Maria Shriver discusses the “absolute torture” she experienced with severe morning sickness as scientists continue ground-breaking research to help pregnant women dealing with hyperemesis gravidarum.
During a recent segment on today’s show, journalist and mother of four children, 68, described the rare disease in detail.
“Hyperemesis gravidarum is a condition that makes pregnant women violently ill for months, so much so that they often can’t eat, can’t walk, can’t function at all,” she explained.
“Costs of treatment exceed $3 billion annually. I suffered from it myself during pregnancy and let me tell you, it is absolute torture, often resulting in hospitalization,” she said.
As Shriver explained that there is currently no test to diagnose the disease, she spoke with Dr. Marlena Fejzo, a geneticist at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine and one of the world’s leading researchers on the condition. She told Shriver that she recently discovered a genetic link to the disease.
Scientists have finally discovered the cause of severe morning sickness
Fejzo said that her research was motivated by her own experience. She suffered from the condition two decades ago and lost her child as a result. According to the source, one out of three pregnancies with hyperemesis gravidarum does not reach full term.
“I had to know what caused this condition and prevent people from going through what I did,” Fejzo said.
“We found that there is a 17 times greater risk of having it if your sister had it,” she explained, noting that her goal is to develop a genetic test for hyperemesis as well as a treatment to block the symptoms.
Hyperemesis gravidarum is when extreme, persistent nausea and vomiting occur during pregnancy. It is a severe form of morning sickness that can result in weight loss, dehydration, headaches, fainting and fatigue. Symptoms can be debilitating and lead to hospitalization or cause harm to the fetus.
The condition affects less than 3% of pregnant women, according to the Cleveland Clinic, which adds that it causes the pregnancy to be classified as “high-risk.”
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Last month, Fejzo co-authored a study that pointed to a particular hormone as the culprit in the most severe cases of hyperemesis.
The study, published in the journal Nature, discovered the hormone GDF15, which the University of Cambridge explains is produced by the placenta, but also by other tissues when a woman is not pregnant. The hormone has previously been linked to causing nausea and vomiting (vomiting), according to a study by the National Institutes of Health.
“We confirmed that higher levels of GDF15 in maternal blood are associated with vomiting in pregnancy and HG,” the study said, adding that patients suffering from it may one day be able to take drugs that block the effects of the hormone.
Kate Middleton is known to have struggled with hyperemesis gravidarum during all three pregnancies, causing her to cancel planned appearances and at one point be hospitalized. Comedian Amy Schumer was also hospitalized for the condition during the second trimester, when morning sickness traditionally subsides.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education