OPRU Description
The Obstetrical Pharmacology Research Units (OPRU) Network is funded by NICHD to carry out pharmacology research to enhance understanding of obstetrical pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and improve appropriate therapeutics during pregnancy. Currently four clinical research sites and a data coordination and analysis center are funded to develop coordinated research on basic questions in pharmacology during pregnancy. Basic, translational and clinical questions and systems approaches are being developed to characterize the impact of physiological, cellular, and molecular changes during pregnancy on drug disposition.
Current research focuses on systems approaches to understanding pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of oral hypoglycemics for treatment of gestational diabetes, agents thought to alter uterine activity, and a broad range of drugs used during pregnancy (antibiotics, antidepressants, etc). Investigators at the currently funded four sites provide a multidisciplinary perspective for these questions and utilize a diverse array of preclinical and clinical approaches to explore the questions addressed using in vitro to in vivo models. Such a multi-disciplinary approach was considered necessary to improve our understanding of the complicated interplay of environmental and genetic factors that influence pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics during pregnancy and lactation.