Nanotechnology may provide a better, safer approach to identifying as well as treating ectopic pregnancies, which killed roughly 70 pregnant women in the United States each year. Leslie Myatt, Ph.D., of Oregon Health & Science University, along with Olena Taratula, Ph.D., of Oregon State University, conducted research that demonstrated that a strategy incorporating nanoparticles, photoacoustic imaging, and infrared light worked in mice. Their findings were released in the journal Small this month.
Too many individuals get extremely ill or die as a result of the best-known approaches for detecting and treating ectopic pregnancies, according to Myatt, an obstetrics and gynecology professor and the head of perinatal research at the OHSU School of Medicine. They are hopeful that studies like this will lead to improved solutions for women who have an ectopic pregnancy.
Ectopic pregnancies account for 1 to 2% of all pregnancies, in which an embryo is placed inside a fallopian tube or wherever else outside the uterus and cannot grow properly. If not treated promptly, an improperly implanted embryo invades adjacent blood arteries and therefore can cause internal bleeding. Severe pelvic discomfort and, in rare cases, bleeding are symptoms of this significant pregnancy problem. Ectopic pregnancies must always be managed to avoid serious disease, decreased fertility, and perhaps even mortality of the pregnant woman, as per ACOG.
Dangers of Ectopic Pregnancy
Currently, this dangerous pregnancy problem is discovered with a pelvic ultrasound check. However, due to imaging limitations, this approach may overlook approximately 40% of ectopic pregnancies. Improved diagnostic tools are required to lessen the uncertainties that many people experience during the prenatal period when the issue is a worry.
Normally ectopic pregnancies are now treated with methotrexate, a medicine that prevents quickly dividing cells from proliferating - but it is also linked with major adverse effects. Furthermore, the medicine fails to terminate roughly 10% of all ectopic pregnancies, necessitating re-treatment or surgery. More severe instances may necessitate rapid surgery and result in considerable blood loss.
Myatt was fascinated a few years ago when he learned an OHSU colleague was cooperating with OSU to create a potential nanotechnology-based therapy for endometriosis, a painful ailment that develops deadly lesions in the ovaries and fallopian tubes. Using mice, researchers discovered that technology may successfully eliminate lesions without requiring surgery.
Process the Nanoparticle in Identifying Ectopic Pregnancies
Myatt approached Taratula, an OSU College of Pharmacy nanotechnology expert, with an idea: employ nanoparticles to identify and cure ectopic pregnancies. They collaborated with other OHSU and OSU researchers to create a fluorescent nanoparticle material that creates heat whenever exposed to infrared light. They used nanoparticles in conjunction with the use of photoacoustic imaging equipment, which measures sound waves produced when pulsed lasers strike tissue, as stated by Phys' report.
To see if their novel idea may enhance ectopic pregnancy treatment and diagnosis they injected pregnant mice with a non-toxic fluid combining nanoparticles as well as a light-responsive chemical. The solution moved through the bloodstream until it reached the exterior of the placenta. The researchers then positioned their imaging gadget outside the mouse's body and focused it on the mouse's uterus. The photographs obtained clearly revealed that nanoparticles illuminated the surface of the placenta. This showed that the technique may be used to determine if a placenta is functioning normally - or not, in the event of a deadly ectopic pregnancy.
As stated in the press release, the nanoparticles were created to heat up when exposed to concentrated near-infrared light. When they tested their method in lab animals, they discovered that placental tissue turned non-viable when the nanoparticles covering the tissue's surface became heated. As a consequence, the researchers believe their technique might provide a non-invasive and successful method of treating ectopic pregnancies.
The researchers did not witness nanoparticles going through placental tissue, which is significant. This implies that the non-toxic solution might remain in situ without causing harm if their innovative imaging method shows that the placenta is developing normally and the pregnancy isn't really ectopic. The team is still studying their technique in mice and aims to expand their research to nonhuman primates, who are much more similar to human beings.
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