Amniotic Fluid Infection Triggers Premature Birth

[Guest guest]

Amniotic Fluid Infection Triggers Premature Birth

MedHeadlines - Chicago,IL*

http://medheadlines.com/2008/08/27/amniotic-fluid-infection-triggers-

premature-birth/

Describing their findings as a " little shocking, " researchers at the

Stanford University School of Medicine say amniotic fluid infections

occur at a much higher rate than previously imagined and these same

infections seem to be a trigger that causes premature births. Until

now, the amniotic fluid surrounding the fetus during gestation has

been thought to be generally sterile and safe, free from any risks

associated with the health of either mother or child.

The Stanford research team used both standardized culturing

techniques and a more precise technique known as PCR, or polymerase

chain reaction, to identify microbial infection in amniotic fluid

samples of 166 women experiencing premature labor from October 1998

to December 2002. All women in the study were being treated at the

Detroit Medical Center, where 113 of them delivered children

prematurely.

Culturing involves placing tissue samples, in this case the anmiotic

fluid, in specially prepared laboratory dishes and waiting to see

which species of bacteria and fungi colonize. This process is rather

slow and only a small number of known microbes can be successfully

grown in a laboratory setting.

PCR uses high-tech tools to track portions of DNA code within an

individual cell. The targeted component, ribosomal RNA, is a part of

the cellular structure of all cells of all living organisms. Minute

variations of ribosomal RNA can then be used to identify the

individual microbe species in question.

According to the research team, led by Relman, MD, almost 12%

of all births in the United States are premature and the rate of

premature births to full-term births is on the rise. The Stanford

study revealed a link between microbial infection of the amniotic

fluid and premature births. The health of the newborn was also found

to be affected by microbial infection, with children suffering most

where infection was most severe.

The PCR analysis found bacterial or fungal infection in 15% of the

study participants' amniotic fluid although they had expected to

find only about half that rate of infection. Cultures using the same

fluid samples as those in the PCR analysis revealed infection in

only about 10% of the study participants, a situation that

highlights the need for more effective screening as early into the

pregnancy as possible.

Of the 166 samples tested via PCR, 25 of them were infected by

either a fungus or bacteria. Of the samples testing positive for

infection, 17 species of bacteria and one species of fungus were

identified. One species isolated in PCR analysis is thought to be a

newly discovered species althogether. Identifying infection using

the lab cultures alone revealed only 11 species of microbes in the

tissue samples.

Every woman in the study who tested positive for infection, using

either testing method, delivered her child prematurely. Every woman

who tested positive using both testing methods delivered her child

within 24 hours after her amniotic fluid was collected for analysis.

Of the women testing positive for infection by either one of the two

testing methods, 68% of them delivered their children within one day

of fluid collection.

The infection rate in women delivering before the 25th week of

gestation was 27%. In every case, culture samples failed to identify

infection but PCR identified the presence of microbes in these

cases. When children are born before the 25th week, their chance of

survival is only about 30%, a situation that highlights the

importance of early diagnosis of infection in amniotic fluid.

The presence of microbial infestation of the amniotic fluid is

thought to generate a woman's natural defenses against inflammation,

a defense mechanism that may eventually affect the health of the

pregnancy and of the child being carried. Most microbes enter the

amniotic sac by way of the vagina but others are carried through the

mother's bloodstream from other parts of her body. Previous studies

have shown that women suffering from gum disease or bacterial

vaginosis are at greater risk of preterm deliveries than women free

of these medical conditions.

Relman writes that, while the microbes we share our bodies with are

usually beneficial to our health, things do go awry. When this

happens, the sooner we can resolve the infection, the better the

health of the patient. In the case of infection of the amniotic

fluid, the greater degree of infection, the higher the risk of

delivering a very ill child and experiencing childbirth so premature

as to be particularly dangerous to the child.

Full details of the Relman study are expected in the August 26 issue

of PLoS ONE.

[Guest guest]

WOW, I just watched a special the other night on the high rates of

pre-mature deliveries in certain areas in LA. and MS. and knowing

what I went through with my reproductive organs because of my

exposure, was thinking exactly this as a very possable cause.

--- In , " tigerpaw2c " <tigerpaw2c@...>

wrote:

>

> Amniotic Fluid Infection Triggers Premature Birth

> MedHeadlines - Chicago,IL*

>

> http://medheadlines.com/2008/08/27/amniotic-fluid-infection-

triggers-

> premature-birth/

>

>