[ad_1]
The results of a new study support a growing body of evidence suggesting that pregnant women who contract the novel coronavirus pass protective antibodies to their newborns.
A study by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found that antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the scientific name for the virus responsible for COVID-19, can cross the placenta – even when the mother had only asymptomatic symptoms. exposure to the virus. Moreover, according to the researchers, the concentration of antibodies found in the blood of newborns was similar to the concentration found in the blood of their mothers.
Interestingly, the researchers also found that women infected with the new virus earlier in their pregnancy transmitted even more antibodies to their fetuses compared to those who were infected later. (iStock)
(iStock)
Interestingly, the researchers also found that women who had been infected with the new virus earlier in their pregnancy transmitted even more antibodies to their fetuses than those who were infected later.
The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, could help clarify when pregnant women should receive the COVID-19 vaccine, the researchers said.
PREGNANT WOMEN WITH CORONAVIRUS AT HIGHER RISK OF SEVERE ILLNESS, DEATH, DISCOVER CDC
“In general, our results are consistent with what we know about the transplacental transfer of antibodies to other viruses, and should contribute to the discussion on whether and when to vaccinate pregnant women against SARS- CoV-2, “said the co-lead author. Scott Hensley, Ph.D., in a statement. Hensley is also Associate Professor of Microbiology at Penn Medicine and a Fellow of the Penn Institute for Immunology.
To achieve these results, researchers are looking for evidence of antibodies in blood samples taken from more than 1,400 women and their newborns. They found that 83 women had “significant levels” of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, 87% of the newborns of these women also having significant levels of these antibodies in blood samples taken from the umbilical cord. at birth.
“The study found no evidence that the antibodies were due to a fetal infection, indicating that it is likely that the antibodies crossed the placenta from the mother’s blood to the fetal circulation,” a statement read. press release regarding the results.
Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies – the most common class of antibodies in the blood – appeared to transfer “easily” across the placenta, the levels of these specific antibodies in newborns being comparable to those found in their mothers.
“However, a larger class of antibodies, known as IgM antibodies, which tend to be produced earlier in an infection and are not known to cross the placenta, were not detected in any samples from cord blood, ”the researchers noted. “Since infants have some ability to produce their own IgM antibodies, the absence of these antibodies also suggested that the SARS-CoV-2 virus itself had not crossed the placenta and infected them.”
“This transfer appears to be quite efficient. In some cases, the newborn baby’s blood level of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was even higher than that of the mother,” said Karen Puopolo, MD, Ph.D. ., co-lead author of the study, a neonatologist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, an associate professor of pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and head of the neonatal medicine section at the Pennsylvania hospital, in a statement.
The team’s findings confirm previous evidence that pregnant women can pass protective antibodies against the virus to fetuses. In December, a study in Singapore found that five babies born to mothers who had COVID-19 while pregnant were born with antibodies to the coronavirus.
Still, studies into the effects COVID-19 can have on pregnant women and their babies are ongoing, with a recently published study funded by the National Institutes of Health suggesting that pregnant women who contract severe COVID-19 disease run an increased risk of death and premature labor compared to those with asymptomatic cases of the disease. These findings reinforced similar findings made by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in November.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE
The CDC and the World Health Organization both recommend that pregnant women receive a COVID-19 vaccine, the latter having recently reversed its position on this ongoing debate.
Although neither the Moderna vaccine nor the one created by Pfizer-BioNTech has been specifically approved for use in pregnant women, “no safety concerns have been demonstrated in rats given [the] Moderna COVID-19 vaccine before or during pregnancy, “the CDC notes on its website, adding that” studies on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are ongoing. “
[ad_2]
Source link