Statins May Help Avoid Some Miscarriages
Posted on: Monday, 13 October 2008, 15:00 CDT
Statins -- drugs for those at risk of heart disease -- may help prevent miscarriages in women with autoimmune syndrome, a U.S. researcher says.
In autoimmune syndrome, the body produces antibodies directed at phospholipids, the main components of cell membranes. In low-risk pregnancies, autoimmune syndrome is associated with a nine-fold increase in miscarriage and in high-risk pregnancies it is associated with a 90 percent risk of miscarriage, said Guillermina Girardi of Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.
"They are drugs that have been shown to be very safe," Girardi said in a statement. "There are a lot of women who continue to take statins through pregnancy and the drugs have not been shown to produce birth defects."
Statins do not increase the risk of bleeding as do anticoagulants -- blood thinners -- the current treatment for patients with autoimmune syndrome, Girardi explained.
The researcher, who conducted a study of mice, says careful studies should be conducted to confirm the safety of statins in pregnancy in humans. "Women who are antiphospholipid antibody positive and have a history of previous miscarriages are a good group to perform a clinical trial," Girardi said.
The study is published online ahead of print in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Source: United Press International
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