University of Leicester medical team announces 'predictor' for pregnant women
who may have miscarriages
Research published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical
Association identifies for the first time a naturally occurring ‘cannabis’
as a signal
A medical team from the University of Leicester has been able to establish for
the first time a predictor for pregnant women who may have miscarriages and
those who won’t. Their research is published in the highly prestigious Journal
of the American Medical Association.
The researchers measured the levels of a naturally occurring ‘cannabis’ (an
endocannabinoid) known as anandamide in women who presented with a threatened
miscarriage (bleeding in early pregnancy with a viable baby) and found that
those who at the time of the test had significantly higher levels of anandamide
subsequently miscarried.
Educated in Nigeria, Professor Justin Konje, who heads the Endocannabinoid Research Group of the
Reproductive Sciences Section in the Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular
Medicine at the University of Leicester, said: “We are extremely excited by
these findings. Essentially, we have for the first time been able to use the
levels of this naturally occurring cannabis, anandamide in 45 women presenting
with threatened miscarriage and a viable pregnancy to predict the eventual
outcome of the pregnancy. Using a threshold we defined from this study, we were
able to predict all the women who then went on to have a subsequent miscarriage
and 94% of those who went on to have a live birth.
“This is the first time that this has been reported. It has very significant
implications and if the results are replicated, we would eventually be able to
reassure women who present with bleeding in early pregnancy about the outcome of
their pregnancies.
“Obviously for those whose pregnancies are identified by this measurement as
destined to end in a miscarriage, knowing this may cause grief and upset but it
may also help them to come to terms quickly with the outcome of the pregnancies.
“This is the first stage of this study but the results are very encouraging
and we are undertaking further studies to confirm our observations. Once these
are confirmed, we plan to develop a bed-side test which could then be applied in
clinical practice.”
In the paper, the authors state that approximately 40%-50% of all human
conceptions are lost before 20 weeks of gestation. They conclude:
“In this pilot study of women with threatened miscarriage, high plasma
anandamide level was associated with subsequent miscarriage. The study is
limited by the small number of participants and requires replication in larger
and more diverse populations. Compared with tests based on peripheral blood
mononuclear cells, anandamide-level measurement has an advantage of being based
on whole blood and not requiring separation. If established as valid and
clinically practical, anandamide measurement has the potential for improving the
prediction and counselling of women presenting with threatened miscarriages.”
Professor Konje has been researching the levels of compounds produced by the
human body, which are very similar to cannabis, for a number of years.
Previously, his team reported than the levels of these endocannabinoids fall
during the early period of pregnancy and rise towards term. Measuring the
endocannabinoid level in women who were delivering preterm, Professor Konje and
his team discovered that the level of endocannabinoids was four times higher in
those who went on to deliver compared to those who did not.
Since a large number of women go into hospital with preterm labour, but only a
few actually go on to have premature babies, this may be one of the most
reliable ways of distinguishing those who are going into early labour from those
whose contractions will subside until later in the pregnancy.
The implications for this are highly significant, both in health management and
in cost-effectiveness. Professor Konje commented: “When women present with
preterm labour, we need a test to tell us which ones will deliver and which ones
will not so that we can plan their management.
“But there is also a major cost factor in the management of these women and
babies. In the UK 8% of babies are delivered prematurely but many more women
present with signs of preterm labour. A day on the intensive care unit costs
£1,000-£1,500, so knowing who actually needs this level of care would be a
major step forward.”
Currently, it can take 12 hours to get results from a blood test. His research
aims to develop a means of monitoring monoclonal antibodies which could deliver
the same result in 10-15 minutes.
More information:
 University
of Leicester http://www.le.ac.uk/cm/staff/jck4_full.html
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