Wellbeing of Women

2007 Grants

Plasminogen activator inhibitor I, polycystic ovaries and recurrent miscarriage. Dr Rajendra Rai, Professor Lesley Regan, Professor Gudrun Moore and Dr Neil Sebire, Imperial College London, Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital £94,944 over 2 years

LAY TITLE: Abnormalities in blood clotting and recurrent miscarriage

This group has identified that women with polycystic ovaries are more likely than those with normal ovaries to have a mutation (variant) in a gene known as PAI-1. This gene is involved in both the break down of blood clots and in implantation of the embryo.

This study aims to establish how common the PAI-1 mutation is amongst women with polycystic ovaries and recurrent miscarriage, and will examine the relationship between the mutation and pregnancy outcome. They will also look at whether pregnancy outcome is affected if either the father or the fetus itself carries the PAI-1 mutation.

This research will potentially identify a new cause for recurrent miscarriage and add to the expanding body of data which suggests a relationship between abnormalities in the blood clotting system and recurrent miscarriage.

Back to listings