Potential biomarkers for early diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy identified
February 17th, 2011 - 5:48 pm ICT by ANIWashington, Feb 17 (ANI): Researchers have identified potential biomarkers for early diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy.
Ectopic pregnancy (EP) occurs when an embryo does not attach normally inside the mother’s uterus, but instead attaches and begins growing elsewhere. Most occur inside one of the Fallopian tubes, which link the ovaries to the uterus.
Left undiagnosed, EP can burst the Fallopian tube and result in bleeding that is the second most common cause of maternal death early in the first trimester of pregnancy.
EP is difficult for doctors to diagnose, and scientists long have searched for substances present in the blood of women with EP that could be the basis for a test.
David Speicher and colleagues have now discovered such proteins in the blood from women with ectopic pregnancies and compared it to blood of women with normal pregnancies.
They identified almost 70 proteins occurring in unusual levels in the blood in EPs. One of those proteins is called Adam12 and it might be a particularly good early warning sign for EP, since it appears at levels that are 20 times lower than in normal pregnancies.
“The next step is clearly to test the candidate biomarkers on a larger, independent patient group, both individually and in multi-biomarker panels,” said the researchers.
The study is published in ACS’s Journal of Proteome Research. (ANI)
- Promising novel diagnostic biomarker for ectopic pregnancies identified - Nov 05, 2010
- Women who smoke 'four times more likely to have ectopic pregnancy' - Sep 28, 2010
- Now, a blood test to spot ectopic pregnancy - Oct 29, 2010
- How chlamydia can increase the risk of an ectopic pregnancy - Jan 12, 2011
- Simple blood test can now predict premature birth risk - Apr 19, 2011
- Four novel biomarkers that may help diagnose asthma, COPD identified - Mar 12, 2011
- Bacteria linked to preterm births, developmental problems in newborns - Jan 28, 2011
- Powerful biomarker panel for early detection of breast cancer discovered - Dec 17, 2010
- New device may boost IVF success - Jan 19, 2010
- Biomarker can nip hardening of arteries in the bud - Jan 22, 2012
- Immune cells vital for maintaining early pregnancy - Oct 20, 2009
- Caffeine consumption can drive female infertility - Jul 21, 2011
- New protein analysis technique may help in early diagnosis of lung cancer - Dec 03, 2010
- New biomarkers for predicting colon cancer spread identified - Jan 14, 2010
- Don't delay the next try after a miscarriage, women warned - Aug 06, 2010
Tags: acs, biomarkers, diagnosis, early warning, embryo, ep, eps, fallopian tube, fallopian tubes, first trimester of pregnancy, journal of proteome research, maternal death, ovaries, patient group, pregnancies, proteins, second most common cause, trimester of pregnancy, uterus, warning sign