China News Service, May 8 (Xinhua) The older a woman is when she becomes pregnant, the higher her chances of miscarriage and giving birth to a child with Down syndrome. According to foreign media reports, recently, a research team from Fujita Health University in Tozaki City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan released a study result explaining the cause of this phenomenon.
Normally, when a woman ovulates, the egg cell divides twice to become an egg that can be fertilized. Egg cells contain two chromosomes from both sexes. When the egg cell first divides, the two chromosomes also separate into different cells.
What holds the two chromosomes together is a protein. Researchers found in experiments on mice that once this protein is reduced, the chromosomes of both men and women will not be able to combine normally. Instead, they will combine with other cells, eventually leading to chromosomal abnormalities.
The researchers selected 8 women aged 19-49 as study subjects and found that as age increases, the protein contained in these human egg cells will also decrease.
Members of the research team expressed the hope that this research can play a certain role in the prevention and treatment of related diseases.
Original title: Older women are more likely to have miscarriages during pregnancy, and research says a decrease in certain proteins is the main reason.