Identifying in advance those women who will give birth before week 34 is one of the current challenges, as it would help reduce the number of premature births and the complications associated with them. That is why this could be good news to confirm the effectiveness of the test: a blood test could predict up to 80% of premature births.
This conclusion is reached by researchers from the universities of Utah and Brigham Young, in the United States, according to the results of an investigation published by the "American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology", which unfortunately is not yet accessible online (even at abstract).
It has tried to look for natural molecules that are present in the mothers' blood, to see if substances could be identified whose levels were quantitatively different in those that were going to present these complications.
In their research they have introduced three new peptide biomarkers that, in combination with some proteins, can warn of a high risk of preterm birth.
Blood tests in the second trimester of pregnancy
To identify the "predictor" substances, it is only necessary a drop of blood from the mother at 24 weeks of pregnancy. In their investigation, they tested their method on a total of 80 women who met the established deadlines and another 80 whose babies arrived early.
The method for predicting preterm birth has been patented by Brigham Young University and the University of Utah, and the marketing license has been acquired by the company Sera Prognostics, which expects to launch this test to the market in the first half of 2012.
We hope that the prices of this diagnosis do not rise as with other advances that could be of capital importance for maternal and neonatal health. At the moment its creators believe that if the follow-up studies also show positive results, this diagnostic test could be supported by the FDA, health professionals and insurers.
We saw a saliva test a while ago that was also able to predict premature births. Research is continuing in this regard, since knowing that the delivery will be advanced, steps can be taken to delay it one or two more weeks.
So we will be attentive to this great news about blood test that could predict premature births and that could mean an increase in the survival and health of premature newborns.
