The risk of the serious blood pressure problem, pre-eclampsia, in pregnant women might be predicted via a blood test, researchers say today.
Pre-eclampsia is relatively common condition, involving raised blood pressure and protein in the urine. In a few cases, it can damage the woman’s organs and restrict growth of the foetus. Once a diagnosis is made, women can be monitored and an early delivery is usually recommended, through induction or caesarean section.
A team led by Dr Mardia Lopez-Alarcon of the University of Mexico City Medical School, Mexico, aimed to find a reliable way of screening women for risk of pre-eclampsia. They investigated several possible "biomarkers", including blood serum levels of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and homocysteine (Hcy). Both are known to be present in the blood in higher than normal concentrations before the onset of the condition.
They recruited 252 pregnant women, of whom 49 developed pre-eclampsia. This group had raised levels of ADMA and Hcy a month before onset of the condition, regardless of the severity of their pre-eclampsia.
Full details appear today (22 July) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. "While for most of the women we tested the levels of ADMA and Hcy remained constant throughout pregnancy, these serum biomarkers were clearly raised a month before onset in women who went on to develop pre-eclampsia," said Dr Lopez-Alarcon.
"Of the other factors we tested, obesity and low levels of folic acid at the start of the pregnancy (all the mothers received folic acid supplementation) were also independently linked to pre-eclampsia."
Lopez-Alarcon, M. et al. Serial determinations of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and homocysteine (Hcy) during pregnancy to predict preeclampsia: A longitudinal study. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 22 July 2015 doi: 10.1111/1471-0528.13516
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