Study Finds Low-Dose Aspirin May Prevent Pregnancy Complications from Flu Infections

A world-first study, published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology, has found that low-dose aspirin may treat flu-induced blood vessel inflammation, creating better blood flow to the placenta during pregnancy.

Low-dose aspirin, typically 75-100 mg daily, is often used for its anti-inflammatory and blood-thinning properties. It can help prevent blood clots, reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes, and is sometimes recommended for certain high-risk pregnancies to prevent complications such as preeclampsia.

In the study, animal research examined whether the treatment for preeclampsia could be applied to flu infections, yielding very promising results. Flu infections during pregnancy can resemble preeclampsia, a complication that causes inflammation of the aorta and blood vessels. The research, conducted by RMIT University in collaboration with Trinity College Dublin and the University of South Australia, found that fetuses and placentas from mice with influenza A were smaller than those from uninfected mice. Markers of low oxygen in the blood and poor blood vessel development were also evident in the fetuses.

However, mice treated daily with low-dose aspirin showed less inflammation, improved fetal development, and increased offspring survival. The findings have significant implications for pregnancy and seasonal influenza virus infections. While there aren’t many studies on the impacts of flu infections during pregnancy, it is clear that pregnancy changes how the body responds to the virus.

“When the vascular system is inflamed, it leads to poor blood flow and affects the aorta’s function. This is especially a problem during pregnancy where good blood flow to the placenta is crucial to the development of the fetus. There are long-term implications for both the mother and the fetus, and aspirin might provide a simple solution for preventing this influenza-associated pathology. This study shines a light, for the first time, on the role of vascular inflammation associated with influenza virus and the potential dramatic effect of the disease-modifying drug aspirin, in low dosage, in pregnant women with co-morbid influenza,” said the authors.

Reference: Coward-Smith M, Liong S, Oseghale O, Erlich JR, Miles MA, Liong F, Brassington K, Bozinovski S, Vlahos R, Brooks RD, Brooks DA, O’Leary JJ and Selemidis S (2024) Low dose aspirin prevents endothelial dysfunction in the aorta and foetal loss in pregnant mice infected with influenza A virus. Front. Immunol. 15:1378610. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1378610