Infections

[tinabowen]

Dr. Fett
I have heard women talk about Viral(sp?) infections and PPCM can there be a link.
This pregnancy so far my Dr's have had me on antibotics every 6 wks, to keep infections away, I don't understand it..
I didn't know I had a Viral(sp?) infection until 33 wks when they found calsifcasion(sp?) on my son's liver the Perinatologist said it was likely caused from a Viral(sp?) infection early in my pregnancy..


(sorry for the poor spelling, I have had a busy day)

Tina

[JAMESFETT]

Hello Tina. We don't yet know the role of viral infection in PPCM, but we have a clue from the related cardiomyopathy, idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM), where viral particles have been found in the heart muscle, and that has led to a dilated cardiomyopathy and heart failure. However, if it is a viral infection that causes PPCM, it is very rare (never described) to see the baby affected--that is because of a process called "tolerizing" in which the viral infection in the mother (during pregnancy) through the immune system, helps the infant to tolerate the situation without becoming affected. In PPCM the baby's heart is invariably normal. The calcifications in the liver are interesting, another possibility is a type of fungal infection that could do that, such as histoplasmosis or coccidiomycosis, or again, toxoplasmosis. When we do discover the actual cause of PPCM, I believe that one component will be a viral infection that starts the process, and that it moves to an autoimmune process, which requires an hereditary susceptibility. The changes in the immune system that allow the mother to tolerate baby's foreign protein also contribute to increased susceptibility to viral infection and autoimmune processes.

James