Substances in Blood May Predict Preeclampsia

Researchers have discovered that abnormal levels of two molecules found in blood appear to predict preeclampsia, a life-threatening complication of pregnancy. The findings were published in the February 12, 2004, issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

Women who developed preeclampsia had elevated blood levels of a substance known as soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1) before the complication developed. They also had lower levels early in their pregnancy of placental growth factor (PIGF) than women who did not develop the condition, and they had lower levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). However, the latter was not useful in predicting preeclampsia.

The Flt-1 molecule belongs to a class of molecules known as receptors. It sits on the surface of the cells that line the inside of blood vessels. Pregnant women with normal pregnancies also have sFlt-1 in their blood but in much lower levels and much later in the pregnancy, shortly before birth. In the current study, involving blood samples of 120 women who developed preeclampsia and 120 who did not, the researchers found that the blood levels were similar for the two groups at the beginning of pregnancy. However, in the women who developed preeclampsia, sFlt-1 levels began to increase about five weeks before they developed the condition. Calcium supplements during pregnancy were found ineffective against the condition.

"If we could predict the development of preeclampsia, we could offer treatment before it becomes a serious problem,” said Duane Alexander, M.D., director of the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHHD), who conducted the study along with researchers from Harvard Medical School (Boston, USA).




Related Links:
Child Health and Human Development
Harvard Medical School