Byline: Robert Whitaker Staff writer
The biochemistry that governs human birth is one of nature's most complex and beautifully choreographed dances. Hormones, enzymes and proteins must work in timely harmony for a baby to be born in a natural way.
Twenty-five years of ongoing research by Albany Medical Center biochemist John Jeffrey is helping to decipher one piece of that wonderful chemical puzzle. He has identified much of the chemistry involved in the growth and shrinkage of the uterus, knowledge that holds the promise of helping doctors to manage such problems as premature labor.
"You have to find out what is normal first, and then see if speculation as to what goes wrong is true. That's how the (research) process always is. But as we know more, we may be able to go to the obstetrician and say, 'Hey, premature labor contractions are due to this (chemical imbalance), and here's how you may be able to stop it."
Jeffrey, 54, a professor of medicine and biochemistry, heads a team of researchers at Albany Medical Center that recently received a $1.3 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue this research into the biochemistry that reshapes the uterus so quickly.
An understanding of this tissue remodeling will not only advance understanding of the chemical cascade that drives the birth process, but also of the …
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