to evaluate treatments that improve the womb lining before pregnancy.' Holly Milikouris, who has had five miscarriages, described the new test as 'life changing'. After it was revealed that her womb lining prepared abnormally for pregnancy, she underwent treatment and went on to have two healthy children, three-year-old George and 17-month-old Heidi, with her husband Chris. Ms Milikouris, a civil servant from Cheshire, said: 'My miscarriages were all 'missed', which means there were no symptoms to let us know there was a problem. We found out when I went for a scan and a grew to dread having scans. '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. 'Being given the opportunity to take part in this trial was life changing. For the first time the results of my biopsy were normal, and we went on to have not one, but two successful pregnancies. We will never be able to thank Professor Brosens enough and are hopeful that the results of this groundbreaking study will help many other families.'
