By Nancy Lapid
Oct 21 (Reuters) – Today we report on the discovery of one of the likely causes of preterm labor and a potential pathway to prevent it. We also cover a study on how cannabis use and the type of product consumed affect anesthesia and sedation needed for medical procedures.
IMMUNE-SYSTEM CATALYST FOR PRETERM LABOR IDENTIFIED
Researchers have identified antibodies in pregnancy that appear to play a role in triggering preterm labor, according to data from a study of more than 2,000 pregnant women.
In the study published in Nature Immunology, researchers found the antibodies were present in higher levels and appeared earlier in pregnancy in women who went on to give birth before 37 weeks’ gestation compared to those who delivered their babies at term.
The antibodies target a protein called IL-1RA that blocks a molecule called IL-1-beta, which drives a type of inflammation known to trigger uterine contractions.
By neutralizing IL-1RA, the antibodies allow IL-1-beta and the inflammation it causes to rise unchecked, which could explain why some women go into labor too early, the researchers said.
When they injected IL-1RA antibodies into pregnant mice, IL-1-beta levels rose and placentas showed signs of damage that are also seen in human preterm deliveries.
A synthetic form of IL-1RA already exists for treating other inflammatory conditions in which levels are too low, such as rheumatoid arthritis. Researchers say the Swedish Orphan Biovitrum drug Kineret might also be useful for preventing preterm births by putting the brakes back on IL-1 and preventing inflammation and preterm uterine contractions.
The researchers caution that the anti-IL-1RA antibodies were seen in only a fraction of preterm births, so there are likely many other causes.
Still, the fact that an immune signal is “pointing us toward why some pregnancies go wrong is an exciting result,” senior study author Joe DeRisi of UCSF said in a statement.
CANNABIS IMPACT ON SEDATION VARIES BY PRODUCT TYPE
Cannabis use can modify the effects of anesthetics and sedatives during medical procedures, but the impact may vary according to the form in which the drug is consumed, a small study suggests.
Patients who smoke or vape cannabis may need more anesthesia than those who use edibles or do not use cannabis, researchers reported at the Anesthesiology 2026 meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists in San Diego.
They reviewed anesthesiology data on 280 colonoscopies and upper endoscopies performed on 264 patients, including 217 non-users of cannabis, 38 who reported inhaled use, and 9 who reported use of cannabis gummies or other edibles.
Looking at all cannabis users together, researchers found no significant difference in the initial required dose of the commonly used anesthesia drug propofol.
When they separated patients by how they used cannabis, the average initial dose of propofol was 138.7 milligrams among non-users, 168.5 mg among those who inhaled cannabis and 114.2 mg among those who consumed it orally.
This suggests that unlike those who smoked or vaped cannabis, those who used edibles did not appear to have the same need for increased propofol, although the edible group in the study was small.
The researchers say their findings may help explain conflicting results in earlier research on cannabis and anesthesia, which often grouped cannabis users together without distinguishing how they consumed it.
The difference was most substantial among patients undergoing upper endoscopy, in which a thin tube with a camera is passed through the patient’s mouth, throat and upper airway. No meaningful differences were observed among patients undergoing colonoscopy.
Inhaled and edible cannabis products are processed differently by the body, the researchers noted.
Smoking or vaping delivers THC — the main psychoactive component in cannabis — through the lungs, and regular inhalation may irritate the upper airway, potentially requiring deeper anesthesia to help patients tolerate the endoscope, they suggested.
“The most important message for patients is to be honest with their anesthesiologist about cannabis, including how they use it — smoking, vaping or edible products — how often they use it and when they last used it,” study leader Dr. Basavana Goudra of the Sidney Kimmel Medical College in Philadelphia said in a statement.
“For physicians, simply asking, ‘Do you use cannabis?’ may no longer be sufficient.”
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(Reporting by Nancy Lapid; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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