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BIOMARKERS DE-ESCALATES PROPORTION OF PRETERM LABOR CONDITIONS

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19 Jun 2021

Pregnancy which is also known as the Gestation, is the period when the women has to be utmost cautious and careful as the foetus develops inside her womb. In general, childbirth takes around 38-40 weeks from the last menstrual period (LMP) but few women experience regular contractions which ultimately result in the opening of cervix on or before 37 week of pregnancy which is termed as Preterm Labor. This condition is highly dangerous and critical for both the mother and the baby.


Preterm labour which is also called as Premature labor lead to a emergency condition as the body starts getting ready for birth which impose a greater health risks on the baby and might finally lead to several heath complications for their whole life period. In order to find out whether the patient has a chance of getting a Preterm labor, the patient has to get a transvaginal ultrasound in which it uses sound waves and a computer to make a picture of the baby.


One doesn’t always know what and when exactly cause the preterm labor, it starts on it’s own with less or without symptoms which is really an alarming condition for the pregnant women. This is the reason why the clinicians have to predict when a baby will be born but the ultrasound and the date of the women’s last menstrual period, alone can’t exactly predict the preterm labor period. It is very essential to predict it as the preterm labor is the number one cause of child mortality under the age of five in the world.


Pregnancy occur along with the significant hormonal changes in her body right from the fertilisation of the ovary until the childbirth period. All these physiological changes alter the complete blood profile of the patient and fluctuates the biomaker levels. So, in response to this issue, the research scientists have integrated the information from 45 protein, metabolite and immune data in order to identify a window 2-4 weeks before a pregnant woman will go into labor.


From the research studies done by these scientists, it has been proved that 2-4 weeks before the delivery, there are many transitions happening in the prelabor phase where a lot of protein and metabolites and also the immune response are changing. Currently, a blood test called Quad Screen measures levels of 4 different protein biomarkers made by the foetus such as Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), hormones by the Placenta such as Estriol, Inhibin A,  including the Human chorionic gonadotrophin are detected.


The quad screen evaluates the chance of carrying a baby who has any of the birth defect conditions like Down syndrome (trisomy 21),Trisomy 18, Spina bifida, Abdominal wall defects.


The increase in the levels of 17- hydroxyprogesterone and the Interleukin-C receptors type 4 was common in last 30 days of Pregnancy as it regulate inflammation that arise during uterine contractions and exist at interface between foetus and mother during late pregnancy.


As the dynamics are conserved between pregnancy, it is possible to track the preterm labor period. So, the biomarkers discovery gives a richer data set for much more understanding of biological processes and also to identify the pregnancy complications and ultimately decline the mortality rate of the neonates. Hence, the Biomarkers de-escalates the proportion of the preterm labor conditions.

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Sumathya Pulugurtha

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