Study
Finds Promising New Treatment for Prematurity
by
The Editors
On February 6,
2003, at the annual meeting of the Society for
Maternal-Fetal Medicine, researchers reported
on a clinical trial of a new treatment for prematurity,
using a derivative of the hormone progesterone.
The study consisted of about 450 women who had
previously had a premature baby. The women who
received weekly injections of the compound had
a 30 percent reduced incidence of preterm delivery
compared to the women who were not treated.
"This
is a very impressive result, and this treatment
may prove to be a powerful new tool to help
prevent preterm birth in women at high risk
because of their previous history," said
Nancy S. Green, M.D., medical director of the
March of Dimes. "We look forward to a larger
clinical trial to confirm the findings."
The
abstract for this study, "17 Alpha Hydroxyprogesterone
Caproate Prevents Recurrent Preterm Birth,"
by Paul J. Meis for the National Institute of
Child Health and Human Development's Maternal
Fetal Medicine Network, Bethesda, Maryland,
was published in the December 2002 issue of
the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
One in six African-American babies are born
premature-- prior to 37 weeks gestation.
Their tiny size and low birthweight put them
at risk of lifelong health problems.
In
January 2003, the March of Dimes launched a
five-year, $75 million Prematurity Campaign.
The goals of this campaign are to increase public
awareness of the problem of prematurity and
to decrease the rate of preterm birth by at
least 15 percent by 2007.
On February 6,
2003, at the annual meeting of the Society for
Maternal-Fetal Medicine, researchers reported
on a clinical trial of a new treatment for prematurity,
using a derivative of the hormone progesterone.
The study consisted of about 450 women who had
previously had a premature baby. The women who
received weekly injections of the compound had
a 30 percent reduced incidence of preterm delivery
compared to the women who were not treated.