Severe Morning Sickness is Genetic

Pregnancy can be consuming for a woman, but for one small group, it can be crippling. Up to two percent of pregnant women get acute morning sickness or HG which stands for hyperemesis gravidarum. Charlotte Bronte died from it and Kate Middleton or Duchess Kate had it.

Unlike most pregnant moms who are only nauseous in the first trimester, these women vomit throughout the pregnancy, and if untreated, can lose their babies. That's what happened twenty years ago to the lead scientist of a new study.

Dr. Marlena Feizo at UCLA may have uncovered the protein responsible for HG. Researchers had known that mothers and sisters of women with HG face an extremely high chance of also having HG, so this suggested a genetic link.

Dr. Fejzo partnered with the genetic testing company twenty-three-and-Me to ask pregnancy illness questions of their customers. Researchers examined the DNA of thousands of customers looking for variations in women with HG. They honed in on the GDF-fifteen gene on chromosome nineteen, which is associated with placental development and appetite. Meanwhile, other studies also connected the gene to HG.

In one, women who vomited during the second trimester had elevated levels of GDF-fifteen. Cancer patients with anorexic muscle wasting syndrome which includes nausea and vomiting also had higher levels. One study with mice that had their brain receptor for GDF-fifteen eliminated were resistant to nausea induced by chemotherapy drugs.

All these studies suggest this gene is a player in HG and targeting it could help scientists develop a drug to help new moms and protect their babies.