British Researchers Report Finding That Could Lead To Predictive Test For Preeclampsia

Main Category: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Also Included In: Hypertension
Article Date: 20 Feb 2008 - 8:00 PDT

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Researchers from the University of Leeds' Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine recently said they are closer to developing a test that can predict preeclampsia, BBC News reports. The researchers in a study recently published in the journal Hypertension in Pregnancy said they have identified different chemical levels in blood plasma taken from women who have experienced preeclampsia, compared with women who have not experienced the condition (BBC News, 2/13).

Preeclampsia -- which affects about 8% of pregnant women in the U.S. -- is a condition characterized by high blood pressure and protein in the urine (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 4/27/06). Urine and blood pressure checks currently can diagnose the condition after 20 weeks' gestation, and it can sometimes be managed with aspirin and close monitoring, according to BBC News. Leeds Institute researchers are hoping to develop a test that could diagnose the condition much earlier in pregnancy (BBC News, 2/13).

For the study, Julie Fisher and colleagues from the institute used a technique based on the same science as magnetic resonance imaging scans to identify chemicals in the blood plasma of pregnant women. According to Fisher, the "concentration of certain chemicals such as amino acids and fat in the body has been found to vary in a way which is dependent on the health of the woman." She added, "We have found that some of these chemicals increase in concentration when the woman is suffering from preeclampsia" (University of Leeds release, 2/12).

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