Unless you’re studying in an online home nurse practitioner program, you probably don’t hear about Porter syndrome that often, and those who do will know that it can have serious consequences for babies born with it. High expectations. However, a brighter future appears to be on the horizon. Japanese scientists have successfully performed the first intrauterine transplant on a rat fetus. The breakthrough opens up potential new frontiers for babies diagnosed with Pott’s disease, and could save many babies’ lives if all further research comes to the same conclusion.
What is Porter syndrome?
Despite the name, Porter syndrome (aka the “Potter sequence”) is far from magical. This is a rare disease that affects the development of the fetus in the womb. It is an extremely rare disease, affecting only 1 in 4,000 to 10,000 births. This condition affects the function or growth of the kidneys and is often fatal to newborns.
There are many causes of Porter syndrome, including:
- Underdeveloped or missing kidneys.
- Polycystic kidney disease.
- Plum belly syndrome.
- Urinary tract blockage.
- Amniotic fluid leaks.
- The situation of the biological parents is not under control.
Its symptoms are equally diverse. While in the womb, the baby is covered with a layer of clear or yellow fluid called “amniotic fluid.” This substance protects the fetus and the space in which it grows. When this fluid is lacking, which is a sign of Pott’s syndrome, the resulting uterine pressure can affect the baby’s growth. This can result in several different anatomy and facial features, known as the “Potter face.” It may also cause organ underdevelopment and/or malformation.
Types of Porter syndrome
There are currently five recognized variants of Porter syndrome, which are characterized by how they develop in infants. they are:
classic potter syndrome
This is caused when a baby is born without one or both kidneys. This is the most common form of Porter syndrome and is fatal if diagnosed due to the absence of both kidneys.
Porter syndrome type I
This type occurs due to polycystic kidney disease being passed down from parents to children.
Porter syndrome type II
This form of Porter syndrome is diagnosed by abnormal growth of the fetus’s kidneys in utero.
Porter syndrome type III
Type III occurs when polycystic kidney disease is inherited from only one parent, but not both parents.
Porter syndrome type IV
The cause of Porter syndrome is abnormal fetal development that causes urinary tract obstruction, also known as “obstructive uropathy.”
Porter syndrome is difficult to treat because it causes a large number of deaths due to lack of kidneys and insufficient respiratory function. Although treatment is available, its success will ultimately depend on the severity of the heart and lung complications (called “pulmonary agenesis”) and what methods are available to support the baby’s kidney function.
new Hope
Medical research continues to be conducted around the world. This research has now yielded results. Experts from Jike University School of Medicine in Tokyo conducted a groundbreaking experiment. This experiment is based on practice xenotransplantation. The term comes from Greek xenogeneic “Transplant” means “foreign,” and “transplant” means placing an organ into a human body.
Xenotransplantation is the process of transplanting non-human organs into a human body. This process has great potential to solve the problem of large transplant waiting lists, but it also brings with it a range of concerns and questions about donor and recipient physical hygiene and infection risks.
The experiment involved anesthetizing pregnant mice and opening their uteruses so that kidney material could be transplanted from the donor to the recipient. Currently, experiments on mice used for testing have a success rate of 88 percent. Details of the complete experiment can be found in the report titled “Fetal kidney transplantation of fetuses in utero.”
New science, new era
Although Porter syndrome is a very rare disease, its high mortality rate is very scary for expectant parents. This emerging procedure offers a more promising future for parents whose fetuses are at higher risk of contracting the disease.
Beyond the immediate results regarding a new, potentially life-saving treatment for Porter Syndrome, the impact of a new form of treatment is huge because new and medical technologies are always different from this type of research. As this emerging groundbreaking research continues, who knows what other medical miracles may be uncovered by examples of human perseverance and ingenuity?
Research on these in utero transplant experiments will continue, but an expected start date for human testing and trials has not yet been determined.
