For my last post I will be discussing studies that have been done by doctors and the Preeclampsia Foundation to help detect cognitive difficulties post-partum, genetics, and test screenings for early detection of the disease. After I got past my Preeclampsia I continued to have problems with my blood pressure, weight, and cognitive memory. The Preeclampsia Foundation along with many doctors from the Netherlands to the university of Washington conducted a study with 1,000 participants assessing cognitive function based on an online survey. Many formerly preeclamptic women report difficulties with memory or word choice and they wanted to figure out if there are changes in the brain from the disease or the trauma of the disease itself. The study found that women with a history of preeclampsia scored significantly lower in all three assessments.
"More and more information is emerging suggesting that preeclampsia is a condition with long term implications," explained the lead author on the study, Dr. Ineke Postma. "Preeclampsia can be a very emotional and sometimes traumatizing experience with some women complaining about ongoing memory or attention-deficit problems. In order to provide adequate long term support to preeclampsia survivors, we need to identify the actual scope of the problem. This study is an important step in that direction."
In another study, 147 sisters, 248 daughters, 74 granddaughters, and 131 daughter-in-laws who have had preeclampsia or eclampsia have found that this disease is highly inheritable. They did a single gene condition and multifactorial condition and found that the single gene condition with frequency of putative gene by .25.
Dr.Vesna Garovic (Mayo Clinic) studied the use of urinary podocytes as a test for preeclampsia, Podocytes are cells which line the blood vessels in the kidneys and act as filters which keep protein in the bloodstream. Their loss allows protein to spill into the urine, one of the primary signs of preeclampsia.They used 267 women and collected urine between 25-28 weeks gestation and 15 women went on to develop preeclampsia and all had podocytes in their system.
Works cited:
http://www.preeclampsia.org/component/lyftenbloggie/2011/12/04/116-podocytes-and-the-big-story
http://www.preeclampsia.org/component/lyftenbloggie/2012/04/04/126-could-preeclampsia-affect-your-brain
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1471-0528.1986.tb08006.x/abstract
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