Study finds possible cause behind extreme morning sickness during pregnancy

Nausea and vomiting are associated with pregnancy, especially in the first trimester. Couples expecting their child are ready for such a situation but some women suffer from extreme case of morning sickness that needs medical intervention and even hospitalisation. This extreme condition is called hyperemesis gravidarum. Scientists have now reportedly connected the condition to a hormone called GDF15.

This hormone is released by growing foetuses in the uterus of the mother. The finding may help thousands of women suffering from the conditionacross the world.

“For the first time, hyperemesis gravidarum could be addressed at the root cause, rather than merely alleviating its symptoms,” said Tito Borner,a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, according to the journal Nature. The study was published in the same journal earlier this week.

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The findings may pave the way to find effective treatment for hyperemesis gravidarum.

“We now have a clear view of what may cause this problem and a route for both treatment and prevention,” study co-author Stephen O’Rahilly wasquoted as saying by Nature. O'Rahilly is a researcher of metabolism at UK's Cambridge University.

The study suggests that women who already had high levels of the hormone before they got pregnant did not exhibit adverse reactions during the pregnancy. The study also suggests that although GDF15 may be the cause of extreme sickness, other factors may also be in the play.

Nature mentioned in its report that about 70 per cent of pregnant women experience what is colloquially called morning sickness while around 0.3 to 2 per cent of the women suffer from hyperemesis gravidarum. Their condition may be so severe that they may even have difficulty consuming food and water and the condition may come in the way of them effectively performing everyday activities.

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There have beencases in which dehydration due to hyperemesis gravidarum have resultedin deaths.

The bottom line is, the condition can be deadly at worst and extremely debilitating at best.

What have the researchers found?

The researcher in the recent study found that 60 per cent of the women who experienced nausea and vomiting had considerably high GDF15 levels in the blood. They also found that fetal cells produced most of the quantity of the hormone.

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The researchers delved deep into data obtained from more than 18,000 people. They found that women who already had high levels of GDF15 were at a lower risk of suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum in case they became pregnant. This points towards a possibility that bodies of these women may already be tolerant towards the hormone.

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The observation needed to be confirmed and hence researchers injected non-pregnant mice from a group with a long-lasting type of GDF15 or a placebo. After three days, researchers gave a dose of GDF15 to all mice.

They found that mice that received theplacebo lost weight as they ate less. But mice who were given GDF15 previously were eating normally and lost less weight.

So how to treat hyperemesis gravidarum?

The research has suggested that women with low levels of GDF15 may be given doses of the hormone when they are trying to conceive. This, say researchers, will help de-sensitise the women towards the hormone and reduce chances of hyperemesis gravidarum.

(With inputs from agencies)