During a conference in Liverpool in the United Kingdom, it was revealed that some women who have been suffering from repeated miscarriages or failed IVF treatment could have been helped by steroid treatment.

Dr. Siobhan Quenby, of the University of Liverpool and the Liverpool Women’s Hospital, revealed that during steroid treatment prescribed to 40 women, it was noticed that three quarters of them underwent successful pregnancy and gave births to children.

From News-Medical.Net:

Dr. Siobhan Quenby, of the University of Liverpool and the Liverpool Women’s Hospital, says that tests involving 120 women had identified natural killer cells as a cause of miscarriages and failed IVF embryo implants.

While such natural but potentially deadly cells are beneficial in most of the body because they can destroy infected or malignant cells, in the uterus they have been found to promote rapid growth of blood vessels when present in high numbers.

These blood vessels then transport additional oxygen-bearing blood which can cause miscarriages or prevent embryos implanting.

Steroids prescribed to 40 women, who had suffered multiple miscarriages, resulted in three quarters of them successfully giving birth.

The steroid treatment has been shown to reduce the level of natural killer cells in the uterus, and this is thought to increase the chances of an embryo going to full term.

Dr. Quenby says currently there is no treatment for the thousands of women around the world who are desperate because they keep miscarrying for no reason.

She says there is a massive and desperate need for a treatment and suggests that a third of miscarriages could be prevented.

It was revealed that steroid treatment proves effective when it comes to minimizing the level of natural killer cells in the uterus to enhance the chances of an embryo going to the full term.