Scientists: Genes may affect premature births
Scientists: Genes may affect premature births
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By Matt Hallam. |  |
Thursday, 04, Feb 2010 05:01
By Alex Steger.
The genes of mothers-to-be and their foetuses may play a significant role in some premature births according to new research.
The research by physicians and scientists presented at the Pregnancy Meeting in Chicago on February 4th shows that the genes of a mother and foetus can make them more prone to inflammatory responses to infections which increase the chances of premature births.
The genes studied were those involved in the control of labour, specifically those involved in fighting infection in the pregnant woman and foetus. One in three premature births occurs in a mother who has an infection in her uterus.
About 13 million babies are born prematurely each year. In the US premature birth is the biggest cause of infant death and those babies who do survive often face life long health complications.
Foetuses that carried a gene variation which influenced inflammation had twice the risk of premature birth. DNA variants in maternal genes also increased the risk of premature birth.
These factors taken together suggest that the DNA of both the mother and foetus and how they interact can determine the likelihood of premature birth.
Alan Fleischman, medical director of the March of Dime, said: "This research gives us even more evidence as to the relationship between genetics and premature birth and is a step toward personalized medicine.
"This has the potential to allow us to identify a woman who is at risk for delivering early and provide her with specialized, individualized care so that she may carry her baby to term, and help give more babies a healthy start in life."