Bacteria Thins Placental Membranes, Triggers Premature Birth
Pregnancy News
Obie Editorial Team
The same bacteria were found in all tissue samples under study but the highest concentration of it was in the samples where the membrane was the thinnest at the point of rupture. This bacterial colonization was especially dense in the PPROM samples.
Murtha describes the research as “several steps away” from knowing if the bacteria is the cause of the thinning of the fetal membrane or an effect of thinning for other reasons. Once this relationship is better understood, Murtha says, “We then might be able to treat affected women with antibiotics and reduce their risk for PPROM.”
She further states that finding the answer to the cause-or-effect question may provide “opportunities to explore potential targeted therapeutic interventions” which currently are lacking in the field of obstetrics.
Dr. Patrick O’Brien, a spokesperson for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London, says in the online edition of the BBC Health News that bacterial infection is known to cause some cases of PPROM but “what we really need to know now is to understand the detailed mechanism of how bacteria cause the waters to break.”
Full details of the Duke study can be found online at the PLoS ONE website. PLoS is the Public Library of Science.
Source: Murtha, Amy P., et al. “Bacteria Localization and Chorion Thinning among Preterm Premature Rupture of Membranes.” PLoS ONE. Jan 8, 2014. Web. Jan 16, 2014.