Protein level may be key to identifying miscarriage risk

LONDON - A protein involved in immune response could be a possible marker to identify women at high risk of having a miscarriage, say Australian scientists.

Miscarriage occurs in about 10-15 per cent of pregnancies, usually in the first 12 weeks. There is no treatment to prevent it or to predict if it will occur.

But researchers at Monash University in Victoria think levels of a protein known as MIC 1 could hold clues about predicting and possibly preventing miscarriage.

"If a causal link between low MIC 1 and miscarriage is confirmed, then MIC 1, or its synthetic analogue, might be useful in prevention of miscarriage," said Stephen Tong, the author of the study published in The Lancet medical journal.

Dr Tong and his colleagues noticed that levels of MIC 1 were about a third lower in pregnant women who later had a miscarriage, compared to women who did not.

In most cases, low concentrations of the protein in blood samples taken during the first 6-12 weeks of the pregnancy were followed by a miscarriage several weeks later. But more research was needed to confirm MIC 1 as a marker for miscarriage.

Galit Sarig and Benjamin Brenner, of the Ramban Medical Centre in Haifa, Israel, said the research suggested the protein could be a possible predictor of early miscarriage.

"If Tong and colleagues' results can be confirmed, the way is open to develop novel therapies to prevent pregnancy loss."

- REUTERS