Many of the 3,000 unexplained miscarriages that happen every year can be prevented with steroid treatments, as per a research presented at the British Association conference.

Dr. Siobhan Quenby, of the University of Liverpool and the Liverpool Women’s Hospital, said that the medical tests of 120 women had brought the fact that natural killer cells are the biggest cause of concern in respect to miscarriages and failed IVF embryo implants.

It was noted during the research that three quarters of 40 women treated with steroids gave successful births despite the fact that they had a past history of multiple miscarriages.

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.

Dr. Quenby also said that there is an urgent need to include steroids in treatment for women with a history of miscarriages and believe that a third of miscarriages can be prevented with a steroid treatment.

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