Scientists at Oregon State University have developed a new way to treat ectopic pregnancy, a dangerous condition where a fertilized egg implants in a place other than the uterus. This can be life-threatening for women. The researchers used a special delivery system called polymersomes to administer the medicine to pregnant mice. They found that the drug was effective at a lower dose and had fewer side effects when delivered this way. The findings were published in the journal Small.

Ectopic pregnancies are a leading cause of death in the first trimester. The drug commonly used to end these pregnancies, called methotrexate (MTX), doesn’t always work properly because it doesn’t accumulate in the right place. The scientists used polymersomes to target the drug to the specific cells that needed to be stopped from dividing.

About 2% of all pregnancies in the US and 1-2% worldwide are ectopic, which means there are around 100,000 ectopic pregnancies in the US each year. Most of these occur in the fallopian tubes, which can cause dangerous bleeding.

The researchers believe that finding ways to target drugs specifically to certain areas of the body is very important. Many drugs have side effects because they affect healthy cells. Polymersomes are synthetic versions of sacs found in living cells and can be designed to release the drug in a specific location.

The researchers also plan to explore using different types of nanoparticles to diagnose and treat ectopic pregnancies. They have previously developed light-sensitive nanoparticles for this purpose and have recently received funding to develop magnetic nanoparticles, which could potentially be even more effective.

This research provides hope for women with ectopic pregnancies and could lead to safer and more effective treatments in the future.