According to data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), puerperal or postpartum hemorrhage, loss of more than 500 ml of blood in the 24 hours after childbirth, is the leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide. It causes nearly 74,000 deaths annually, mostly in low- and middle-income countries, equivalent to one death every six minutes.
The teacher Arri Coomarasamy, Professor of Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine at the Department of Metabolism and Systems Science at the University of Birmingham (United Kingdom), took an important step in 2023 to address this global challenge by promoting, after verifying its effectiveness in a study, a method capable of reducing this problem by 60% of severe cases of postpartum bleeding. In recognition of this and other merits, the Queen Letiziaas president of the Honor Committee of the Dexeus Mujer Foundation, today presented the prestigious gynecologist with the 19th Dexeus Women Foundation Award in an event held in the auditorium of the Dexeus University Hospital – Quirónsalud Group, coinciding with the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Foundation.
Coomarasamy, who currently heads the Tommy’s National Center for Miscarriage Researchthe largest European research center on pregnancy loss, and is founding director of the WHO Collaborating Center for Global Women’s Health at the University of Birmingham, has explained that his vocation to reduce mortality in childbirth was born on a trip to sub-Saharan Africa with a college classmate who “changed his life” by seeing firsthand the deaths of several women in childbirth. “I decided to dedicate my life to this specialty because birth rooms should be just that, rooms of life, of light, and not of death,” he stated.
In recognition of his work, Professor Coomarasamy was appointed in 2023 Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), an honor awarded to people who have performed meritorious service to the community. Coomasaramy is the main promoter of the ‘E-Motive’ study, which has developed a new method for rapid diagnosis and combined treatment of postpartum hemorrhage in vaginal birth.
The work, published in the magazine ‘New England Journal of Medicine’, It was carried out on a sample of 200,000 women in hospitals in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania, and its results demonstrated the effectiveness of the treatment: serious bleeding after childbirth was reduced by 60%.
‘E-Motive’ It detects bleeding early and accurately with a blood collection cloth, which is complemented by an immediate treatment package including, when indicated, uterine massage, administration of medications or intravenous fluids, an examination and, if necessary, sending to advanced care.
The event was attended by the Minister of Equality, Ana Redondo; the Government Delegate in Catalonia, Carlos Prieteither; the Minister of Health of the Generalitat, Olga Pane; the mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni; the president of the Dexeus Mujer Foundation, Pedro N. Barri; the vice president of the Foundation, Rafael Fabregasand the president of the Dexeus Mujer center, Pere BarrYo. The president of the Dexeus Mujer Foundation has highlighted the “excellent” work and the continued work of Coomarasamy, while the head of Reproductive Medicine at the Dexeus Hospital, Nikolaos Polyzoshas described the winner as a great scientist, doctor and academic, as well as a ‘game-changer’ in his field, reports Ep.
During the event, the scholarship that the Dexeus Women Foundation awarded annually to young researchers. This year the winner was Valeria Tubita for a research project focused on evaluating the effectiveness of combining anti-HER2 therapies and PARP inhibitors to enhance the antitumor response and reduce the growth of endometrial cancer HER2 positive. This research uses patient-derived organoid models to explore the molecular mechanisms behind the synergy between both therapies and their potential to overcome therapeutic resistance.
Tubita obtained the title of biologist at the Federico II University of Naples and completed his doctorate at the University of Barcelona. Currently, she is a postdoctoral researcher in the Biomedical Research in Gynecology group of the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) where he focuses his work on the study of innovative therapies for endometrial cancer.
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