Blood test can diagnose postpartum depression in pregnant women even before delivery
[ad_1]
Pregnant women can be diagnosed with postpartum depression even before they give birth, thanks to a new discovery by scientists.
About one in seven new mothers are diagnosed with postpartum depression within a year of giving birth, compared to about one in 10 in the UK.
This condition is defined by periods of sadness, loneliness and inability to care for their newborns that last longer than two weeks. But researchers believe they have found a way to diagnose postpartum depression while a woman is still pregnant with a simple blood test.
A team at Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore collected blood samples from 42 pregnant women. They took a close look at the system cells use to communicate with each other, including molecules called messenger RNA (mRNA). During pregnancy, this communication system expands to meet the needs for implantation and growth of the embryo.
The team measured the levels of thousands of different mRNA molecules during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, as well as up to six months after birth. The analysis showed that mRNA binding levels during pregnancy and postpartum were “highly altered” in women who developed postpartum depression.
The results, published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, showed that women who did develop postpartum depression had higher levels of some mRNA molecules, while some were lower, than women who did not develop the condition.
The vast majority of these changes were found to occur during pregnancy and not after the women had given birth.
The researchers said if further research could help develop a blood test that could identify women – while still pregnant – who are at risk of developing postpartum depression.
Senior author Sarven Sabunchyan: “There are many potential negative consequences of postpartum depression, such as high maternal suicide rates or impaired cognitive, emotional, and social development of the child. If we could identify mothers who may be at greater risk before giving birth, we might be able to prevent these adverse events.”
Changes in mRNA communication have also been associated with preterm birth, gestational diabetes, and maternal toxic high blood pressure. According to the NHS website, many women feel a bit depressed, whiny or anxious in the first week after giving birth.
Christina DENISYUK.
Photo: Shutterstock / Tolikoff Photography
[ad_2]
Source link
