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• ASX health stocks higher in past five days in line with broader markets Christmas rally
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Healthcare and life sciences expert Scott Power, who has been a senior analyst with Morgans Financial for 26 years, explains what the movers and shakers have been doing in health and gives his ASX Powerplay. 

Severe pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting, known as hyperemesis gravidarum, can be extremely debilitating and in some cases,  such as the high-profile case of Catherine Princess of Wales, require hospitalisation.

But some good news – an international study involving scientists at the University of Cambridge, researchers in Scotland, the USA and Sri Lanka may have found the culprit and a possible prevention.

Scientists believe the severity of maternal sickness relies on a foetal hormone named GDF15 and the mother’s prior exposure before pregnancy.

Scientists studied data from women recruited to several studies and used several approaches including human genetics, new hormone measurement techniques in pregnant women’s blood, and investigations involving cells and mice.

Researchers discovered a direct link between a woman’s pregnancy-induced nausea and vomiting and the levels of GDF15 produced by the foetal part of the placenta, as well as her sensitivity to the hormone’s nauseating effects.

GDF15 is typically produced at low levels in non-pregnant tissues. Women with low levels of GDF15 in their blood before pregnancy are at a higher risk of severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.

Furthermore, the team identified a rare genetic variation associated with lower hormone levels in the blood and tissues outside of pregnancy that significantly increases the risk of hyperemesis gravidarum.

Conversely, women with beta thalassemia, a hereditary blood disorder leading to naturally elevated GDF15 levels before pregnancy, tend to experience minimal or no nausea and vomiting.

The finding suggests a possible way for preventing pregnancy-related sickness by exposing women to GDF15 before they become pregnant to enhance their resistance to the hormone.

Source: Stockhead