2024-01-08 23:00:00
news Scientists have understood why pregnant women suffer from nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. A hormone produced by the fetus is believed to be involved. This discovery offers hope for women suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, a condition that causes severe nausea and vomiting that can lead to hospitalization.
See also the article: Pregnancy: what solutions against nausea and vomiting?
During pregnancy, 20 to 25% of women do not suffer from any nausea while 75 to 80% of them have to endure more or less intense retching and vomiting. In 1 to 3% of cases, the symptoms are so severe that they can lead to significant weight loss and dehydration of the mother-to-be. This pathology is called hyperemesis gravidarum or hyperemesis gravidarum. Why are some women more affected than others?
Until recently, the mechanisms involved in the disease were not clearly identified. Now, a new study led by Dr. Marlena Fejzo, a researcher at the Center for Genetic Epidemiology at the University of Southern California, and scientists at the University of Cambridge offers hope for a brighter future for expectant mothers .
See also the article: Girl or boy? The method to see the sex of the baby on ultrasound (with examples)
Why do some pregnant women experience nausea?
Whether or not a pregnant woman suffers from nausea may be linked to her sensitivity to a hormone produced by the fetus: the GDF15 protein. The women who are most sensitive to it are the sickest.
“We now know that women become ill during pregnancy when they are exposed to higher levels of the hormone GDF15 than usual,” said Marlena Fejzo. Researchers found that the severity of symptoms was directly related to the amount of hormone a woman was exposed to before pregnancy as well as the amount of hormone produced by the fetus.
See also the article: Pregnancy nausea: more chances of having a girl?
Why do some pregnant women suffer from hyperemesis gravidarum?
The study was able to highlight a rare mutation in the gene which codes for GDF15 in women with hyperemesis gravidarum. This mutation would cause abnormally low levels of the hormone throughout the body before pregnancy. Once pregnant and exposed to the GDF15 protein, affected women would then be at greater risk of hyperemesis gravidarum.
But if their fetus also inherits the low GDF15 mutation, research suggests the mother may be less likely to develop hyperemesis gravidarum.
“For the first time, this interaction between mother and fetus helps explain why some women experience hypertension during some, but not all, of their pregnancies,” said Marlena Fejzo, although more research is needed to confirm these results.
See also the article: Tocophobia: fear of pregnancy and childbirth
What treatment options for women with hyperemesis gravidarum?
Marlena Fejzo and her team will now try to determine whether exposing women to GDF15 before pregnancy prepares them for high levels of the hormone in question once they become pregnant and therefore reduces the appearance of symptoms of the hyperemesis gravidarum. Metformin, a drug prescribed to increase GDF15 levels, could be used in patients with a history of the disease.
Another hope lies in a treatment that would prevent the GDF15 protein from binding to receptors in the brains of hyperemesis gravidarum patients. Several of these drugs are already in clinical trials for cachexia (a complex metabolic condition that causes extreme weight loss) and for cancer patients suffering from nausea and vomiting.
See also the article: The ills of pregnancy
Sources :
https://www.nature.com
https://www.eurekalert.org
Last updated: January 2024
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