Revealing women to a hormone known as GDF15 might help reduce nausea during pregnancy, according to a new study.
Seven out of ten women experience nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. And around three out of every hundred women experience severe and life-threatening nausea. However, until now, the cause was utterly unknown.
A new study published in Nature has found that nausea and sickness during pregnancy could be caused by growth/differentiation factor 15 (GDF15). A protein produced by the fetus.
Scientists say that exposing women to this hormone before pregnancy could help build resilience and reduce these bothersome symptoms.
What is GDF15?
GDF15 is produced at low levels in almost every cell or tissue in the body and appears to play a role in adaptable inflammatory pathways. GDF15 is produced in the placenta through pregnancy and increases rapidly in the early stages.
To study whether the manufacture of this hormone is linked to morning sickness, scientists and researchers from England, Scotland. The United States, and Sri Lanka used data from several studies to analyze hormone levels in pregnant women.
The researchers used a combination of approaches, counting human genetics. New methods of measuring hormones in the blood of pregnant women, and studies in cells and mice.
Hyperemesis gravidarum is associated with lower levels of GDF15. What is GDF15?
The investigators found that a rare genetic variant that increases the risk of severe. Persistent vomiting in women (known as hyperemesis gravidarum) was related to inferior levels of the hormone in the blood and tissues outside of pregnancy.
They also found indications that high levels of the hormone are related to little or no nausea and vomiting, offering hope for a new treatment for women at risk of nausea during pregnancy.
The theory was also tested in mice, and the investigators found that when exposed to high, acute levels of GDF15, they showed signs of loss of appetite. However, when the mice were treated with a long-acting form of GDF15, their appetites remained normal.
Lecturer Sir Stephen O’Rahilly, who led the study, said: “Most women who develop pregnant will experience nausea and discomfort at some point, and while it’s not pleasant, for some women it can be much worse – they will be so sick that they need treatment or even hospitalization. Now we know why.
“A growing baby in the womb produces a hormone at levels that the mother is not used to. The more sensitive you are to that hormone, the sicker you will be. Knowing this gives us an idea of how to prevent this.
“It also gives us more confidence that blocking GDF15 from accessing its particular receptor in the mother’s brain will lay the foundations for an effective and safe way to luxury this condition.”
‘A step closer’ to treating pregnancy sickness
While some therapies exist to treat morning sickness and are at least partly effective. Widespread ignorance about the condition, compounded by fear of using medications during pregnancy. Means that many women with the condition receive inadequate treatment.
Co-author Dr. Marlena Fejzo of the University of Southern California’s Section of Population and Public Health Sciences has first-hand experience with hyperemesis gravidarum.
After becoming seriously ill during her pregnancy, to the point where she “could barely move without vomiting. Dr Fejzo sought medical attention but said very little was known about her condition.
“We hope that now that we understand the cause of hyperemesis gravidarum, we are one step closer to developing effective treatments to prevent other mothers from experiencing what I and many other women have experienced. She said.
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