Exciting discoveries in “body clock gene” research

Researchers at Warwick Medical School and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust have been investigated the part that “body clock genes” in the lining of the uterus play in the process of embryo implantation.  They have found that these genes are temporarily “switched off” at the point of implantation, but that in women suffering from recurrent miscarriages it appears their bodies may be less able to regulate this process.

It is hoped that further research into this field could lead to real breakthroughs for women who suffer from recurrent miscarriages, as well as the possibility of increasing the success rate of IVF.  It may even have implications for other complications in later stages of pregnancy, such as pre-eclampsia, foetal growth restriction and pre-term birth.

Professor Siobhan Quenby, consultant obstetrician at Warwick Medical School and UHCW NHS Trust said  ‘We hope that it will increase worldwide knowledge about possible reasons for infertility and recurrent miscarriages, so that we are able to help families achieve their dream of having children’.

Read the research abstract here

The RCM’s report is here