Preeclampsia is one of the more serious complications of pregnancy, affecting between three and eight percent of all pregnancies, depending on the source. According to the World Health Organization, this condition is responsible for about 19 percent of all maternal deaths.
The main symptoms of pre-eclampsia include high blood pressure, protein in the urine and fluid retention, which leads to swelling. The condition is generally discovered during routine prenatal visits. The problem has been diagnosing the condition before it becomes a medical emergency.
There may be good news for earlier diagnosis. Canadian researchers at The University of Ontario and the Children’s Health Research Institute have developed technology that will lead to a new method of screening for this condition and identifying at risk patients.
The screening uses specific biomarkers and proteins that are believed to predict women that are at risk of developing pre-eclampsia later in pregnancy. In addition, these biomarkers are said to predict the severity of the condition in women.
This could lead to earlier detection of pre-eclampsia and researchers are working on a diagnositic test to help identify at risk mothers earlier and with greater accuracy. The development of the test is being conducted by a California based company called Biosite. This will eventually lead to a blood test to identify mothers most at risk of developing this complication in order to offer earlier intervention and treatment.
The hope is that with earlier detection doctors could use targeted intervention to help delay the onset and reduce the severity of this complication. This could lead to fewer women and babies suffering long term disabilities, such as cerebral palsy in babies and help prevent maternal and infant deaths due to this complication.
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