Low dose carbon monoxide therapy found to prevent miscarriage

New research has found that low dose carbon monoxide therapy is able to restore placental functional and prevent miscarriages in mice, without any detrimental effects.

The study, conducted by researchers at the Otto-von-Guericke University, Germany and recently published in BioMed Central's open access journal Medical Gas Research, progressed on established research on Heme oxygenase-1, which is essential for the growth of blood vessels in the placenta and in establishing blood flow in the umbilical cord.

Both miscarriage and pre-eclampsia are associated with low levels of HO-1 in the placenta, however research suggests that carbon monoxide can mimic the effects of HO-1. The researchers found that an extended course of low dose (50ppm) carbon monoxide was able to reduce fetal loss from 30 per cent to zero, with all the babies surviving.

Prof Ana Claudia Zenclussen, who led the research explained: "At the levels used to prevent fetal death we found that inhaled low dose carbon monoxide was anti-inflammatory. It reduced the amount of cell death (apoptosis), and increased levels of the anti-apoptotic molecule BAG-1, in the placenta and additionally increased the level of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which is associated with angiogenesis and blood vessel repair."

Published by Neil Clark