New hope for women having miscarriages

The role of dydrogesterone (Duphaston) in reducing habitual abortions or recurrent miscarriages by making the immune system more receptive to pregnancy was recently discussed at a satellite symposium organized by Solvay Pharmaceuticals at the 9th World Congress of Gynecological Endocrinology in Hong Kong.

The new data suggest that immunomodulation – controlling the immune system response to pregnancy with the oral drug dydrogesterone – may be the key to successful pregnancies and full-term deliveries. Dydrogesterone is known locally as Duphaston and is distributed by Solvay Pharma Inc. Phils. (tel. no. 894-0688 or e-mail [email protected]).

Habitual abortions or recurrent miscarriages – the loss of three or more consecutive pregnancies – affect about one percent of all women, according to Prof. Andrea Genazzani of the University of Pisa, Italy, who chaired the international congress. However, the risk of having another pregnancy loss after three consecutive miscarriages is as high as 55 percent.

Genazzani revealed that majority (50 to 60 percent) of these cases are due to structural chromosomal anomalies of the fetus, infections, and maternal endocrinological and anatomical disorders. The remaining unexplained cases are believed to be caused by an abnormal immune response of the mother to the fetus which is, in turn, caused by low progesterone levels in the body.

During normal pregnancy, large amounts of progesterone (the natural female sex hormone secreted by the ovaries) are produced by the corpus luteum (a small yellow area in the ovary found at the site where an egg has been released) and later by the placenta. This helps produce a special protein called progesterone induced blocking factor (PIBF) which has pregnancy-maintaining effects.

Prof. Julia Szekeres-Bartho of the University Medical School of Pecs, Hungary, said progesterone receptor-positive cells normally increase as pregnancy progresses. The number of these cells is significantly lower in women who are at risk for abortion or a miscarriage. Replenishing the body’s supply of progesterone with dydrogesterone (Duphaston) – which acts like the natural hormone progesterone – boosts PIBF formation and promotes pregnancy.

Dydrogesterone (Duphaston) was first synthesized in the 1950s and is currently approved in over 90 countries. Clinical trials show it reduces the risk of recurrent abortion by 27 percent. Because it acts as an immunomodulator, dydrogesterone (Duphaston) suppresses embryo rejection, thus improving the outcome of pregnancy.

However, unlike other synthetic drugs, dydrogesterone (Duphaston) is well-tolerated and has no significant side-effects in the mother and the fetus even with high doses and prolonged treatment.