October 14, 2008
Women at risk for miscarriages or problem pregnancies may find help
from statins, drugs most commonly used to lower cholesterol.
Researchers at the Hospital for Special Surgery found that statins are helpful to women who are suffering from pregnancy complications caused by antiphospholipid syndrome, a condition known as APS. Their study is published in the online version of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
In low risk pregnancies, APS is associated with a nine-fold increase in miscarriage. In high-risk pregnancies - women who have had at least three prior losses - APS is associated with a 90 percent risk of miscarriage.
"Statins may work as a treatment for women with APS-induced pregnancy complications," said Guillermina Girardi, Ph.D., associate scientist at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, who is lead author of the study. "They are drugs that have been shown to be very safe. 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 like anticoagulants, the current treatment for patients with APS. Women are normally advised to discontinue most medications, including statins, during pregnancy, but Girardi says that no fetal defects have been reported in women who have continued to use statins while pregnant.
The researchers say that careful studies should be conducted to confirm the safety of statins in pregnancy in humans.
"Women that are antiphospholipid antibody positive and have a history of previous miscarriages are a good group to perform a clinical trial," Girardi said.
