Why are We Waiting to Start Large Scale Clinical Testing of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin for the Treatment of Preterm Births?

Abstract

Preterm births are an expensive global health problem. Despite the basic science and clinical research advances to better understand and prevent preterm births, the rates are increasing. There are several therapeutic options. While some options such as progestins work for selected women, others such as magnesium sulfate can only be used for delaying births for 24 to 48 hours so that the patients can be treated with corticosteroids to promote fetal lung maturity. Based on the scientific and clinical evidence, we recommend testing human chorionic gonadotropin in a large multicenter, randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled clinical trials in women with active preterm labor and those with a previous history of preterm births. Human chorionic gonadotropin is not only inexpensive but also has not shown any side effects so far in the infants or in the mothers.

Inclusion of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin in the Family of Therapeutic Glycoproteins

“…18,19 It is highly glycosylated (40%) and produced in response to hypoxia. It controls the production of red blood cells (RBC) through its cytokine like actions on their precursors in the bone marrow.…”

“…It controls the production of red blood cells (RBC) through its cytokine like actions on their precursors in the bone marrow. 18,19 It is used for the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease, chemotherapy and radiation treatment for cancers, myelodysplasia, inflammatory bowel disease and ulcerative colitis. 18,19 IFN are a group of proteins that are made by virus (or other pathogens) infected cells in the body.…”

“…18,19 It is used for the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease, chemotherapy and radiation treatment for cancers, myelodysplasia, inflammatory bowel disease and ulcerative colitis. 18,19 IFN are a group of proteins that are made by virus (or other pathogens) infected cells in the body. 20,21 They belong to cytokine class family, which are communication molecules to trigger the protective defenses of the immune system.…”

Revisiting the expression and function of follicle-stimulation hormone receptor in human umbilical vein endothelial cells

“…Extragonadal LHCGR and FSHR expression and their functionality have been of great interest in the recent years with lots of expectations of novel functions associated with them9101123242526272829. Especially the FSHR expression in vascular epithelium in a wide range of human tumors1114 and their metastases13 pointed out the potential use of FSHR expression as a tumor marker or as a new target for cancer therapy.…”

Editorial

“…6,7 Although the incidence of both conditions does not appear to be declining, advances in therapeutic strategies for preventing or delaying preterm birth may be effective in the future in reducing the incidence. 8,9 Corticosteroids are known to play a major role in critical maturational processes in the developing lung, including thinning of the lung interstitium and increased surfactant synthesis. 10 If the lungs are structurally immature or surfactant deficient at birth, infants will often experience respiratory insufficiency (respiratory distress syndrome [RDS]).…”