The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 274 No 7355 p784
25 June 2005

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Prednisolone “may prevent recurrent miscarriages”

Prednisolone could help to prevent recurrent miscarriages, results presented at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference in Copenhagen this week suggest.

Endometrium samples were assessed using immunohistochemistry before and after three weeks’ treatment with oral prednisolone (20mg). Researchers showed that the steroid can reduce the proportion of uterine natural killer (uNK) cells in the preimplantation endometrium from 14 per cent of total endometrial cells to 9 per cent. Increased numbers of uNK cells are found in women with recurrent miscarriages and also predict miscarriage in subsequent pregnancy, suggesting that reducing their numbers may help to prevent recurrent miscarriages. The authors say a randomised controlled trial of prednisolone for the prevention of miscarriage is urgently needed.