New Research May Lead To Pre-eclampsia Test

Pre-eclampsia is a complication of pregnancy where the mother develops high blood pressure and protein is present in the urine. In some cases, this can develop into a serious condition for both mother and baby and the only cure is delivery of the baby, often prematurely. Women who have had pre-eclampsia previously are at higher risk of recurrence and are closely monitored during pregnancy, but there is no way of determining who is at high risk in first-time mothers. The researchers, led by Dr Richard Unwin and Dr Jenny Myers from the Manchester Biomedical Research Centre, a partnership between the Trust and the University analysed samples which had been collected as part of the international SCOPE study at 15 weeks of pregnancy - before any clinical signs of disease are present. Proteins were identified which differed between those women who developed pre-eclampsia and those who did not.
Research could lead to a new test to predict risk of pregnancy complications: University of Manchester 3rd September 2013