Women who may develop potentially life-threatening complications during pregnancy can be identified by checking the level of hormones in the placenta. This was shown by a new study, the results of which appeared in the pages of the journal Nature Communications Biology.
Scientists have found a way to check the level of specific proteins and hormones in the placenta to predict which women will have serious complications during pregnancy, for example, gestational diabetes.. “We know that the placenta reflects many changes in a woman’s body during pregnancy, and our study showed that hormonal biomarkers of the placenta can indicate which women will have complications during pregnancy. We found that these biomarkers are already present in the first trimester of pregnancy, although complications are more often diagnosed only in the second or third trimester, when disorders can already have serious consequences for the health of the mother and her developing child,” said Dr. Amanda N. Sferruzzi — Perry, lead author of the study.
Specific proteins
The researchers studied specific proteins produced by the placenta of mice and compared them with blood samples of women who had a pregnancy without complications, and those who developed gestational diabetes mellitus. Experts found that about a third of the detected proteins changed in regnancy, which proceeded with complications.
After conducting a small experiment to test whether placental proteins and hormones would have any clinical significance, the experts found that abnormal hormone levels were present in the mother’s blood at 12 weeks of gestation in those women who developed gestational diabetes mellitus. According to scientists, this complication of pregnancy is usually diagnosed at 24-28 weeks. It turns out that since blood samples show the presence of these biomarkers in the early stages of pregnancy, this can lead to an earlier diagnosis of complications, which allows you to start treatment faster.
Scientists hope that the new test will detect gestational diabetes mellitus at an earlier stage of pregnancy, which will make it possible to prevent the disease or protect a woman and child from the most dangerous complications.