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Researchers at King’s College and St George’s University London have identified a new way of suppressing uterine muscle contractions which could lead to novel treatments to help stop premature birth.
The research funded by children’s health charity Action Medical Research, baby charity Tommy’s and King’s College London School of Medicine was part of a larger study published in the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine this monthi.
Premature birth accounts for around 7 per cent of births in the UK, and is the single biggest killer of babies under one year old ii,iii,iv. Despite improved neonatal care and survival rates for babies born early, there has been no corresponding progress in reducing the incidence of premature birth.
Around two-thirds of premature births are spontaneousv , typically with the mother going into labour, or the membranes rupturing, before term. Drugs called tocolytics can slow labour, but those currently used only delay birth by 48 hours or so which has relatively little effect on a baby’s degree of maturation at birth. To date, no preventative treatments have demonstrated significantly improved outcomes for babies born earlyvi
Lead researcher Dr Rachel Tribe from the Maternal and Fetal Research Unit at King’s College said: “It is extremely difficult to predict which women are at risk of preterm labour and there is relatively little that can be done to stop the labour once it has started.”
“In this study we used uterine muscle samples donated by women undergoing caesarean section. We established that specific potassium channels (Kv7 channels) in cells play a role in controlling the activity of the muscles of the uterus. We have shown for the first time that by using a class of drugs already developed for pain and epilepsy to increase the activityof these channels, we can successfully suppress contractions. This is a significant step forward in the search for future treatments for preterm labour.”
Tracy Swinfield, Director of Research at Action Medical Research said: “Developing more effective tocolytic therapies would have major benefits for babies at risk of early birth and could help more babies be born at term.”
Babies born early often face difficulties with breathing, feeding and fighting infection, and spend months in special care. Many of those born very early go on to develop life-long conditions such as cerebral palsy, blindness, hearing loss and learning difficulties.
Jacqui Clinton, Health Campaigns Director for Tommy’s said: “The UK has the highest rate of premature birth in Western Europe. It can be a stressful experience for all involved and, in some cases, very premature babies such as we are always looking at ways in which we can stop pre-term birth from happening in the first place, and are proud to be involved with research such as this which could help prevent babies being born too early.”
- Visit www.action.org.uk
- For more information visit www.tommys.org
i J. Cell. Mol. Med. Vol 15, No 3, 2011 pp. 577-586
ii Office for National Statistics. Health Statistics
Quarterly 28 (Winter 2005), 32 (Winter 2006), 36 (Winter 2007)iii General Register Office for Scotland, Vital Events
Reference Tables 2006iv Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.
Registrar General Annual Report 2006 .v Iams JD. et al. Preterm Birth 2. Primary, secondary
and tertiary interventions to reduce morbidity and mortality of preterm
birth. Lancet 2008; 371:164-75vi Gyetvai K, Hannah ME, Hodnett ED, Ohlsson A. Tocolytics
for preterm labour: a systematic review. Obstet Gynecol. 1999 Nov; 94(5
Pt 2):869-77
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