Preeclampsia is a potentially serious disorder that affects about 10 percent of pregnant women, characterized by a hypertensive condition caused by pregnancy itself. It usually develops after 20 weeks of pregnancy and disappears after delivery, but if left unchecked, it can trigger premature delivery, cause complications in the fetus, and even death.
Early detection is essential, so the sooner your signs are identified, the better the management of the disease will be and the less risk the baby will have. Researchers at the University of Iowa have done a great job in this regard. They have identified a biomarker that would detect the risk of preeclampsia in the pregnant woman through a test similar to the pregnancy test.
Hypertension caused by preeclampsia can negatively affect the fetus by causing narrowing of the placental arteries, which can cause a severe reduction in blood flow to certain areas of the placenta that may stop functioning and put the baby in danger. The mother also runs serious risks to her health. In these cases, the only solution is premature delivery.
Preeclampsia is a condition that is detected in the second half of pregnancy, but a new study has found that it can be detected through a protein present in the urine of the pregnant woman, copeptin, in week six of pregnancy.
Copeptin is a byproduct of the arginine vasopressin protein (AVP), and according to research, experts suggest that AVP is involved in the initiation of preeclampsia.
From this discovery could develop a reactive test very similar to the pregnancy test that could detect the risk of preeclampsia in the first trimester and thus minimize complications during the rest of pregnancy.
Via | Science Daily
More information | The American Physiological Society
In Babies and more | WHO recommendations for the prevention and treatment of preeclampsia and eclampsia, Preeclampsia, is repeated in new pregnancies?
