A hormone acting on the brain could be responsible for violent nausea and vomiting in pregnant women.
- During pregnancy, levels of the hormone GDF15, which acts on the brain, increase.
- Some pregnant women are more sensitive to it than others. This is what would trigger hyperemesis gravidarum.
- High levels of the hormone before pregnancy offered protection against this complication.
About one in 100 pregnancies is affected by hyperemesis gravidarum, according to the CHU Sainte-Justine (Canada). This complication refers to severe and persistent nausea and vomiting in pregnant women. It can lead “Weight loss and dehydration. An imbalance of electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chlorine, magnesium, calcium, etc.) also occurs. Sleep may be affected, causing fatigue, irritability and symptoms anxiety and depression.”
Nausea and vomiting: some women more sensitive to the GDF15 hormone
Recently, Marlena Fejzo, an obstetrics researcher in Southern California, decided to study the cause of this pathology, because she suffered from it. “Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15), a hormone known to act on the hindbrain and induce vomiting, is highly expressed in the placenta and its levels in maternal blood increase rapidly during pregnancy”she wrote with her team in a study, published on the site BioRxiv.
According to the results, higher levels of the GDF15 hormone in the blood of expectant mothers were associated with vomiting. These levels were even higher in patients with hyperemesis gravidarum, who are more sensitive to the hormone. “Conversely, we found that lower levels of GDF15 in the absence of pregnancy predispose women to hypertension.”
GDF15: high levels before pregnancy protected against nausea
By continuing their research on 18,000 Scottish women, the scientists realized that patients with a high level of GDF15 hormone before pregnancy suffered less from violent nausea. “Our results confirm the causal role of the hormone GDF15 in nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, with maternal sensitivity, determined at least in part by exposure to GDF15 before pregnancy, having a major influence on the severity of these symptoms. They also suggest mechanism-based approaches for the treatment and prevention of hyperemesis gravidarum.”the scientists concluded.
