New drug ‘may help to prevent premature births’

A new drug has demonstrated promise in preventing premature births by addressing some of the inflammatory mechanisms that can cause preterm delivery.

The drug, known as plus-naloxone, has been shown to be effective in switching off pro-inflammatory pathways, so a team from the University of Adelaide's Robinson Research Institute tested its effects on a group of pregnant lab mice.

It was shown that the treatment was able to offer complete protection against cases of preterm birth triggered by bacteria, while also protecting against stillbirth and infant death shortly after birth.

Use of this drug also led to a correction in birth weight among infants that would otherwise be born severely underweight, with these offspring developing normally in a way that was mostly indistinguishable from those born to the control group.

Other drugs are currently used to help prevent preterm birth, but are generally used at much later stages. Further research will be needed to see if plus-naloxone can offer similar benefits for humans.

Professor Sarah Robertson, the study's lead author and director of the Robinson Research Institute, said: "Our studies give us some encouragement that it may be possible to prevent many preterm births, by using drugs that target the body's inflammatory mechanisms, probably in combination with antibiotics as well."

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